We haven’t even seen the first retina display iPad yet, but just as Apple’s been baking double-sized assets for an iPad HD into iOS since iOS 4, OS X Lion lays down some groundwork for the first Retina Display iMacs and MacBooks.
Apple’s third-generation iPad could boast a display that goes way beyond full 1080p HD, according to a new report. The Cupertino company is said to be testing 2048×1536 displays from both Samsung and LG that would finally bring a Retina display to its much-loved tablet.
Despite recent claims that Apple will launch an ‘iPad HD’ later this year, any delay could mean that Motorola is the first to launch a high-resolution tablet, with one report maintaining that the company is already testing a prototype device with a 2048×1536 Retina display-like resolution.
In a shootout to determine which tablet has the best display over at DisplayMate, the iPad 2 came out ahead of the Eee Transformer and the Motorola Xoom. No surprises there.
What might be a bigger surprise is that the display experts over at DisplayMate have seriously approached the idea of whether or not the iPad 3 will get a Retina Display and have concluded that it would be nothing more than a marketing stunt… and would actually lower the quality of the iPad’s display while slowing down the hardware.
Evidence within the iOS 5 Beta suggests that Apple’s planning a future iPad with a Retina Display, but before we all get excited and take this as confirmation that the iPad 3 will pack a 2048 x 1536 display, let’s remember that we’ve heard all of this before.
Here we go again. The rumor of a Retina Display iPad 3 to arrive later this year is being dusted off again.
Samsung is preparing to launch a new 10.1-inch display next week which will boast a resolution of 2560 by 1600, making it the first ‘Retina’ display to be announced for tablets. But will it be making its way into the iPad 3?
High resolution artwork discovered in the latest build of Mac OS X Lion has generated rumors that Apple could be planning to bring a Retina display to the Mac. Preview 2 of Lion, which was released in late March, features icons in sizes up to 1024×1024, and a desktop background at a resolution of 3200×3200.
The new Lion wallpaper was discovered at the beginning of April by OSXDaily, and was noted for its ultra-high resolution which no Apple display has ever supported. The new icons – which are double the size of the current 512×512 Mac OS X icons – were discovered over the weekend by MacMagazine.com.br.
Considering there is currently no need for icons or wallpapers of this size, these discoveries would suggest Apple is working on bringing a better display to the Mac. MacRumors notes that Apple has built-in Support for HiDPI display modes in Lion:
Taking cues from iOS, Apple has reportedly built in support for what it calls “HiDPI display modes”. These HiDPI modes allow developers to supply 2x-enlarged images to support double-high resolution displays. Like the iPhone 4’s Retina Display, this means that user interface elements will remain the same size, but everything will be twice the resolution and therefore twice as detailed.
While a Retina display Mac would be pretty neat, I would much prefer one in my iPad first.
Well, this is a heck of a scoop to wake up to on Wednesday morning: 9to5Mac has got its grubby little hands upon what they claim to be the display of the iPad 2’s LCD, fresh off of the assembly lines of China.
After months of warrantless speculation that the iPad 2 would have a Retina Display, sanity seems to finally be sinking in, and even analysts are now beginning to temper their predictions by saying something closer to the truth: while Apple is interested in putting a Retina Display in the iPad, it won’t be coming until at least iPad 3.
According to IDC Analyst Tom Mainelli, Apple’s already working on an iPad with a 2048 x 1536 resolution Retina Display, but it’s not a next-gen device.
“Our sources say Apple has requested that manufacturers begin work on displays with that resolution for the iPad 3,” Maintelli told Digital Arts Online. “[But] “I don’t believe anybody is ready to produce that resolution in volumes at this point. And Apple is going to require huge volumes for the iPad 2.”
The scarcely, randomly reputable boys over at Digitimes are recycling weeks-old rumors by insisting that one of their sources from inside AAPL’s component supply chain says that the iPad 2 will boast a Retina Display.
Well, no, it jolly well won’t. But just in case that doesn’t convince you, how about some extrapolation due Moore’s Law?
Digg co-founder Kevin Rose posted on his blog over the weekend that the iPad 2 is coming as soon as February 1st, and will have a Retina Display. It’s almost enough to make a Mac blogger drown in the same sodium chloride he’s advising his readers to swallow.
Toshiba certainly seems to think their business with Apple is important, judging by the latest news the company is now readying a $1.89 billion production facility to help supply Apple with high-resolution LCD display panels. Re: Retina Displays.
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Sharp has just matched the iPhone 4’s touchscreen pixel for pixel with their new IS03 Phone, but that’s not going to stop Apple from crowing about the Retina Display in their latest ad, highlighting the fact that the world’s “highest-resolution phone screen ever” will make “every freckle, every wrinkle” (and presumably every wart, every melanoma, and every port wine stain) look clearer and more beautiful than ever before.
For extra points, check out those impossibly beautiful Twitter friends the iPhone 4 hand model has. Compared to that, my Twitter friends are a sad collection of hobos.
Yesterday at their annual Nokia World Conference, the beleaguered Finnish cell phone giant, introduced their latest answer to the iPhone, the Nokia E7, prominently boasting a high-quality new ClearBlack Display which they hope will impress users as much as the iPhone 4’s Retina Display. How does it measure up?
Quite well, actually. While the 4-inch, 640×360 ClearBlack Display doesn’t boast the iPhone 4’s pixel density, it does seem more vibrant in color and less cool in tone than the Retina, and a polarizing layer promises to give superior visibility outdoors. Since it is AMOLED, it would also consume significantly less power than the iPhone 4’s display, and theoretically faster response times and wider viewing angles as well. We’d still prefer the clarity of a Retina Display, but we’ve got to admit, we’re impressed.
Of course, Nokia’s ability to put together some decent hardware isn’t in doubt. Where they’ve been falling all over themselves in the last few years is in software, having yet to put together a credible challenger to Apple’s amazing success with iOS. Until they manage that, Nokia will continue to founder no matter how innovative the hardware of their phones.
The much anticipated Archetype first-person shooter has hit the US App Store today and claims to deliver a “high quality console-style FPS experience on iPhone or iPod Touch.”
First launched in the Czech Republican App Store, Archetype, for just $2.99, offers 3 game modes; Training, Challenge and 5-on-5 Team Deathmatch over Wi-Fi, 3G and even EDGE. With 5 maps to choose from a variety of weapons, Archetype seems a must for any online FPS fan.
Features include a precise dual joystick-style control system, the ability to rank up by earning experience points, an offline tutorial mode and the opportunity to add friends and challenge them in team deathmatch.
Developers, Villain, have also optimized Archetype for the iPhone 4’s retina display by offering high-resolution graphics that provide fantastic looking weapons and textures, and, they claim, “headshots never looked so good!”
Get your hands on Archetype in the App Store here and let us know what you think!
