DisplayMate Praises New iPad Screen Sharpness and Color - MacRumors
Skip to Content

DisplayMate Praises New iPad Screen Sharpness and Color

color diffs 6
Comparison, though color differences hard to capture in screenshots

DisplayMate has published an extensive "shoot out" between the new iPad, the iPad 2 and iPhone 4. Aside from the much discussed resolution improvements of the 3rd Generation iPad, DisplayMate also confirms that the new screen also has much better color reproduction than the previous generation model.

Apple has taken the very good display on the iPad 2 and dramatically improved two of its major weak points: sharpness and color saturation – they are now state-of-the-art.
...
But there’s more…the new iPad’s picture quality, color accuracy, and gray scale are not only much better than any other Tablet or Smartphone, it’s also much better than most HDTVs, laptops, and monitors. In fact with some minor calibration tweaks the new iPad would qualify as a studio reference monitor.

Besides the color reproduction, they found the new iPad to be slightly less reflective than the iPad 2, but still felt there could be much improvement in this category.

They suggest that with the accuracy and picture quality, the new iPad could find itself used in many new professional level applications.

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Month With These 12 New Features

Thursday August 6, 2026 7:03 am PDT by
It is now August, and that means the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are just a month away. The devices are expected to look similar to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but there will still be many year-over-year changes, with rumored features including a smaller Dynamic Island, 5G via satellite, and more. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and a...
apple account card feature

Apple Account Card in Wallet Now Available in Four More Countries

Thursday August 6, 2026 6:01 am PDT by
Apple has expanded support for the Apple Account Card in the Wallet app to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Malta. The Apple Account Card option for Wallet started rolling out in 2022, and Apple has been gradually expanding to more countries since then. The card displays the balance associated with a user's Apple Account and can be used to make purchases in the Apple Store, online, or for...
Everything Apple Is Expected to Announce in September Feature

Everything Apple Is Expected to Announce in September

Tuesday August 4, 2026 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple is going to announce at least five new devices next month at its annual iPhone-centric event, though it's possible we'll also get devices that were waiting on Siri AI. Here's what's coming. iPhone 18 Pro Rumors suggest the iPhone 18 Pro is going to look a lot like the iPhone 17 Pro, but with a smaller Dynamic Island. It's getting a new Wide camera with a variable aperture for more...

Top Rated Comments

cult hero Avatar
188 months ago
I saw it in the store and while it's impressive that they have crammed so many pixels in, it has no useful purpose as every single one of the new pixels is going to be used to make everything sharper rather than as extra space to include more things.

Totally agree. I was completely put off by how much easier it was to read on the iPad3. Totally useless.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Small White Car Avatar
188 months ago
Apple: Just give us the controls to color calibrate these screens, then come out with Aperture for iPad, then bribe Adobe to make Lightroom for iPad (yes, this will be good for you) and you will find that every single professional photographer in the world will have to buy an iPad. It will become just as essential as a tripod.

Come on...you're so close.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NutsNGum Avatar
188 months ago
The new display is good I guess, but the faster processor really floats my boat.

Try enjoying it without the display.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Red Oak Avatar
188 months ago
Wow

The struck me most from the article: "In fact with some minor calibration tweaks the new iPad would qualify as a studio reference monitor."

That is truly amazing. Congrats to the Apple team.

I saw the new iPad today for the first time, at an Apple store. Wow. I will not be able to resist for long. I couldn't tell any difference in weight or size for the iPad 2 (which i use extensively). Sweet Momma!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
188 months ago
It's the same processor, but with more RAM and a better GPU.

Coming from iPad 1, the new iPad floats a Titanic.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
188 months ago
Retina Display FTW, evidently.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)