iPad mini iPad mini Retina screen - Bad idea?

Why would it not have the same resolution as the ipad 4?

ip4 said:

Why would it not have the same resolution as the ipad 4?

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Assume it does, now answer the OP's question, how is this technically feasible? But, in answering this question, you must assume iPad mini size/weight/battery life. Now go to it.

Apple has to sell more iPads each year whether it causes developers extra work not. Think about it that way.

The HTC Droid DNA has a 1080p 5" screen at a PPI of 440+. Now explain to me why the iPad Mini can't have a decent display.

Profit margins. That's the long and short of it. The Nexus 7 may have a better screen but Asus and Google lose money on it. Apple doesn't use that business model, they sell hardware with a sizeable margin and leave everyone else to occupy the cheap market and lose money. Plus they know that anyone who's really that bothered will probably get an iPad 4 anyway.

IMO this doesn't take away from the quality of the iPad mini at all, the screen is still excellent as is the rest of the device.

It would be exactly the same pixel resolution as the 9.7" iPad 4 and the exact same pixel density as the iPhone 5

There would be no change in apps

Everything will look as detailed as they do on the iPhone 5

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0dev said:

Profit margins. That's the long and short of it. The Nexus 7 may have a better screen but Asus and Google lose money on it. Apple doesn't use that business model, they sell hardware with a sizeable margin and leave everyone else to occupy the cheap market and lose money. Plus they know that anyone who's really that bothered will probably get an iPad 4 anyway.

IMO this doesn't take away from the quality of the iPad mini at all, the screen is still excellent as is the rest of the device.

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They'll drop the mini by a hundred and sell the mini 2 at $329. $229 will be the new entry level

Yr Blues said:

They'll drop the mini by a hundred and sell the mini 2 at $329. $229 will be the new entry level

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By which time they will have already raked in the cash and made the R&D and development costs for the original mini pay off, yes. But they will never sell a £150 latest model tablet like Google. Their business model works by forcing competitors into the cheap market.

0dev said:

By which time they will have already raked in the cash and made the R&D and development costs for the original mini pay off, yes. But they will never sell a £150 latest model tablet like Google. Their business model works by forcing competitors into the cheap market.

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We'll see what happens. I reckon the prices were established far in advance, knowing the iPad mini 2 would have retina.

They have a long term pricing plan. A $229 old mini will kill off the competition while the retina mini will get all of the Apple users for that premium experience

Yr Blues said:

We'll see what happens. I reckon the prices were established far in advance, knowing the iPad mini 2 would have retina.

They have a long term pricing plan

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For sure, they're not making it up as they go along, but the only devices they will sell even close to the low price point of the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire, et al. are the outdated ones, I'm quite certain of that.

WilliamLondon said:

Assume it does, now answer the OP's question, how is this technically feasible? But, in answering this question, you must assume iPad mini size/weight/battery life. Now go to it.

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OK, well I think that if apple does put a retina display in the iPad Mini in the next couple years, it will have the same resolution as the iPad 3/4. To answer the OP's question, I don't think a retina display in the mini would be a good idea in the Mini if it had a different resolution than the bigger iPad because it would take away from the main thing the iPad Mini has going for it right now: the ecosystem. Developers have been updating their apps pretty quickly for the iPhone 5 and new iPad though, so I guess it wouldn't be that big of a deal.

I think people are confusing iPhone apps with iPad apps. Many apps take advantage of the extra real estate on the iPad.

Introducing yet another resolution would cause fragmentation and confusion among developers and customers. Apple is not about that. So the mini, being an iPad and not an iPhone, could only b 1024x768 or 2048x1536. Period. Any other resolution, retina or not, HD or not, would have caused fragmentation and confusion.

So 1920x1080, 1600x1200, 1440xwhatever was a nonstarter. If they couldn't fit a 2048x1536 screen into that mini frame, user experience dictated 1024x768. This was not about technological capability (outside not being able to cram 3M pixels into a mini) but about COMPATIBILITY with 275,000 iPad apps. This isn't about specs or retina or pixels. It's about the apps.

So, if the mini screen gives you headaches, tumors, causes sterility, etc., avail yourself of the return policy and get an iPad 4. Problem solved.

Devs don't have to do anything if their apps already support the iPad 3/4's retina display.

haruhiko said:

Devs don't have to do anything if their apps already support the iPad 3/4's retina display.

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Exactly. That is the whole point. Could Apple have put a higher res screen on the mini? Sure. But unless it could make it 2048x1536, it was better off with 1024x768 rather than some higher resolution in between.

Moonlight said:

I keep hearing "I wish the iPad mini had a retina screen"

Can someone explain to me from a developer perspective(or any perspective really), how they could feasibly make a retina screen in an iPad mini without having to have every app make an iPad mini version.

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There is one, and only one, resolution that would fit the bill; the iPad3/4 resolution.

Regards,
Tom
Oops, I see ZBoater covered it.

ZBoater said:

Exactly. That is the whole point. Could Apple have put a higher res screen on the mini? Sure. But unless it could make it 2048x1536, it was better off with 1024x768 rather than some higher resolution in between.

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So there is SOME common sense left on these forums then after all! Phew... I was getting worried.

Moonlight said:

Exactly my point! Thanks!

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Yes. Apple will eventually make it 2048 x 1536. Maybe next year? As you can see HTC will release a new smartphone with 1080p 5" screen. I think we're not really that far away with a 2048 x 1536 7.9" screen. Apple has no problem with the higher PPI in 4" devices than the big iPad because higher PPI is needed for smaller devices which users put it nearer to their eyes.

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ZBoater said:

Exactly. That is the whole point. Could Apple have put a higher res screen on the mini? Sure. But unless it could make it 2048x1536, it was better off with 1024x768 rather than some higher resolution in between.

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Either 2048 x 1536, or nothing.