Apple's engineering design executive, David Pakula, defended the company's decision not to equip the new iPad mini with a screen supporting a 120Hz refresh rate, known as ProMotion technology, despite upgrading the screen to OLED technology.
In an interview with podcaster Christopher Lawley, Pakula explained that the screen experience does not stop at a single record number. He emphasized that the new OLED screen features a pixel response speed exceeding traditional LCD screens by more than ten times, which contributes to making motion noticeably smoother and reduces motion blur compared to the previous generation.
Specifications of the new iPad mini screen
Alongside response speed, the Apple executive pointed out that the new screen offers clear improvements in brightness, contrast, and color levels. The maximum screen brightness reaches 600 nits for regular content compared to 500 nits in the previous version, while rising to 1200 nits when playing High Dynamic Range (HDR) content.
OLED technology benefits from the absence of a backlight, as individual pixels are completely turned off to display true black, giving the screen a contrast ratio of up to 2,000,000:1, while maintaining a density of 326 pixels per inch and supporting P3 wide color.
What changes practically for users?
Despite the justifications provided by Apple regarding the improved pixel response time, the new iPad mini lacks the feature of automatic refresh rate adjustment between 10Hz and 120Hz via ProMotion technology, leaving this feature currently limited to the iPad Pro family of devices. The device's price in the US market starts at $699 with pre-orders open, and official shipping begins on November 6th.