DisplayMate Tests the iPad Mini 4

DisplayMate tested the new iPad Mini 4’s display to see how much of an improvement Apple made.

First of all, the colors and color accuracy of the iPad mini 4 now match all of the recent full size iPads and also the recent iPhones (5 and 6 including S and Plus). So across the entire mobile iOS product line you’ll now see color matched photos and screen images. The mini 4 is an excellent super size upgrade to the iPhone 6(S) and Plus and now truly qualifies as a small version of the iPad Air 2.

But in terms of real-world viewing conditions, the record low 2.0% screen Reflectance actually makes a bigger visual difference for the image colors and image contrast that you actually see because ambient light washes out and degrades the displayed images and reduces screen readability – so its record low Reflectance actually makes a bigger difference!

This is excellent news for fans of the Mini form factor. All previous iPad Minis, including the Retina models, were hobbled by displays with far more muted colors than the iPad Air line. Apple has finally corrected this. I visited the Apple Store and tested out the new Mini myself, and the difference in display quality was immediately noticeable.

For gamers, the new iPad Mini still doesn’t quite have the muscles of the iPad Air 2. The Mini’s A8 feature a four-core GPU with noticeably less horsepower than the A8X’s eight-core model.

Personally, I never had performance issues with the previous iPad Mini. The main reason I switched to the Air was for the increased color gamut and doubled ram. If Apple had released this Mini last year, I might not have switched.