New iPad Color Quality Consumes 30% More Power

According to a study released this week, the technology behind the vibrant colors of the new iPad's gorgeous Retina display contributes to a 20 to 30 percent increase in power consumption. It's no surprise that the higher-resolution Retina display would be more power hungry, but it's interesting to note that a portion of that may be attributed to the improved color quality.

Performed by Dot Color, the study reveals that Apple needed to use more advanced filters on the new iPad in order to attain what the company claims to be a 44 percent improvement in color saturation. Better color filters means less light leakage, such as when blue light is needed to make an image, less green light leaks along with the blue.

However, the improved color filters also means that less light is let through, which forces Apple to increase the output of the new iPad's backlight LEDs. This is needed in order to maintain the same level of brightness as the displays on previous iPad models. It's one of those small details that adds to a richer user experience, but it alone causes 20-30 percent more power consumption.

[via AppleInsider]