iPad Mini Retina Display Lacks Color Depth Of iPad Air

Image From AnandTech.com

The iPad Min with Retina Display has been a much hyped device, and Apple Inc. is set to sell a lot of them this holiday season. However, there seems to a be a couple of minor issues that tag along with the tiny tablet computer, and both of them are tied to the display.

Image Retention

The first issue noted by reviewers of the iPad Mini with Retina Display is that some of the units suffer from minor cases of image retention. We reported last week that this issue had been noted by several consumers on Twitter, as well as multiple blogs around the web. However, while iPad Mini owners could return the units for new ones, the issue is not a threat to long term usage of the device. Also, image retention is not the same as burn-in noted on LCD screens, where the image is permanently etched. The image retention associated with Retina Display iPad Minis is temporary.

Color Depth

The second issue with the new iPad Mini’s display is coming to the forefront today, as noted by AnandTech.com. The Retina Display on the new iPad Mini is not as rich in color as that of its big brother, the iPad Air. In fact, the color difference can easily be seen when compared side by side.

Why Is The Color Gamut Different From The iPad Air?

The iPad Mini with Retina Display uses the same 2048 x 1536 resolution as the iPad Air, but it is in a much smaller screen, which makes it the densest display of any Apple device in terms of pixels. The text and graphics appear to be sharper and clearer than ever before.

So, if the display is sharper, why the issue with color saturation not matching the iPad Air? This is easily explained by the fact that Apple simply used the same color gamut for the new iPad Mini with Retina Display as it did for the previous iPad Mini. While the display is as high definition as you can get from Apple, the color range doesn’t tout the same quality as the picture sharpness.

What Does This Mean For Apple?

This could prove to be a marketing problem for Apple, as there are other tablets in the same price range that do offer the more dense color coverage. While Apple is a premium brand name that people love to buy, consumers expect the brand to live up to its premium price tag as well. Unfortunately, for some consumers, the iPad Mini with Retina Display simply won’t be worth the cost because of issues like image retention and poor color density.