Hack Allows Developers to Start Testing iPad Retina Display in iOS Simulator

[MacRumors]

With a Retina iPad 3 expected just next week, one developer has created a small utility that allows the iPad simulator to run in 2X mode. The utility is available from Ryan Petrich.

In order to run it on the latest version of Xcode, you will need to symlink /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer to /Developer and /Developer4.

Meanwhile, stroughtonsmith shows how his app SameGame looks in the Retina iPad emulator running on his 27" iMac:




Click on image to see full size.

Apple is widely expected to release a Retina-enabled iPad 3 next week at their media event. If rumors are to believed, the iPad 3 should be available within a week or so of the announcement. That would leave developers little time to Retina-ize their current iPad apps if they wait until the day of the announcement.

Article Link: Hack Allows Developers to Start Testing iPad Retina Display in iOS Simulator

[hasanahmad]

could a worse example be chosen?

[LastLine]

Perhaps not - but it's true, we'll all be left to scramble if they announce a @2x. Could be....interesting.

[chrmjenkins]

Originally Posted by hasanahmad

could a worse example be chosen?

[slicecom]

Originally Posted by chrmjenkins

I think that might still actually be better.

[Pakaku]

Why do I find it so funny that it can't even be fully displayed on a 27" screen...

[jayducharme]

Originally Posted by Pakaku

Why do I find it so funny that it can't even be fully displayed on a 27" screen...

Not only that, but the pixel density isn't the same. So even if it fit properly, you still wouldn't get the full effect.

I've been nudging our college to upgrade the classroom display equipment. Many classrooms have projectors with 800x600 resolution. With more teachers adopting iPads and wanting to display the contents, the current equipment will prove woefully inadequate.

[Shrink]

WOW...buttony, color thingys.

I want to buy a lot of whatever that is.

Maybe as an example go the amazingness of Retina display...not so good.

[jdiamond]

I recognize the bluetooth and wireless, but what are all those other icons? What kind of really cool software does this person have?

Drooolllll.....

[JohnNH]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

SameGame caused a reboot of my iPhone 4 nice example

[wahvtec]

I am also interested in knowing what icons those are for?

[.BMD]

Originally Posted by jdiamond

I recognize the bluetooth and wireless, but what are all those other icons? What kind of really cool software does this person have?

Drooolllll.....

(from left)

1st is Google Music
3rd is Twitterrific
5th is Drop Box
10th is iChat

[charlituna]

But is this hack actually correct. It seems like it isn't. From the description this emulator is making the pixels double the size akin to the blowing up of an iPhone app on an iPad. But that isn't what the retina screen does. It's more like cutting the pixels in half to shove more into the same space.

[Xenc]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Originally Posted by charlituna

But is this hack actually correct. It seems like it isn't. From the description this emulator is making the pixels double the size akin to the blowing up of an iPhone app on an iPad. But that isn't what the retina screen does. It's more like cutting the pixels in half to shove more into the same space.

To view the rumoured four times the number of pixels, you need to double the width and height - which is exactly what is being done here. Density is hardware based (ie. the physical number of pixels per inch).

[Battlefield Fan]

Ugh, hopefully it doesn't take some app developers 2 years to update to retina for te iPad like it did with the iPhone. Lame.

[kayloh20]

Originally Posted by charlituna

But is this hack actually correct. It seems like it isn't. From the description this emulator is making the pixels double the size akin to the blowing up of an iPhone app on an iPad. But that isn't what the retina screen does. It's more like cutting the pixels in half to shove more into the same space.

You're correct in what retina is, but remember that it is based on the actual screen. Therefore, if your screen doesn't support the resolution for the physical size of the screen, the only thing it can do is blow it up twice the size (which is what the iPhone 4 emulator does right now).

It's equivalent in terms of development (like making sure you have 2x versions of your images and whatnot).

[tbobmccoy]

Originally Posted by Battlefield Fan

Ugh, hopefully it doesn't take some app developers 2 years to update to retina for te iPad like it did with the iPhone. Lame.

Even longer, likely...

Honestly, I'm concerned what this means for Universal Apps. iPhone 4 and iPad were close to the same resolution, now with the iPad greatly outpacing the iPhone's resolution, what devs are going to spend tons of time making Universal apps when they will want to recoup that cost by doing what Square-Enix, Rovio, etc companies do, make a higher priced "HD" iPad app instead of the Universal one.

[AppleHater]

I don't think every app needs to be in retina resolution. iBook and Kindle is a must but many others, people won't care. OK, I don't care.

[SandmanNet]

Originally Posted by kayloh20

You're correct in what retina is, but remember that it is based on the actual screen. Therefore, if your screen doesn't support the resolution for the physical size of the screen, the only thing it can do is blow it up twice the size (which is what the iPhone 4 emulator does right now).

No it doesn't. The iOS simulator runs retina apps in full retina resolution. It doesn't double pixels unless the app doesnt support retina.

[pmz]

This made me think that Apple might have some new fangled way of using an actual iPad 3 tethered to a Mac as a live iPad simulator, in the new SDK for developing on the iPad 3.

----------

Originally Posted by AppleHater

I don't think every app needs to be in retina resolution. iBook and Kindle is a must but many others, people won't care. OK, I don't care.

Every App needs to run the native resolution of the display its built for. /End of story.

[scoobydoo99]

Originally Posted by .BMD

(from left)

1st is Google Music
3rd is Twitterrific
5th is Drop Box
10th is iChat

9th is 1Password

[gatortpk]

Originally Posted by scoobydoo99

"Originally Posted by .BMD
(from left)

1st is Google Music
3rd is Twitterrific
5th is Drop Box
10th is iChat"

9th is 1Password

Using Google reverse Image search (images.google.com) I figured that the the:
4th is to initiate the Air Video Server and
7th is the Mac AirVideo Client.app?

(Publicly known stuff reported on the web)

[ghostlines]

Think you'll have to really have a retina display to truly see the diff.
Here's hoping for an iMac retina display refresh in somewhere in April.

[charlituna]

Originally Posted by SandmanNet

No it doesn't. The iOS simulator runs retina apps in full retina resolution. It doesn't double pixels unless the app doesnt support retina.

That's what I thought, which seems to be the opposite of this app and how it claims to be showing you the right details. But it isn't right. What they doing is basically the same as taking the same image and changing the resolution of your display. Really seeing the difference is more like taking the same image on the same display and changing it from 72dpi to 150dpi, cramming more and smaller info in the same space (making a crisper image)

All this tool will do is show you how crappy your app will lookso you'd better make new graphics. Which if that was the intent is great, although good developers will make the safe assumption and the new graphics anyway

[anthonylambert]

Seriously, how are developers going to run the simulator for an iPad 3?

It won't fit on most peoples screens! unless your lucky to have an old 30" cinema display.