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ValO

macrumors 68000
Sep 16, 2012
1,747
687
Think about this:

Ipad 5:

Ipad mini form factor, perhaps a slightly larger screen because of smaller bezels and a 3072x2304 res (3x 1024/768).

I think the ipad 5 could have a 10+ " inch screen, with the same footprint as the ipad 4, because of the smaller bezels.

Ipad mini 2:

Form factor remains and a 1536x1152 res. ( 1.5 x 1024x768, regular ipad res and 0.5x3072x2304, ipad 5 res.)

This could be the next step, it would keep compatibity between the different resolutions and won' t be too hard for app developers .
 

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
24,084
31,015
For those of you getting pissy about apple and it's typical way of doing things relax. We all know they screw us with their updates yet we keep coming back for more so why should they stop? I picked up a mini on day one and I'll pick up a retina mini when it comes out and so forth and so on.

If people keep waiting for better technology they'll never buy anything. It seems pretty obvious that the overriding goal with the mini was super thin and light and amazing battery life. If they could have accomplished all that (and kept the same price points) with a retina display they would have. I don't think Apple cares about cannibalization. Plus it's very possible they would be/are selling even more iPads because of the form factor. I think once the mini gets retina it could end up being Apple's best selling iPad. What I'm waiting for is the 9.7" iPad in the mini's form factor. The minute that seems a sure thing I'm selling my 3rd gen. :)
 

irnchriz

macrumors 65816
May 2, 2005
1,034
2
Scotland
Foolish? Please. The retina display is horrible for battery life. On top of that the battery is gigantic and takes forever to charge when compared to 2 and mini. I had an iPad 3. Went back to 2 because for long plane rides the battery was MUCH better.

The 3 is better for looking at pictures (which I do maybe .5% of the time I'm using it, if that) or staring at the higher res icons....I guess.

What a lot of utter tosh. You have clearly not owned a retina iPad. The battery life is the same as the iPad 2 not shorter by any stretch of the imagination. The only point you have made which is correct is that it takes 2 hours longer to fully recharge a retina iPad over the iPad 2.

The retina display makes anything with text or images look FAR superior to the fuzzy display of the iPad 2 and to a lesser extent the iPad mini.

If Apple were to move to retina class display for the mini the move to IGZO displays and A6 APU would reduce the battery load so that the battery would not be significantly larger/heavier.

Oh my god, imagine having to go back to a low res screen after using a retina one for years, that is a truly unthinkable prospect. I pity you and your poor eyeballs
 

Jimrod

macrumors 65816
Jun 24, 2010
1,199
659
What a lot of utter tosh. You have clearly not owned a retina iPad. The battery life is the same as the iPad 2 not shorter by any stretch of the imagination. The only point you have made which is correct is that it takes 2 hours longer to fully recharge a retina iPad over the iPad 2.

The retina display makes anything with text or images look FAR superior to the fuzzy display of the iPad 2 and to a lesser extent the iPad mini.

If Apple were to move to retina class display for the mini the move to IGZO displays and A6 APU would reduce the battery load so that the battery would not be significantly larger/heavier.

Oh my god, imagine having to go back to a low res screen after using a retina one for years, that is a truly unthinkable prospect. I pity you and your poor eyeballs

I'd just prefer it if all these new Apple products (such as the iPhone 5 and from what I've heard many retina iPads) didn't have a green tint. My iPad 2 has a great colour balance but all the new stuff makes people look sickly. (it's a primarily green shift with a little extra blue as well - it's not "Warmer" as people keep saying) - if Apple won't let us alter the colour balance I'd take lower res and natural over green tinged and "HD" any day.
 

Thunderhawks

Suspended
Feb 17, 2009
4,057
2,118
Why are these rumors coming out now already? Way to put a damper on those holiday sales.

Launched by Samsung and M$

Still shaking my head.

Imagine that, a Retina display for the iPad mini.
What will they think of next!

Apple never seizes to amaze. Wow.
 

Digital Skunk

macrumors G3
Dec 23, 2006
8,096
916
In my imagination
A lack of one still hasn't bothered me. If anything it's better w/o one since it doesn't drain a gigantic battery which would take an eternity to charge. A la iPad 3/4

That and the idea of having a heavier iPad mini which I would buy because its main benefit over the full sized is its weight just nixes it for me.

Retina would be welcomed, but not at the expense of weight and size.
 

dugbug

macrumors 68000
Aug 23, 2008
1,864
1,926
Somewhere in Florida
Anandtech article (linked in the macrumors article OP) has the best reasoning for why the next ipad mini won't go retina.

Some of their logic surrounds an assumption that the pixel dimensions must remain identical to that of the ipad 3/4 to retain software compatability. This then drives their argument about battery life vs weight/size.

Im not so sure about that. Apple may retain the aspect ratio but chose a more reasonable resolution (given its smaller physical size and the retina 'rules of engagement' with distance to face) and iOS could use the standard @2x artwork we embed in our apps (the retina-resoultion versions of the artwork).

This would require the r-mini to scale the artwork down but our apps would work without modification but with less pixels to push around and (presumably) the updated GPUs this may be in the noise.

Thoughts?
 

JHankwitz

macrumors 68000
Oct 31, 2005
1,911
58
Wisconsin
apple marketing and businesses strategy at its finest.

(revision A) introduce a "revolutionary" new iPad mini and let people rave about it while omitting a screen that should have been standard

(revision B) announce a beautiful and even better than before iPad mini with a gorgeous retina high resolution display that is genius engineering ...which should have been on revA

So, you're saying that Apple shouldn't have released the iPad mini until they could economically produce a retina display for it? If they had to wait for the next technological breakthrough for every release, nothing would ever get released.
 

sinser

macrumors 6502a
Sep 16, 2003
549
0
I would rather have a better iPad 5 with the same bezel as the Mini .

TOO MUCH BEZEL !

Am I right ? Or am I right ?

Please, no! The ultra thin bezel is exactly the reason why I don't like the iPad
mini.

----------

I don't think so ... I'll stick with a 9.7" tablet because I need a larger screen than a 7".

Same here. I love reading comics on my iPad 3, and the mini is too small for that.
 

smiddlehurst

macrumors 65816
Jun 5, 2007
1,228
30
apple marketing and businesses strategy at its finest.

(revision A) introduce a "revolutionary" new iPad mini and let people rave about it while omitting a screen that should have been standard

(revision B) announce a beautiful and even better than before iPad mini with a gorgeous retina high resolution display that is genius engineering ...which should have been on revA

Internet Logic at its finest. Complain about feature(s) introduced in revision B that should have been in revision A despite the technology not being available in suitable quantities when revision A was introduced.

I know I've said this a lot on here, sorry, but those complaining about a Mini not having a Retina display here and now seem to be ignoring the realities of the situation. A retina display would have the same number of pixels as the iPad (assuming Apple doesn't add another resolution to the mix which seems unlikely) and therefore needs virtually the same components. Please, someone, explain how with current technology you fit the 7.9" equivalent screen to the iPad, an A6X processor and a >40wH battery into the current iPad Mini form factor... Oh, and introduce it at the same price points without completely destroying profit margins.
 

malnar

macrumors 6502a
Aug 20, 2008
634
60
Well, look at it this way. Apple has already developed all the primary components for the iPad mini, it just has to finesse everything for that particular model. Everything a retina mini would get exists now, in other words. So the iPad mini we currently have gets the model into the market at a price that isn't particularly great, but it sets the bar for future models. So next year, Apple upgrades it with the retina screen at the current $329 and the current mini becomes the "introductory model" with a suitably reduced price, say, $199.

Then Apple has a pretty killer lineup of iPads, does it not? Cheap model to combat Google and Amazon at $199 (despite the screen resolution - people buy it because of the apps, basically) and the premium retina screen mini at $329, then the "intro model" 9.7" iPad at $399 and next year's new iPad at $499. I don't like the pricing of the mini now, but I see where they're going with this now that I've thought about it some.
 

jim0266

macrumors member
Jun 17, 2009
53
25
Retina in Touch, but not in mini?

If I can have a retina display in my iPod Touch why, can't I get one in the iPad mini?
 

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
What a lot of utter tosh. You have clearly not owned a retina iPad. The battery life is the same as the iPad 2 not shorter by any stretch of the imagination. The only point you have made which is correct is that it takes 2 hours longer to fully recharge a retina iPad over the iPad 2.

And the reason for that is that the Retina iPad has a battery that is twice the size of the iPad 2 battery. An iPad 2 with the same battery would last twice as long. It doesn't come for free. And in the iPad Mini, where weight is very important, cost is very important, and the doubled resolution matters a lot less because the resolution is higher anyway, the result is just unacceptable.
 

KdParker

macrumors 601
Oct 1, 2010
4,793
998
Everywhere
I love how quickly everyone is on to the next version. 2 months....and speculation about what the next release will be....:)
 

the8thark

macrumors 601
Apr 18, 2011
4,628
1,735
Is current gen battery tech up to an iPad sized mini battery doing retina and having 8-10 hours life? And also being light?

I don't think so. I do wish it was though.
Also profit margins are low in the Mini supposedly. Maybe Apple at the moment can't justify the cost if it was even possible.
 

theyooper

macrumors newbie
Jul 4, 2012
27
0
2393597-453px-you_dont_say-png.20185
 

Scarpad

macrumors 68020
Jan 13, 2005
2,135
632
Ma
A lack of one still hasn't bothered me. If anything it's better w/o one since it doesn't drain a gigantic battery which would take an eternity to charge. A la iPad 3/4

Thats really true I'm amazed about how much time I get out of the Mini, reading, watching vids, etc I've been charging it every 3 days or so, and when I do it charges in no time, My Ipad 3 when I had it took about 8 hours to charge. I'll probably wait a bit to get retina till I hear reports on the battery, it'll be interesting how they might squeeze in a bigger battery and make it the same size
 
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