iOS 7 Leverages Retina iPhone App Assets to Improve '2x' Mode on Non-Retina iPads

[mike...]

As a dev, now I don't need to build a full iPad app. This move is bad for Apple longer term.

That would be a bad move for you to make. There are loads of apps optimised for iPad now. The standard has been set quite high, and users expect real iPad apps. If you can't be bothered to make one, then you risk being left behind.

I suspect its entirely because the iPad has such a good app ecosystem that Apple feels they can lift this restriction and not force developers into making iPad apps. They probably consider competition between developers enough of a force to keep things moving in the right direction.

The only iPhone apps I allow on my iPad are the ones I deem absolutely essential, namely, by bank and credit card apps.

 

[TouchMint.com]

As a dev, now I don't need to build a full iPad app. This move is bad for Apple longer term.

You do if you want your apps to be at the top of ipad searches and top 300 lists.

There is even a hint in data that iphone apps get a search boost when they are universal.

 

[mdelvecchio]

What took them so long?

stuff? how many other complaints and bugs and feature requests have people had?

 

[iChrist]

Very good decision.

To copy someone else's work? I can't believe this wasn't obvious to them right form the beginning. They consciously chose to use the lower res assets. Hello Apple??

 

[LastLine]

It suddenly makes sense what I was seeing in yahoo Weather on my iPad mini this morning...thank you MacRumors, I can stop scratching my head

 

[iChrist]

As a dev, now I don't need to build a full iPad app. This move is bad for Apple longer term.

What about retina iPads, Einstein? Or the fact that the iPad is a completely different idiom?

This is why there are 1 million apps, of which 990,000 apps are just garbage taking up space. Devs like you.

 

[GFLPraxis]

As a dev, now I don't need to build a full iPad app. This move is bad for Apple longer term.

Yeah you do. People don't like using the iPhone keyboard on the iPad, or getting black borders.

 

[pubwvj]

Apple should be maximizing backwards compatibility and legacy support. Just because we have new hardware doesn't mean we want to abandon our old tools and data. We need continuity in our 'digital lives' forward into the future.

 

[commander.data]

I wonder what will happen to the 2x mode in 2 or so years when all 3:2 960x640 devices are no longer supported and iPhone apps start to only support 16:9 1136x640? 1136x640 won't fit on any remaining 1024x768 devices and won't be able to 2x on 2048x1536 devices. Options like only offering a 1x mode on Retina iPad, discontinuing support of iPhone apps on iPad or forcing developers to make Universal builds are all problematic.

 

[Westside guy]

I've jailbroken my iOS devices for... well, as long as I've owned iOS devices. With each new version of iOS, though, the reasons for jailbreaking diminish - and I must say that iOS 7 will, once again, take away at least one more of the reasons I've had for jailbreaking.

Still, the $2.99 I spent on RetinaPad was well worth it. And, as others have noted, the jailbreaking community deserves credit for continuing to push Apple to add features.

Activator may be my last hold-out... I can't see Apple ever allowing me to use gestures to replace button clicks.

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As a dev, now I don't need to build a full iPad app. This move is bad for Apple longer term.

Even in higher-res, at 2x the iPhone keyboard sucks - for iPad apps you really want the iPad keyboard.

 

[springsup]

There were jailbreak tweaks that did this (and more - they basically rendered the app like a retina iPhone because the iPad had enough pixels to do so). It was called RetinaPad.

It's a shame my original iPad's still on iOS5 and will never see it, though.

 

[azentropy]

Hopefully it sticks this time. I seem to remember a beta of iOS 5 having the "RetinaPad" feature for a bit too.

 

[gmcalpin]

As an iPad mini owner who just released an iPhone app for my webcomic, this makes me so, so happy.

 

[ipedro]

The difference is remarkable. Just hope this doesn't keep some developers from making dedicated iPad versions of their iPhone apps though.

Then I won't buy your app. Lazy developers will get left behind.

 

[.Asa]

Wouldn't it make more sense for iPhone apps to run in 16:9 mode on iPads? It's the new standard...

 

[Jamo12]

I wonder what will happen to the 2x mode in 2 or so years when all 3:2 960x640 devices are no longer supported and iPhone apps start to only support 16:9 1136x640? 1136x640 won't fit on any remaining 1024x768 devices and won't be able to 2x on 2048x1536 devices. Options like only offering a 1x mode on Retina iPad, discontinuing support of iPhone apps on iPad or forcing developers to make Universal builds are all problematic.

They will probably just make the developers deal with it ,or up the resolution on both devices and make ios with vector graphics. Either way thousands and thousands of developers won't just leave apple because they have to do some extra work (see coding for android). The platform is just too good and continues to grow too rapidly.

 

[StyxMaker]

That would be a bad move for you to make. There are loads of apps optimised for iPad now. The standard has been set quite high, and users expect real iPad apps. If you can't be bothered to make one, then you risk being left behind.

I suspect its entirely because the iPad has such a good app ecosystem that Apple feels they can lift this restriction and not force developers into making iPad apps. They probably consider competition between developers enough of a force to keep things moving in the right direction.

The only iPhone apps I allow on my iPad are the ones I deem absolutely essential, namely, by bank and credit card apps.

Absolutely right, I don't run anything on my iPad that isn't optimized for the iPad environment. If it's only an iPhone app I don't even put it on my iPad.

 

[caligomez]

As an iPad Mini owner, this is VERY welcome! Thanks Apple.

 

[topper24hours]

To keep the mini retina light itll be running an a7 as will the ipad 5.

I think the ipad mini non retina will move to an a6 chip.

Line up will be

Ipad mini
Ipad 4
Ipad mini retina
And finally ipad 5

ZERO chance of this. Other poster was right:
iPad mini/retina & non
iPad full/retina & non
It would be WAY too difficult to describe the difference between the iPad 4 & 5 to non techie folks as they are both "Retina iPads". It would cannibalize their top-tier product having another full sized Retina iPad for $100 less... I just can't see it.

 

[cclloyd]

I've used RetinaPad on my mini for a while now. Wonder why Apple didn't steal it sooner.

I have neither jailbroken my iDevice nor rooted my Android, but both those dev communities deserve a hat tip for pushing the envelope on both OSes(sp?). Some very good things have come to the forefront due to their efforts.

As I was watching the keynote, I kept saying to myself "Ok that was a JB tweak. That too. 3. 4. 5. etc." All in all, I think they took over 20 tweaks from the JB community.

 

[Cezar`]

Am I the only one that recalls the fact that this feature was a part of iOS 6 Beta but never made it in the GM??

 

[Menneisyys2]

Lolz... they give us "generously" back anti-aliasing they've removed in iOS5... FYI: anti-aliasing worked just fine under 3.2.x on the iPad1 and all iOS4 versions on both the iPad1 and iPad2.

Just like 60 fps recording - exactly the same happened. They took it away in iOS6 and they're giving it back (as something completely new and groundbreaking) in iOS7.

Pretty typical of Apple, I'd say. Instead of trying to keep up with the competing, alternative mobile operating systems (Android, WinRT), they're just giving us features existing and, then, removed in earlier iOS versions.

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Am I the only one that recalls the fact that this feature was a part of iOS 6 Beta but never made it in the GM??

Text anti-aliasing (but not using 2x assets - in this regard, RetinaPad was different) was present in both iOS3.2 and iOS4.x on both initial two iPad versions. Then, they removed the support (most probably to boost iPad 3 sales, which uses proper anti-aliasing and, in addition, Retina textures) in iOS5. Now they're adding them back as something completely new as they don't seem to have much other against Android / WinRT.

 

[olowott]

cool - a very needed move

 

[Pakaku]

So developers made iPad apps.

And so that people would still have a reason to buy a retina iPhone 4 or iPod Touch 4G, instead of one larger device that could run retina iPod/iPhone apps at retina quality alongside non-retina iPad apps.

This only confirms the iPhone 6 and iPad 5 will be super-retina

 

[Menneisyys2]

This only confirms the iPhone 6 and iPad 5 will be super-retina

I don't think the'll increase the iPad 5's resolution. The iPhone is, of course, another question, particularly if it gets a larger screen.

I only consider this step as something Apple comes up with to try to counteract the new features of WinRT / Win8 / Android, at least in the eyes of non-geek folks not knowing these features did exist previously, only to be removed by Apple in iOS5 to boost the iPad 3 sales.

They already had the anti-aliasing code from the iOS3.2/4 times (and using the 2x assets is equally easy to implement) - that is, reintroducing this feature (similar to 60 fps recording) doesn't require much coding / testing.