We all can’t wait to get our hands on a Retina display-equipped iPad in the coming weeks, and many developers are starting to get their current iPad apps ready for the rumored 2048×1536 resolution.
One developer in particular decided to share and compare Retina display screenshots of his iPad game. The differences between the new and current resolution are pretty stunning.
Kevin Ng, developer of an upcoming iOS game called Food Run, designed his app’s graphics using vectors rather than bitmaps, allowing him to scale them to any resolution without pixelation. He decided to see what Food Run would like at 2048×1536 next to the current resolution. The level of detail that can be viewed when zoomed in at the higher resolution is astonishing:
You can check out the full version of the 1024×768 screenshot and the 2048×1536 version. The files are too large to embed here.
Kevin explains the technical magnifications of a Retina display-equipped iPad from a design perspective:
Four times as many pixels means four times as much video memory, and much larger assets. Bearing in mind that the 20MB mobile network download size for apps is already claustrophobia inducing, supporting Retina on iPad 3 whilst respecting the limit would be very hard. So if we do see a Retina iPad 3, expect to see that 20MB limit raised, even if only for iPad / universal apps.
With four times the pixels, the graphics card powering the iPad will need four times the fill-rate. That is, it will need to draw four times as many pixels per second. However, jumps of this magnitude between generations are not uncommon these days. With the graphics card, it is the expensive fast graphics RAM required which may prove to be the limiting factor.
The Next Web has also raised the question of how Retina iPad apps will get past the 20MB limit carriers enforce for App Store downloads. Universal apps containing Retina iPhone and iPad versions would sit at an upwards of 35MB. Carrier restrictions could lead to many developers splitting their universal apps into iPhone-only and iPad-only versions.
Regardless of how Retina iPad apps affect the App Store, one thing is certain: they look great!
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
15 responses to “What An iOS Game Looks Like On The iPad 3’s Retina Display”
looks great but…. developers have the option of using itÂ
they can use it or expect there apps to look like shit on the iPad 3 which will lead so less downloads and less profit if there charging for the app…..Â
developers are lazy. they don’t even want to update their iPhone apps to retina display no matter how much success they gained.
Apple is going to force rival tablet makers into bankruptcy using its economies of scale. Of course, if most consumers aren’t interested in a Retina-grade display then it’s not of much importance for other tablet makers to follow suit. I think vendors like Dell or H-P trying to match Apple are going to have a hard time. I believe Windows 8 will likely have higher hardware requirements than iOS devices running on ARM. I’m just making my own assumption by thinking that Windows 8 would have a lot more code needed to be loaded and processed than compact iOS. Maybe it doesn’t work that way in reality, though.
This is a huge mistake in my opinion. Seriously , do we need and iPad screen that looks better than the current one? Given that the current screen is already beautiful enough and in HD?
Think about it, what do you want? Even BETTER screen or:
-Bigger storage memory
-thinner iPad
-faster processor
-more RAM
-more powerful graphics card/processor/whatever ?
should we give all that just to have the pixels multiplied into larger size that you have to squint to realize it and will get bigger downloads which will clog out limited bandwidth internet connections?
Well, nobody knows for sure if the storage will be expanded or not, but looking back at the evolution of the iPhone 4 -> iPhone 4S they added a 64gb version, without tampering with the exterior design. The processor will most definitely be faster (A5X), probably the RAM as well. The graphics card _needs_ to be more powerful to be able to run the new Retina display. As far as thickness goes of the new iPad the rumor mill says it will get 1mm thicker. Not such a bad compromise considering we’re looking at all the above mentioned upgrades. I don’t know about you but if I can get a Retina display and a spec-upgrade on my iPad, I’m all for it..
I agree!
that 20MB limit is only for downloading via 3g. on wifi you can do whatever. Which is why you can download something like a digital textbook that weighs in at 1GB straight to your iPad.Â
Dell is already preparing for the worst by redefining themselves as an IT services company. No reason to believe HP won’t follow suit someday if things progress they way they have been.
I’m excited for what Win8 will bring to the industry but Microsoft’s up-in-the-air approach about WOA tablets and missing basic operations like copy + paste — on the Metro side — in the beta preview has me worried that MS is biting off more than they can chew.
I read a great many books on my iPad, and high resolution text would be wonderful for reducing eye fatigue. Â
true, or why would they update it as long as the games works perfectly!
Vector graphics are long overdue! Â That way, Apple could scale up its screens without the pixellation that occurred (the 2x mode for iPhone apps on the first iPad).
OTOH, it sounds as if that will take enormous more horsepower, more data throughput needed, and more RAM in play– and all CPU activity will put a strain on battery life!
I’m with an earlier poster. Â I’d much rather have other things– especially a revamped, more customizable iOS (such things as a tabbed home page, user-defined keyboards, status bar settings options–hide/show, what to put there, color themes, multi-app refreshes of news, data, etc. without having to launch each individual app manually, etc.) Â But, I suppose, it’s not either-or… higher resolution display, faster processor, and iOS and app improvements!
Oh, and I should add… pretty cool that this developer did this! Â while I have no interest in zooming in so much on a game piece or icon, it nevertheless was quite telling.
Honestly, yes. The current ipad looks terrible coming from the 4S’s Retina display. It reminds me of the huge blocky pixels on my old Gameboy Color.
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