iPad mini There will be a Mini Retina next year

I think it will be called the iPad Mini 2 with Retina 2 Display. This will make all of the other products with just Retina old and make people go crazy. Then they will update their entire line of retina devices to the Retina 2 display making everyone grip about their Retina 1 displays.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/26/sharp-ships-its-first-igzo-display-phone-on-november-29th/
Sharp ships its first phone with an IGZO display on November 29th, ushers in a low-power LCD era

The gray clouds of Sharp's gloomy earnings are about to get a silver lining: NTT DoCoMo is at last launching Sharp's new flagship phone, the breathlessly worded Aquos Phone Zeta SH-02E, on November 29th. When it arrives, the SH-02E will be its* first smartphone to carry an IGZO-based display and show us just how well the high-brightness, low-energy invention fares in a 4.9-inch, 720p LCD. There's no known fixed pricing, although it's likely the Android 4.0 device will be sitting at the very top of its Japanese carrier's range through its Snapdragon S4 Pro, 16-megapixel camera and LTE data. Not fully convinced of IGZO's worth? Fujitsu's more conventional Arrows V F-04E is arriving a day earlier with a regular LCD and a Tegra 3, although we'd say that it's worth waiting the extra 24 hours to be a technology vanguard.
Update: While the SH-02E was the first phone announced with an IGZO LCD screen, it's been beaten to the market by ASUS' Padfone 2, which is also rocking the new technology.

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Another device with IGZO panel
http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/27/meizu-mx2-launch-china/





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Sharp's first 4K 32-inch IGZO LCD is destined for Japanese workstations

http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/27/sharp-pn-k321-4k-igzo-lcd-monitor/

Abazigal said:

If doubling the ipad mini's resolution is too overkill, I wonder if Apple might buck the trend by going with a 3rd resolution for a future ipad mini?

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Considering the abysmally slow response of developers to update major apps for iPhone 5 compatibility, I would wager not.

gto55 said:

Another device with IGZO panel

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But it has a relatively low res screen and its GPU isn't all that demanding. We also don't know what kind of battery life it gets.

considering anandtech got the iphone 5 specs straight on, i'm going to trust them when they say apple won't be retina-ing the ipad mini anytime soon

people need to keep in mind this is an entry-level device. much like the macbook pro 13" with no dedicated GPU and 1280x800, Apple doesn't buck the trend just because you want more of it. they only improve when the technology catches up

I'll buy it. If not, I'll stick with my retina 4. I just can't go back to non retina.

http://auo.com/?sn=107&lang=en-US&c=10&n=1462

(2012.10.29) AUO is also introducing its ultra-slim high resolution 10-inch panel technology with application to tablets. The IGZO method is adopted to achieve a high resolution of 2560x1600, which delicately demonstrates the fineness and details of the image. With transmittance increased by 12% and thickness of the backlight unit reduced by 60% (as compared to conventional models), the panel is only 1.5mm thick and saves more power. The features herald the trend towards power-saving slim displays with high resolution.

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Apple will likely increase the resolution 1.5x. They will use the same technique found in the rMBP rendering at the higher resolution and scaling down to the actual panel resolution. This will keep the app devs from having to work in multiple resolutions. It will also slightly reduce the power requirements. The ppi required to double the resolution in a 7" tablet will not be available next year in high enough yields.

shortcut3d said:

Apple will likely increase the resolution 1.5x. They will use the same technique found in the rMBP rendering at the higher resolution and scaling down to the actual panel resolution. This will keep the app devs from having to work in multiple resolutions. It will also slightly reduce the power requirements. The ppi required to double the resolution in a 7" tablet will not be available next year in high enough yields.

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Ya makes sense to do this just so we can bring the a6 to its knees and then chop its head off

FrozenDarkness said:

Ya makes sense to do this just so we can bring the a6 to its knees and then chop its head off

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<chortle>

FrozenDarkness said:

It's not just a thought...because apple can't produce magic.

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.......Magic Mouse!

If it does come out soon, I would not know what price wouldn't cannabalize it's big brothers.

FrozenDarkness said:

It's not just a thought with a bajillion of the same topics. Anandtech thinks otherwise because apple can't produce magic. You can't fit in a larger battery, better graphics and a retina in a mini package.

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I don't understand this logic. Apple did not prevent itself from going retina on the iPad 3 even though it would gain some weight. Why would it stop them from doing that to the mini? Besides, the added weight on a device you can comfortably hold with one hand will not have as much impact as a device like an iPad 3 which you cannot comfortably fit in one hand. Because of the size of the iPad 3, the weight distribution when holding at the edge with one hand becomes unbearable after a while. That threshold will not be the same for the mini.

Anti-Lucifer said:

I think apple will continue the blood line as so:

1) Continue selling the mini in 1024x768
2) Have a bad a_s brother called the mini retina and price it more

I am guessing they are doing it to the macbook lineup - there is a regular 13" they are selling, there is a 13" Retina. They didn't discontinue anything. Same for the macbook pro 15".

I believe they are going to go pro with the ipad lineup - the high resolution ipads as the pro models with 100% color gamut like the existing ipad 4.

Just a thought!

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No-one knows at this point whether Apple will overcome the technical hurdles in time to deliver a retina iPad mini next year without sacrificing weight, battery etc. If they can, I'm fairly sure they'd do it rather than sit on it for a further year.

If they don't, its because they can't.

mrkjsn said:

I don't understand this logic. Apple did not prevent itself from going retina on the iPad 3 even though it would gain some weight. Why would it stop them from doing that to the mini? Besides, the added weight on a device you can comfortably hold with one hand will not have as much impact as a device like an iPad 3 which you cannot comfortably fit in one hand. Because of the size of the iPad 3, the weight distribution when holding at the edge with one hand becomes unbearable after a while. That threshold will not be the same for the mini.

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i think you're thinking too easy. The size difference between ipad 2 and ipad 3 is minimal at best, so minimal most ipad 2 cases still fit ipad 3. that same thing probably can't be said if you were to fit an a6x into a ipad mini

that and the fact that the selling point of the ipad mini is its thin design.

FrozenDarkness said:

i think you're thinking too easy. The size difference between ipad 2 and ipad 3 is minimal at best, so minimal most ipad 2 cases still fit ipad 3. that same thing probably can't be said if you were to fit an a6x into a ipad mini

that and the fact that the selling point of the ipad mini is its thin design.

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The selling point of the iPad mini is NOT its thin design. It's the size of the screen itself. The mini could get a bit thicker and I have no problem with that personally. So long as it fits in one hand, I don't think the extra weight will matter much. But hey, it's the engineers job to make it work and so far Apple has a great track record of making it work. When the iPhone came out in retina, all the nay sayers kept saying it would not be possible on an iPad and yet here we are.

mrkjsn said:

The selling point of the iPad mini is NOT its thin design. It's the size of the screen itself. The mini could get a bit thicker and I have no problem with that personally. So long as it fits in one hand, I don't think the extra weight will matter much. But hey, it's the engineers job to make it work and so far Apple has a great track record of making it work. When the iPhone came out in retina, all the nay sayers kept saying it would not be possible on an iPad and yet here we are.

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i don't think there were any naysayers who said it was impossible. and you are perfectly delusional if you don't think the thin design is a huge selling point of the ipad. Keep believing what you believe, nobody is saying retina isn't possible on an ipad mini, what we are saying is you won't see it next year.

mrkjsn said:

The selling point of the iPad mini is NOT its thin design. It's the size of the screen itself. The mini could get a bit thicker and I have no problem with that personally. So long as it fits in one hand, I don't think the extra weight will matter much. But hey, it's the engineers job to make it work and so far Apple has a great track record of making it work. When the iPhone came out in retina, all the nay sayers kept saying it would not be possible on an iPad and yet here we are.

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Sorry but I think you are completely wrong. I bought the mini for low weight and thin design, not the screen size. Everyone I know that has bought it or is interested in it are for the low weight. Nobody mentions the screen size, just how light and thin it is.

bcaslis said:

Sorry but I think you are completely wrong. I bought the mini for low weight and thin design, not the screen size. Everyone I know that has bought it or is interested in it are for the low weight. Nobody mentions the screen size, just how light and thin it is.

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no one is talking about the screen size really? Wow...am I off base then. So the whole spill about fitting in one hand, in your pocket, all of that...doesn't matter to you or those that are interested in it? The main marketable part about the mini is that it is SMALLER than the regular iPad. Apple may very well have scratched the mini idea and focused on making the regular iPad lighter. Don't get me wrong, the fact that it's lighter makes it better. Its thin and light weight design is marketable as well but the whole point of the mini is that it's smaller. Personally, I would sacrifice a little bit of added weight and thickness for retina. But that's just me.

People thinking no one will buy a retina iPad Mini next year because its 30g heavier and 0.8mm thicker is what's delusional.

People who think Apple will fit its design to specs instead of waiting for specs to fit design is truly delusional. be prepared to be disappointed.

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corvus32 said:

People thinking no one will buy a retina iPad Mini next year because its 30g heavier and 0.8mm thicker is what's delusional.

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it won't be 30g heavier and 0.8mm thicker unless these IGZO panels, which sharp isn't producing any 8" ones with retina resolution at an affordable price at this point, completely offsets the necessary battery and heat requirements of adding an A6x vs an A6 chip

and also add maybe 100-200 to the base price.

wait what are you saying it costs the same as the 9" ipad? well i'll be damned.

Ladybug said:

I think the iPad Mini retina will come eventually, just not next year. Perhaps for iPad Mini 3 . Just my best guess.

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I think this is very logical and reasonable thinking (I can't disagree with this at all), but then I start wondering what a gen 2 mini might look like without retina. It has to be major enough to be a worthy and "announce-able" upgrade.

Anyone have any ideas?

I'm hoping for an iPad mini with retina. It would be a bad move by Apple retaining the current price point for a new mini without it.
Its not that the current mini is bad, its just, I've been treated with retina screens the last 8 months.
Also, how much I love my current iPad 3, that form factor on the mini is so good. I've had thoughts about getting a Nexus 7 since summer anyway.

shortcut3d said:

Apple will likely increase the resolution 1.5x. They will use the same technique found in the rMBP rendering at the higher resolution and scaling down to the actual panel resolution. This will keep the app devs from having to work in multiple resolutions. It will also slightly reduce the power requirements. The ppi required to double the resolution in a 7" tablet will not be available next year in high enough yields.

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heh heh, Android has been doing it for ages and didn't they have problem with the app doesn't scale correctly? it is not just a matter of scaling the resolution. Once you scale the image, you still have to worry if the resulting image look good or not e.g. a button is too small, too big. Is there too many white space that the app does not use etc. etc. Every criticism that you heard about Android tablet app will become the problem for the 1.5x resolution Ipad that you championed. When Apple launch Ipad 3, they explained why they picke 2048x1536 resolution. There is an old thread in McRumor that discuss why 2048x1536.. Enjoy it...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1321239/