12.9-Inch iPad Air Now Rumored to Feature Mini-LED Display

[gusping]

For those who want mini LED with 120Hz—Apple's mini LED can't do proper 120Hz.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro has a pixel response of 37.53 ms. That means it's 4.5x too slow for proper 120Hz.

To have proper 120Hz, the pixels need to change color at 8.3 ms or less. Any more, and it starts to get blurry and smudgy during motion. Here's what that looks like on iPads.

Same with the MBPs. At least those from a few years ago. It was clearly a 60hz native panel juiced up.

 

[slippery-pete]

…..and cost $999 to start I bet.

I'll take that bet. $799 start

 

[iPadified]

I have a 16 inch mini-LED MBP at work. Never seen any blooming but then I never turn up brightness in dark rooms. My daughters M1 iPad Pro seems fine as well.

 

[6749974]

I own a 12.9" M1 iPad Pro and have never once noticed blooming. Not saying it's not there but it just isn't a big deal day to day.

I have a 16 inch mini-LED MBP at work. Never seen any blooming but then I never turn up brightness in dark rooms. My daughters M1 iPad Pro seems fine as well.

It's very possible your eyes don't detect contrast like other people. Visual cortex processing is very complex—we're not all seeing the same colors, contrast, brightness, sharpness, and so on. Some people can't see well at night, for instance, and others can. Not arguing, just adding context to why theres such variety on this topic.

 

[6749974]

Same with the MBPs. At least those from a few years ago. It was clearly a 60hz native panel juiced up.

Yup. In fact the latest MBP is worse.

14-inch → 75.2 ms → 9x too slow for proper 120Hz

16-inch → 66.9 ms → 8x too slow for proper 120Hz

Edit: that means the MacBook Pro can’t accurately display anything after 13 frames per second, so the the higher the fps, the smudgier and more inaccurate the image. This is the opposite of what ProMotion promises.

 

[DMG35]

does that mean it will also support promotion refresh rate?

No chance. PROmotion for PRO models only. Same as the MacBooks.

 

[Artsketch]

I never use white text on a black background in unlit environments, just like I don't watch TV in the dark. It's not good for the eyes anyway. The 12.9 mini-led display on the M1 and M2 iPP is excellent and color accurate.

 

[MallardDuck]

The screen on my wife's 12 is probably the worst screen I've seen from apple in years. The blooming issue is a major problem.

 

[thingstoponder]

Boooo. Keep the price down.

 

[David1964]

Unless the iPad Pro lines got the 240Hz (Ultra ProMotion or whatever name they'll come up with), I'm pretty sure the 120Hz will not trickled down to the Air lines.

Of course it won’t because it is not “Pro”.

 

[David1964]

The screen on my wife's 12 is probably the worst screen I've seen from apple in years. The blooming issue is a major problem.

Never seen it on mine 🤷‍♂️

 

[David1964]

Wonder if that means the iPad Air will finally ProMotion as well.

Nope, because it’s not a Pro device.

 

[Rychiar]

Although compared to what I can see, the lens exaggerates it by maybe 10-20%, but it's very noticeable and distracting. I was shocked when I first started watching media with it.

This video is maybe closer to what I see, or somewhere in between.

im glad the only media I'd ever watch on an iPad is like family guy or some other animation. don't have to worry about that.

 

[Nick@72]

Never seen it on mine 🤷‍♂️

me neither on my iPad Pro 12.9 M2

 

[Apple_Robert]

If this is true, I think it is going to make it harder for more people to get the Air like they have previously.

 

[klasma]

Can't see the tweet but did Young really say leftover panels?

He did: “Surprise! The upcoming 12.9” iPad Air has a MiniLED display. This will consume left over panels from the 12.9” MiniLED iPad Pro and offer lower power than an edge lit LCD”.

 

[MrGimper]

And...there is no difference between the pros than the camera and refresh rate? Oh 64 gb storage

FaceID, true quad speakers….

 

[klasma]

I own a 12.9" M1 iPad Pro and have never once noticed blooming. Not saying it's not there but it just isn't a big deal day to day.

It’s annoying with subtitles or any high-contrast text, especially in the dark:

 

[smulji]

Nope, because it’s not a Pro device.

Well, all rumors are pointing to the iPhone 17 non-Pro models getting ProMotion screen and they're not branded "Pro" device.

 

[satchmo]

So if this new iPad Air 12.9 will inherit the same mini-LED type as the current iPad Pro, does that means it will have ProMotion, or refresh rate a separate thing?

Also, would there be any noticeable difference when using Pencil between mini-LED and current LED display?

I assume I could still use my Pencil 2 too.

 

[Dopestdude2]

If it wasn’t for the blooming I’d consider this instead of the pros.

 

[6749974]

EDIT: The new Bravia 9 TV definitely got my attention. Although it is expensive. Hopefully it will be available in the future at a lower price.

Yup. Here is a timestamp on a video that shows a mini LED improvement comparison (with further explanation later in the video). Plus Sony is using a new front layer technology that allows colors to stay saturated off-axis which is what used to be OLED's unique strength. Sony has always been the only company with descent mini LED implementation but I was still bearish on it until now.

Still, Apple isn't going to be using any of that—its patented—so I'd rather them go OLED.

This timestamped video has great comparisons, also.

 

[jclardy]

Nobody:

Apple iPad Team: How can we make the most perplexing lineup of Apple products even more confusing?

 

[rumz]

It’s annoying with subtitles or any high-contrast text, especially in the dark:

View attachment 2369535

ahhh I never considered this with how much people complain about blooming. I do not use dark mode, so I wouldn't see it nearly as much in my iPad Pro use.

But even that aside... my Sony OLED TV appears to bloom because of deficiencies in my own vision. So, from a blooming standpoint, I don't stand to gain anything from going to OLED. Not sure I want to give up FaceID though...

 

[gusping]

Yup. In fact the latest MBP is worse.

14-inch → 75.2 ms → 9x too slow for proper 120Hz

16-inch → 66.9 ms → 8x too slow for proper 120Hz

Edit: that means the MacBook Pro can’t accurately display anything after 13 frames per second, so the the higher the fps, the smudgier and more inaccurate the image. This is the opposite of what ProMotion promises.

Arguably too slow for 60hz. And Apple claim to want to get into gaming. Not with those decades awful response times.