TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Earlier this month, I responded to a post by Ben Brooks where he argues that retina displays do indeed significantly change the usability of devices. I argued that while retina displays certainly do make for a better device (reading especially), the contribution it makes doesn’t substantially change the device’s functionality. To illustrate that point, I explained that although I would prefer a retina iPad Mini, the iPad Mini’s smaller size and weight has dramatically changed the usability of the iPad for me. The lack of a retina display hasn’t reduced the iPad Mini’s usefulness; despite the non-retina screen, the iPad Mini is more useful for reading than the full-sized, retina-equipped iPad.

Ben responded to my post:

This is missing the point.

…

The argument isn’t: which is more useful iPad with retina display, or iPad mini. The argument is that retina displays, by themselves, are not a disruptive technology — a notion which I firmly call bullshit on.

Ben, I’m afraid, is missing the point. Ben stated in his original post that “Retina displays, on any device, absolutely change the usability of the device,” and “If you even once find yourself saying: ‘after using technology X, you can’t go back to technology W’ — then you sir have just found a feature that is fundamentally important.”

Ben appears to think that I’m simply arguing that an iPad Mini is more useful than a full-sized retina iPad. That’s true, but that wasn’t what I argued; rather, I was showing that (for me!) the retina display is absolutely something I can live without, and that it did not “absolutely change” the usability of the device. That the iPad Mini—a device with a visibly inferior screen to the iPad 3 or iPad 4—is more usable than its larger sibling puts that into dramatic relief. If the retina screen is such a boon for usability, that wouldn’t be the case. I would have begun using it again for the more usable screen. But my iPad 3 has sat around since the Mini arrived going unused, despite its beautiful screen.

For Ben, though, I’m sure the retina screen is that big of a difference. After seeing a retina display, with its incredibly sharp text and beautiful colors, he can’t stand the thought of going back to a non-retina display. For Ben, there is no going back. And that makes sense—they’re beautiful screens. But that’s part of the point, too: that simply isn’t true for everyone. It isn’t true for me, someone who absolutely loves retina screens, and it isn’t true for many of the people purchasing an iPad Mini rather than its larger sibling. I expected to hate the iPad Mini’s screen. I was wrong.

There’s no doubt that retina displays will replace all non-retina displays going forward, and I am happy for it. No doubt, because they’re simply superior. But it’s also true that they haven’t fundamentally changed our devices’ usability, as Ben originally argued.