X

iPad Mini displays fewer colors than does iPad Air, says report

Though it boasts a Retina display, the new iPad Mini is still stuck with the same color palate found in the first edition, says Anandtech.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney
2 min read
The iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini.
The iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini. Apple

The Retina iPad Mini can't compete with its bigger brother at showing the same wide range of colors, according to tests run by tech review site Anandtech.

Putting the new Mini through its paces, Anandtech discovered that its color gamut hasn't changed since the first model was introduced in 2012. Further, the Retina Mini's sRGB coverage is limited compared with that of the Air and with those of rival tablets, such as the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HDX 8.9.

"The difference is small but apparent," Anandtech said, especially to people accustomed to the full sRGB coverage found in the Air and the Retina Display MacBook Pros and the iMac. The most visible deviations are in the red/blue and magenta colors, Anandtech noted, which can been see in a side-by-side comparison of the Mini and the Air on Anandtech's site.

Why the difference in color range between the two iPads? Anandtech speculates that Apple may see the Air as a better candidate for photographers and other people concerned about color reproduction.

The site gave the new Retina Mini a thumb's up for its sharpness and lack of image retention but still preferred the Air.

"The display looks really good otherwise, but you don't get the same visual punch you do on the iPad Air," Anandtech said. "Compared to the previous generation Mini we're obviously talking about a much better panel. But for those of you on the fence between the Mini and Air, the Air does still hold a display advantage."

(Via Cult of Mac)