Gizmodo
The iPhone and iPod touch are presumed to have the same screen quality. But they don't, according to some testing and reader feedback we did today. The iPod touch's screen turns black areas somewhat grayish, washed out shadow detail, with absolute blacks appearing shimmery. (The top image is the touch. Look at the girl's hair.) I was going to do some more testing tomorrow to verify with another iPod, but I just got an email from a reader complaining his touch's screen "Looks like a negative" in the dark areas. This is exactly what we're seeing. Here's more proof:
We took these photos with auto-brightness off, both devices set to 50% brightness. Symptoms occur on the touch regardless of brightness level. Here is a case of varying screen qualities, despite them being spec'd the same. Of course, when you watch a video of our second test iPod below, you can't really notice it. We'll be using a third sometime soon to confirm whether or not its only a case in some shipping units. More to come, but for now, I think our verdict is that the screen on the touch is not as nice.
Update: We've tested four different units now (in both SF and NY) and they've all had the same problem.
Comments
It's the same screen, isn't it? What the hell is looking thru a compressed web clip supposed to show?
He should've said "Whoa!" when he fell...
i think you guys are fanboys...shit.
Are you kidding? The ipod touch is WAY better. Did you rub Vaseline all over the iphone's screen? Or peanut butter maybe? I couldn't even see. The iPod was clear as crystal though.
WTF?
I'm with FLSD. Why would anyone expect there to be any difference?
If either was noticeably different I imagine it would create large waves of disapproval.
Anyone else seeing the Audi advertisement that spazzes out all over your screen if you accidentally mouse over it? I mean, Jesus...
I saw both side by side today and can say without bias that the Ipod Touch does beat the iphone by a little bit... but they are both far superior then most any oth MP4 out there.
@cmoody17: What?? They're almost identical, and I would say the iPhone wins by a hair. The iPod Touch looked a little more grainy and not as bright.
i can see a slight difference in hue between the two. the ipod video seems more green. also, the ipod looks slightly washed out.
don't know, just in case, i'll take both :p
It looks like the body hits the windshield on the iPhone first. Doesn't this suggest that the iPhone has greater mass (which we already knew from the specs) or that there is a thicker atmosphere (and therefore more resistance in the form of friction) inside the iPod Touch?
early iphones use series 5 screens(the one without the polka dot screen), i'm pretty sure the touch uses series 7 screens, if you know what i'm talking about,, my 5-series iphone pwns touch ftw!!!
I think that this proves that the ipod touch does not have built in speakers, because unless it was on mute, the two were delayed about 1 second, therefore we would be hearing dual audio that's 1 second apart.
If there is any different, I REALY doubt we could tell through a VIDEO, even more a low res hightly compressed video...
So I'll believe the words of people who have saw both for real ;)
Anyway, this doesn't matter. I mean, if they were a real difference, maybe it would matter, but if the difference is slight, then I don't see anyone who wants an iPhone getting an iPod touch instead... no way it's gona make any call!
And someone that don't want an iPhone would probably spend the extra 100$ to have 16go in their iPod instead of having useless GSM and camera features, just for the fun to have a bigger device! (not to mention the fact they would have to fake-activated it and unlock it)
Actually, there IS a difference. Even the PC Mag reviewer picked up on this. He said that the Touch is better looking due to richer colors. By the looks of this shabby video I say he's right.
From what I saw, there seems to be absolutely no difference between the video play back in the iPod Touch and the iPhone. I ordered an iPod Touch yesterday online and I hope it's quality is as good as the iPhone's.
Hrm...I definitely think that the iTouch (myself HAHAH!) has better video, but as mentioned, it really is hard to tell through a video. But even with that, you can tell the difference. It's kind of like when the news showed a Hi-Def TV versus regular on...you guessed it! Television!
The iPod Touch footage is about a second late. Obviously the iPhone is the one to buy if you want your videos to be on time.
:-P
I think they look the same. I also think it is dumb to really compare the two. If you want a phone get iPhone. If you want an mp3 player with a browser get iPod Touch. If your debate over which one to get is down to which screen looks better even though they are pretty much identical, don't get either because you are too picky.
am i the only one who doesn't see any video at all? where is it? I see the text and nothing and then the comments. What's the deal!?
vids are 'cool' and all, but for those of us who are on the road, hate waiting for vid downloads, detest vid feeds, are too impatient to wait...
How about a freakin TEXT version.
i hate video anything, when it's just a lame replacement for decent prose...
thanks, and you're welcome.
"She served none but herself, drinking the blood of Elves and Men, bloated and grown fat with endless brooding on her feasts, weaving webs of shadow; for all living things were her food, and her vomit darkness."
@magic_minox: ...They were started at different times...
@danielsmi: Haha, I see it. Bummer.
Oh for Christ's sake, WHO CARES!!! What a stupid piece of non-review. I swear, this site is more and more irrelevant as the days go on. Just start calling it "Applemodo"
@FLskydiver:
Amen to that.
This seems less like a comparison piece and more like a "lookie lookie, we have a Touch" piece.
This is probably the lamest thing I've ever seen on Giz.
Mangaguru, I think we've done lamer things. But this is definitely a low point in your commenting career.
@chinook11: You nailed it...talking about comparing video quality of 2 tiny ass screens is really quite pointless. The screens are good on either and really, why would anyone compare the two? Someone in the market for a touch isn't in the market for the phone, and vice versa. So why compare them other than to have yet another apple post?
[www.youtube.com]
The highly-compressed video clip doesn't clarify the situation. To more properly compare the two devices, you need to upload and link to a high-quality clip for downloading.
Gizmodo blogers own Iphones so they want them to be better then the ipod touch witch they wont go get sence they have an iphone
This is an outrage! Give me $100!
Gizmodo blogers own iphones so they want them to be better then the ipod touch
give the above link by me a shot. It's a video that would look good on an iDrone. Or at the very least, it's the best-looking sci-fi western musical on an iAnything.
and p.s., what better video to show than the very first motion film ever captured, supplemented by fantastic lyrics?
this is a different link.
[www.youtube.com]
Errrrmm .. shouldn't the iPod Touch and the iPhone be oriented the same way (see the Home buttons), cos LCD screens do show noticeable color shifts when viewed at a non-optimal angle.
From the pics, it seems that the iPod touch and iPhone are oriented 180-degrees off each other.
I don't have an iphone to compare, but I'm seeing the poor reproduction in dark areas on my ipod touch. You have to really fiddle with the viewing angle to see the video correctly.
Is there any kind of contrast adjustment on this thing?
The pictures obviously show a very crap repro of the grey bars.
Being out of the current iPhone market, too poor to import one, but still a total fanboy... the Touch was going to be the first touch screen Apple device i'd be easily able to own.
But this looks like it totally blows. Do you notice a difference in CoverFlow or the interface? Is it just video?
This is weird. I just read a review that said the exact opposite - that the iTouch's screen was BETTER than the iPhone's.
Maybe it varies from unit to unit. Who knows?
C'mon. Image quality on these devices is VERY dependent on angles - viewing angle and the angle at which the ambient light sources are reflected on the screen. How about the really important sutff -- has anyone tried swapping the 16gig flash drive from the touch into the iPhone? Inquiring minds wanna know....
Ok. I can't tell any difference in the quality of the video at all. What I can tell is that there is a red, flower, mushroom pod type thingy in the lower left of the still shot ( top of page ) of the iphone that is virtually absent from the screen of the touch!
this is definitely a widespread problem and is being reported on various forums. i have an ipod touch in hand and the blacks are horrible. i'm hoping apple sorts this out so i can exchange mine..
by the way.. what's up with gizmodo's servers right now?
Did I miss something? Has the Touch begun shipping already?
@LastVigilante: yes, they've begun to show up at apple stores. i was able to pick one up last night and i'm getting the same issue reported by gizmodo.. online pre-orders are shipping very soon..
BAH YOU GIZMODO GUYS ARE STOOOPID!
LCD screens have a problem with viewing areas. The orientation of the hardware must match with the software, or else you'll see negative images.
The iPhone and the iPod Touch both have the same 3.5 inch screen. They're both installed in the same orientation.
Unfortunately, Apple's OS isn't. The iPhone and the iPod Touch have their screens flipped on the software side and that puts the Touch user at a disadvantage.
RESOLUTION: Turn the iPod Touch in the same hardware orientation as the iPhone and view movies upside down. NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE!
Where's my previous comment?
@ninjatales: That would be nice, but I don't know where you're getting your information from. It makes no difference to me whether or not I watch my videos upside down on the touch. Blacks look horrendous either way.
@kidwei: Excellent, I'm surprised that these articles weren't preceded by the announcment that "Hey, iPod touches are in some Apple Stores!" Not even the Apple Store Online "Expert" I just chatted with knows about this.
I'll probably have to wait a bit longer to get mine from Amazon, but that's what I get for wanting to save on sales tax.
I picked up an 8GB iPod Touch today (I canceled my pre-order), and I gotta say just first impressions:
1. it's freakishly thing
2. the shiny aluminum back was a stupid idea, it's smudged to hell after 30 seconds of use.
3. the screen looks pretty nice, but as Giz says, not quite as nice as the iPhone's screen.
4. the headphone jack is not recessed
5. No dock is included, just the little adapter part (and the sync cable). Not a big deal, but kind of annoying
6. No cases are currently available for the iPod Touch just yet...the guy at the store said "soon".
I guess I will wait for version 2 of the Touch when they use the same supplier for the screens.
Uhm, are we sure this isn't just a case of the contrast setting differing?
Nobody is seeing the BIG PICTURE!!!! Look at the ipod touch at the left of the on screen buttons. Now look at the iphone on the left side of the controls. Were is the umbrella drink in the ipod touch? it's obviously there on the Iphone. the time is the same. what are they hiding.
Anyone who owns an iPhone or has looked at its screen for any length of time will be immediately unimpressed by the screen on the Touch. This is not subjective, it is an obvious difference, one which is not sufficiently demonstrated here.
I don't know, I've seen too many discussions on this topic and too many examples to think it's a non-existent flaw or isolated to just a handful of ipod touches. You have this thread over on the Apple Forums with many ipod touch users citing the issue and providing examples. You have another person comparing the same video file on his new ipod touch to his new ipod nano and the difference is obvious on the dark areas of the video. Then you have this page showing a clear comparison between an iPhone and an ipod touch with the same video clip. Even staff at Apple Stores are agreeing there is an issue and letting people exchange their ipod touches, but many of the exchanged touches are also showing the same problem.
@ninjatales: You called me stupid and then asked me to watch movies upside down.
@Brian Lam: My bad. I'm eating my words. But before I'd posted, nobody had mentioned trying it out by reorienting the Touch.
There's still a chance I could be right. How do the colors look when you hold it upright?
This orientation issue lies with every cellphone lcd - from Motorolas (usually set it wrong) to Nokias and Samsungs.
does this quality issue have anything to do with that negative black issue detailed here [personafile.com] and elsewhere?
I realize this thread is pretty dead at the moment, but I just wanted to note that I have a 9C737 Touch that I got from Amazon, which arrived with the 1.1.1 update pre-installed, and, while not as bad as some images I've seen, it still exhibited slight "negative black" issue with video and pictures.
I contacted Amazon about it, and they seem to be aware of the issue and they shipped me a replacement no-questions-asked with free return shipping for the defective unit. I just received my replacement, which is a 1A740 serial number with Macy Gray box, and the issue is definitely resolved. The color balance is also improved on the new unit, as now I notice the defective unit had a slight green cast over everything in addition to the negative black effect.
Here's to hoping everyone with a defective unit got a proper replacement, and all future models are defect f