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Samsung and Sharp Introduce New Ultra-High-Resolution Notebook Displays

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MacRumors

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Apr 12, 2001
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While Apple's 15" MacBook Pro was the first consumer notebook to gain a Retina-level display nearly a year ago, it is no longer the only such offering, as Google's Chromebook Pixel with its 12.85" 2560x1700 display and Toshiba's Kirabook with a 2560x1440 220 PPI display have joined the market in recent months.

Seeking to raise the ante on Retina displays, Samsung and Sharp have both introduced new high-resolution displays in the past week, targeting notebooks and ultrabooks with the latest technology. The new displays from both companies sport 16:9 ratios, making them unfit for Apple's line of notebooks, which all use 16:10 ratio displays, but they should make Retina displays a mainstream feature in the relatively near future.

Sharp last week announced new 11.6", 14", and 15.6" displays with pixel densities of 235-262 PPI, joining the company's existing 13.3" display at 221 PPI. Samsung's announcement today included a new 13.3" display with a 3200x1800 LCD panel at an even higher 276 PPI.

For comparison, Apple's 13" MacBook Pro with Retina Display has a 2560x1600 13.3" display at 227 PPI.

pixel.jpg
While high resolution is the most obvious benefit of these new displays for consumers, some of the screens bring other benefits as well. Samsung says its new 13.3" display offers 30% power savings over existing displays, something that would be important for a potential MacBook Air with Retina display. That machine is constrained by needs for a super-thin display and battery. And even for Apple's existing Retina MacBook Pro, advances being brought about by Samsung and Sharp are likely to make their way into Apple's notebook displays in the future.

Sharp advertises similar energy-saving benefits from its new IGZO displays:
IGZO technology enables smaller thin-film transistors and increased light transmittance. As a result, fine text can be rendered crisply and clearly, and images can be displayed with impressive realism. For example, the 14-inch panel boasts a pixel density of 262 ppi, which represents 1.67 times the number of pixels of full high definition. Increased light transmittance also means lower rates of energy consumption, with IGZO technology reducing the amount of power required to drive liquid crystals during the display of still images. These factors lead to greater energy efficiency and longer battery life on notebook PCs.
Click to expand...
Apple has been rumored to be looking at Retina displays for desktop applications as well, but a future Retina iMac would face a different set of issues, including the cost of the panel itself at such large sizes, as well as the immense graphics and connectivity needs to drive such a display.

Article Link: Samsung and Sharp Introduce New Ultra-High-Resolution Notebook Displays
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/05/20/samsung-and-sharp-introduce-new-ultra-high-resolution-notebook-displays/
L

liamoblomy

macrumors member
Feb 2, 2010
56
0
Leeds, UK
Chrome Pixel website reads "Pixel is machined from an anodized aluminum alloy to a tight tolerance, leaving nothing extraneous or distracting: vents are hidden, screws invisible, and stereo speakers seamlessly tucked away beneath the backlit keyboard." Does make it sound very like a Macbook imitation without a decent OS.
 
WatchTheThrone

WatchTheThrone

macrumors regular
Aug 2, 2011
239
137
Does that mean IGZO will finally be mass production ready??
That might also mean an IGZO iPhone and iPad.
 
C

Canaan

macrumors member
Sep 1, 2011
61
0
There has to be a good balance between power consumption and resource use when it comes to something like this. I think that's what other companies will fail to do and will simply shoot for specs, losing out on either battery life or on GPU usage. That being said, I am glad that there is more progress in the development of such displays following Apple's introduction of them into the consumer market. This can only mean that there will be improvements in there types of displays.
 
dec.

dec.

Suspended
Apr 15, 2012
1,349
765
Toronto
iMikeT said:
Just another "I can do it too" gimmick.
Click to expand...

Well the windows users have been asking for a high resolution screen for a while now so I think that there is a serious demand. I just wonder if the pricing will confirm that Apple's pricing of the Retina Macbooks is not anywhere as outrageous as some people like to make it sound, like the *cough* Chromebook Pixel and Toshiba's Kirabook already have done.
 
Adokimus

Adokimus

macrumors 6502a
Jun 2, 2007
842
3
Boston, MA
Couldn't the 11.6 screen work for the 11" Macbook Air, which uses a 16:9 aspect ratio?

From apple.com:

"11.6-inch (diagonal) high-resolution LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with support for millions of colors

Supported resolutions:
1366 x 768 (native) at 16:9 ratio"
 
Moonjumper

Moonjumper

macrumors 68030
Jun 20, 2009
2,740
2,908
Lincoln, UK
They now just need Windows to support those high resolutions.

I'm looking forward to seeing these pixel densities on desktop sized screens. 4K TVs are dropping in price very quickly (Sony 55" for for $5K), so something reasonable at 27" should be near.
 
Tankmaze

Tankmaze

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2012
1,707
351
it's about time we all move to high res 200+ ppi screen.
hopefully over time it will get cheaper this panel.
 
pgiguere1

pgiguere1

macrumors 68020
May 28, 2009
2,167
1,200
Montreal, Canada
bchery21 said:
How much??
Click to expand...

They haven't announced any laptop, they just demoed displays that could eventually be used for laptops.

Samsung demoed a 2,560x1,440 Series 9 prototype last year as well and it never became and actual product. Same thing with Sharp.

thekeyring said:
Windows 8 does?
Click to expand...

Just the Metro part. Desktop scaling is still broken. Most apps will either have their layout broken, get inconsistent scaling, or have no scaling at all. Even preinstalled Microsoft apps have issues, and third-party support is almost inexistent, including major browsers.
 
3

3282868

macrumors 603
Jan 8, 2009
5,281
0
bchery21 said:
How much?? And why does every laptop look like the MBP now?
Click to expand...

All these iOS/iDevice lawsuits, I'd give more credence to lawsuits around the unibody aluminum MacBook Pro's. Seems a lot of tech companies are emulating such design.
 
Jack97

Jack97

macrumors regular
Nov 30, 2010
143
1
Ahh, I remember the Chromebook Pixel. A shameless Macbook ripoff with a diluted web OS!
 
P

phr33k

macrumors newbie
Nov 22, 2012
19
0
The MBA 11.6" has a 16:9 ratio, so those new displays would be suitable for them. I guess when the author said that Apple's line of notebooks uses 16:10 ratios, they were referring to the retina lineup?
 
S

scoobydoo99

Cancelled
Mar 11, 2003
1,007
353
MacRumors said:
... but they should make Retina displays a mainstream feature in the relatively near future.
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Impossible. "Retina" is an Apple Trademark. By definition, Retina displays can't become mainstream, since only one company produces them.

Perhaps MacRumors means "2560x1440" or "2560x1700" or "next generation high res" or something else, but not "Retina"
 
TheMacBookPro

TheMacBookPro

macrumors 68020
May 9, 2008
2,133
3
liamoblomy said:
Chrome Pixel website reads "Pixel is machined from an anodized aluminum alloy to a tight tolerance, leaving nothing extraneous or distracting: vents are hidden, screws invisible, and stereo speakers seamlessly tucked away beneath the backlit keyboard." Does make it sound very like a Macbook imitation without a decent OS.
Click to expand...

I see lots of vents and screws on my MacBook Pro.
 
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