Why Now Isn’t the Best Time to Buy an IPad Mini
The iPad mini is a completely different level among Apple tablets. It’s too small to replace a laptop for most users, and it’s probably not the first choice for most artists as a digital drawing device. Instead, it’s an iPad for maximum portability, allowing you to switch between e-books and Netflix before tucking it into your jacket pocket. It’s the closest Apple device to a phablet, especially when paired with the Apple Pencil. Simply put, it’s arguably the most fun Apple device ever. Still, it’s not worth buying—at least not right now.
The fact is, on Thursday, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple is preparing to release an iPad mini with an OLED display, possibly as early as October of this year. This will be Apple’s first mini tablet equipped with this display technology and the second iPad with such a display after the iPad Pro. If you’re interested in the OLED display in the iPad mini, this is great news. If not, you may be wondering why you should care. Frankly, I don’t think you should buy an iPad mini with an OLED display if you don’t want it. I just think all potential iPad mini buyers should wait until it comes out.
Why is an OLED screen important in an iPad?
OLED is a unique display technology. In the traditional LCD displays of the modern iPad mini, a single backlight illuminates all the pixels on the screen. While the backlight can dim, it’s always on while you’re using the iPad, so when viewing dark images or videos, you’ll see a gray color. The image may look great, but the effect will be noticeable, especially when viewing content in a dark room.
Unlike an LCD display, the pixels in an OLED screen are individually backlit. This not only gives you much greater control over the brightness of different areas of the screen, but also allows pixels to be turned off. When viewing dark scenes, some pixels may turn off completely, and you’ll see only black, providing much greater contrast than an LCD display.
OLED isn’t the only display technology capable of achieving this effect. The iPad mini would also benefit from the mini-LED displays found in the MacBook Pro and previous iPad Pro models, which feature multiple “dimming zones” instead of a single, solid backlight. Like OLED, mini-LED can make dark images truly black, but with less precision, as it still can’t turn off individual pixels. Personally, I’m glad Apple appears to be opting for OLED over mini-LED.
Should we expect an iPad mini with an OLED screen?
The short answer? Yes, and not just because I think everyone will want an iPad mini with an OLED display. There are certainly users who have been waiting for an iPad mini with an OLED display, so for them, the wait is definitely worth it. But I know that many people don’t care all that much about the display technology in their iPad or the ability to turn off individual pixels in their mini.
If this applies to you, it’s still worth waiting for the iPad mini with an OLED display, as it likely means lower prices on older models. Apple will likely discontinue the current iPad mini in favor of the new OLED model, but other retailers like Amazon and Best Buy will likely sell you the older models they have in stock. And since they’re now “obsolete,” hopefully they’ll be cheaper than they are now.
Of course, there are no guarantees. Apple’s iPad mini with an OLED display will likely be more expensive than current models, both due to improved display technology and the general memory crisis that makes all devices more expensive . Retailers may use the OLED mini’s higher MSRP as an excuse to keep the current mini’s price the same. However, I remain optimistic that this won’t happen: I think most buyers will be looking for the latest iPad mini, and therefore Amazon and Best Buy may benefit from lowering prices on older models to clear out excess inventory.
We won’t know how retailers will react until Apple actually unveils the OLED iPad mini. However, October is just around the corner, so I’d advise you to wait. At worst, you’ll be choosing between the iPad mini you’d buy today or a slightly more expensive model with a much better display.