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Microsoft Also Preparing for Desktop/Laptop Retina Displays

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macrumors bot
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Apr 12, 2001
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During a BUILD 2011 presentation, Microsoft told Windows 8 developers to plan their artwork for High DPI (dot per inch) monitors with varying artwork sizes. In particular, they mentioned Retina-class desktop and laptop monitors. @Stroughtonsmith tweeted from the talk which is not yet online:

retina.png

We'd previously reported that Apple had also been planning for ultra high resolution Retina displays in Mac OS X Lion. These ultra-high resolution displays would increase the number of pixels per inch found on both laptop and desktop displays.

There's been some doubts about when such displays will become commercially available, but it seems both Apple and Microsoft have built in support for it in their latest operating systems. Microsoft seems to indicate that they will be available within the next couple of years.

Article Link: Microsoft Also Preparing for Desktop/Laptop Retina Displays
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/13/microsoft-also-preparing-for-desktoplaptop-retina-displays/
wikus

wikus

macrumors 68000
Jun 1, 2011
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Planet earth.
Apple first needs to give its customer REAL choice in video cards. Their current offerings are crap. A mobile graphics card in the iMac? Are you kidding me?

These high res screens will put a dent in performance, thats for sure.
 
840quadra

840quadra

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It is cool to see more people pushing for higher levels of definition within the OS itself. I could see (no pun intended) this being huge on screens larger than an iPhone or iPad.

I doubt they would be called "Retna", but I think it was used to help quickly define what they were talking about on a short Twitter post.
 
aarond12

aarond12

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applefan289 said:
I can't see these displays becoming mainstream until at least 2-3 years from now.
Click to expand...
If they arrive earlier, Lion is ready for it. The pixel doubled resolutions are in place. While not very impressive on my 1600x1200 monitor (800x600 doubled resolution) or 1920x1080 second monitor (960x540 doubled resolution), they would look tasty on a 3840x2160 monitor!
 
Y

Yamcha

macrumors 68000
Mar 6, 2008
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Yeah I agree, what GPUs Apple currently has on its desktops are very low end and underpowered..

I'm glad to see Microsoft also preparing for Retina Display's, and simple reason is it'll mean that we will start seeing these displays in the mainstream market..
 
K

Kevinschoen

macrumors newbie
Aug 27, 2011
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From a normal viewing distance I already can't see the pixels on my iMac. What would be the point of this?
 
C

c3pa

macrumors member
Sep 6, 2011
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They sure are coming, MS

it's just that I'm not waiting.

Besides, in the meanwhile I'll be using REAL, EXISTING and amazing stuff that will be available when announced (or close to announcement). Thanks Apple.
 
C

Cougarcat

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Sep 19, 2003
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wikus said:
Apple first needs to give its customer REAL choice in video cards. Their current offerings are crap. A mobile graphics card in the iMac? Are you kidding me?
Click to expand...

iMacs are incredibly thin all-in-one computers, what do you expect? They are essentially laptops on a stand. Anyway, the graphics options are far better than they once were.

These high res screens will put a dent in performance, thats for sure.
Click to expand...

Retina displays won't make it into the iMac for a long time. Who knows what graphics cards will be like by then.

aarond12 said:
If they arrive earlier, Lion is ready for it.
Click to expand...

Not quite.
The only flaws are the bitmap graphics that haven't been updated for HiDPI (look closely at the black triangles in the ruler). Unfortunately, there are a lot of these throughout the operating system and its bundled applications. But unlike in all years past, the framework is finally there for third-party developers and Apple itself to finally get their applications ready for a world in which 300-dpi desktop and laptop displays are more than just expensive curiosities.
Click to expand...

It's still going to be a while.
 
Last edited:
adder7712

adder7712

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wikus said:
Apple first needs to give its customer REAL choice in video cards. Their current offerings are crap. A mobile graphics card in the iMac? Are you kidding me?

These high res screens will put a dent in performance, thats for sure.
Click to expand...
At least the top of the line iMac has a somewhat decent mobile GPU.
 
M

macrumors12345

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Why should Microsoft even care?

90% of PC laptops have the exact same crappy screen resolution: 1366 x 768. Doesn't matter whether it's a 12" screen, 13" screen, 14" screen, 15" screen, or 16" screen. You can have your laptop in any resolution you'd like as long as it's 1366 x 768. The reason, of course, is that it's cheap to produce screens like this. It's not like this is going to change in a year or two.
 
M

milo

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Sep 23, 2003
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SilianRail said:
Can someone explain what could take advantage of 3840x2160?
Click to expand...

I'd kill to have that resolution for Logic. Right now I'm working on a project with close to 200 tracks and that resolution probably still wouldn't fit them all.
 
A

Ashok0

macrumors regular
Jul 27, 2010
131
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Sitting a few feet away, I can still see pixels on my 2560x1440 Apple LED Cinema Display 27". It looks VERY good, but there is definitely room for improvement. And LG already announced they were working on a commercial 2160p display at SID this past Spring, these displays aren't too far off. :)
 
S

shurcooL

macrumors 6502a
Jan 24, 2011
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wikus said:
These high res screens will put a dent in performance, thats for sure.
Click to expand...
That's not for sure.

For desktop applications and such, doubled-resolution will not have much of a performance effect. Today's graphics cards are more than fast enough for such uses even at really high resolutions.

For 3D games that do mind resolution, non-doubled resolution can be used and you'll get exactly the same performance and image quality as today.

That's the beauty of pixel-doubling; you get the benefits of both worlds.
 
wikus

wikus

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Cougarcat said:
iMacs are incredibly thin all-in-one computers, what do you expect? They are essentially laptops on a stand. Anyway, the graphics options are far better than they once were.
Click to expand...

Its still a desktop. A crappy mobile GPU has no place in a desktop. I'll take an extra half inch in thickness that I'll never be bothered with if it means throwing in a video card that gives me RESPECTABLE performance.

As an objective Mac user, I fully defend in the PC users laughing at Macs for having the poorest choice in graphics.
 
gnasher729

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aarond12 said:
If they arrive earlier, Lion is ready for it. The pixel doubled resolutions are in place. While not very impressive on my 1600x1200 monitor (800x600 doubled resolution) or 1920x1080 second monitor (960x540 doubled resolution), they would look tasty on a 3840x2160 monitor!
Click to expand...

Actually quite useful on a TV.
 
jnpy!$4g3cwk

jnpy!$4g3cwk

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Feb 11, 2010
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I would love to have a WQUXGA (3840×2400) display for an affordable price. Unfortunately, at the moment they are going for $40K+. What miraculous event is going to lower the price in 2-3 years?
 
C

Cougarcat

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Sep 19, 2003
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wikus said:
Its still a desktop. A crappy mobile GPU has no place in a desktop. I'll take an extra half inch in thickness that I'll never be bothered with if it means throwing in a video card that gives me RESPECTABLE performance.
Click to expand...

So would I, but Apple would rather put in a mobile GPU if it meant a thinner profile. They have different priorities than us, unfortunately.
 
Dr McKay

Dr McKay

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840quadra said:
It is cool to see more people pushing for higher levels of definition within the OS itself. I could see (no pun intended) this being huge on screens larger than an iPhone or iPad.

I doubt they would be called "Retna", but I think it was used to help quickly define what they were talking about on a short Twitter post.
Click to expand...

Of course they can't call it "Retina". That was a marketing term invented by Apple, knowing them they probably copyrighted the term in relation to screens.

Im glad about this announcement, Monitor companies seem too scared to move beyond the TV resolution of 1920x1080, yet they could blatantly and easily fit a much higher resolution on even 20-22 inch screens. Sony even put 1920x1080 on a 13 inch screen.
 
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