Mass Production of Retina Displays for iPad Mini Expected to Start in June or July

[mrxak]

I for one hope the new iPads don't come until a bit later than expected. I am absolute certain I will buy one (not sure which size yet, though retina makes the mini a lot more tempting), but so do not have the money budgeted for it. I'm hoping for new Mac Pros, first.

 

[MacDarcy]

People believe analysts/rumors/"reports" when they want it to be true.

I want it too, but I see near zero chance of this happening in 2013 at all, much less within the next few months:

Screen power consumption
Screen thickness
Screen weight
GPU performance
GPU power consumption
Battery capacity
Battery thickness
Battery weight
Cost and margins and end price
Yields and supply

The mini already sells well, and to change it to retina, all of the above must be addressed--without making it noticeably heavier/thicker, or you lose much of what makes the mini great. The mini (unlike the full 10" iPad) is already part of Apple's newer generation of lighter batteries/hardware. There are limits to how fast you can squeeze blood from that stone. Also remember the newest iMacs: yields were low, so they would have sold more iMacs total if they'd waited to release them!

Think 2014 for a retina mini. On the bright side: also think faster mini this year, and lighter 10" iPad this year.

Gimme a break. If Apple can put a retina screen on the iPhone with good battery life, they certainly can manage to do it with the mini.

 

[iGrip]

someone remind me the root of the word "analyst"

That would be "bunghole".

 

[applesith]

Yes! Fantastic news! I can't wait for this and will likely pick one of these up for myself given the price doesn't increase.

 

[needfx]

That would be "bunghole".

did you mean "bunshole"?

 

[elpamyelhsa]

Retina with A6 and I'm sold on the Mini and I would hand my iPad 4 down the line.

 

[pnoyblazed]

about darn time! can not wait to scoop this one up

 

[moetownslick]

ok, i think i am finally ready to sell my iPad2 and pick up the Mini...was just waiting for Retina to rear its beautiful head

 

[Aluminum213]

But iPad Mini owners were telling me it would take years before retina mini came out and apple would never screw over first gen owners of their product

 

[BigBeast]

The current iPad mini's lack of sufficient RAM and CPU speed necessitated the purchase of the iPad 4 for me. I'd like to see the mini receive a CPU bump to at least A6X, as well as 2GB RAM.

As far as upgrades I wish would be introduced (that I know won't be), I'd like to see the inclusion of digitizer ability in the upcoming generations. I mainly use my iPad for note taking, which I thought would be decently simple with the iPad– turns out, not so much. PDF editing/annotation software frequently consumes the full 1GB of RAM on my iPad 4, and difficulty in blocking out extraneous input, even with palm rejection, leads to a subpar experience. The ability for apps to tap into digitizer only modes would help immensely. Oh well.

 

[Mackan]

But iPad Mini owners were telling me it would take years before retina mini came out and apple would never screw over first gen owners of their product

Actually, Apple would never just screw over first generation owners. They would screw over both first, second and third generation owners of any Apple product.

Remember, they might go retina soon, but they will still continue use an older CPU, bad camera, low RAM, etc, for the next revisions to come. So, it will take a couple of generations for it to be what it should have been in the first place. The money milking machine at its finest.

 

[gnasher729]

you're either Greek, know Greek, or all the above to be aware of that

Or you have a Mac with the Dictionary dashboard widget.

----------

But iPad Mini owners were telling me it would take years before retina mini came out and apple would never screw over first gen owners of their product

And they won't. Whatever happens, existing devices will continue working just as they did; people will still have exactly what they paid for.

----------

LG make those crappy piss yellow LCD panels for the iMac, LG's screens are not as good quality as Samsung or Sharp / JapanLCD, so would not touch any LG panel device no matter what. Only Samsung / Sharp / JapanLCD for me thanks

Samsung got a $100 million investment from Apple a few years ago. I suppose it is LG's turn now. Probably a few hundred million.

 

[gatearray]

Knew the retina displays were coming, but good to hear some rumors starting to flow around
It's been a long wait Retina iPad Mini! Come to papa

yikes, it's only been six months!

 

[tann]

September/October release along with iPad 5, iPhone 5S and updated iPod touch or something.

Maybe, iPhone 5S announcement + iOS 7 GM release in Septemberish.

A month later, like last year, iPad mini, 5 and iPod releases.

Updated computers too!

Finally, if true, this second pres will be where they unveil a new product like a watch or something.

 

[Radiating]

So Apple has decided to go with a inferior quality component and charge us sky high prices? Adios iPad mini! Not touching anything with LG Panel on it!

Just ask the rMBP and MBA users here in the forum including me who had to go through many returns to get a good one with a Samsung panel!

You don't seem to have a rational though process there. More specifically the logic leap you made there is so poorly thought out it's mind boggling.

LG & Samsung both make some of the best displays in the world. The only reason why LG displays had issues is because LG in a cost cutting measure used sub-standard materials with low ionic purity to make their retina displays. Apple quickly caught the issue and now LG displays are actually better than Samsung ones.

While cost cutting resulting in huge embarassment is a black mark against LG, they are more than capable of making a top notch product.

 

[Z3man]

This is the best news i have read for ages, i log on here every day hoping to read some strong rumours on the mini retina. Looks like it's finally coming now, but still another 5 months or so to wait.

I think once the mini goes retina the sales figures will be absolutely massive for apple, i think there's millions just waiting for it to go retina just like me. The screen on the current mini just isn't good enough for the price they charge for it.

 

[Lazy]

Actually, Apple would never just screw over first generation owners. They would screw over both first, second and third generation owners of any Apple product.

Remember, they might go retina soon, but they will still continue use an older CPU, bad camera, low RAM, etc, for the next revisions to come. So, it will take a couple of generations for it to be what it should have been in the first place. The money milking machine at its finest.

Do you really believe that or are you just being inflammatory? Just about everything Apple (and most tech companies) introduce is as advanced for its time as it can be. It's nonsensical to look back and say the best today should have been out two years ago, or say today's best should just magically be oh so much better.

 

[DesertEagle]

But iPad Mini owners were telling me it would take years before retina mini came out and apple would never screw over first gen owners of their product

I assume you're being sarcastic here Ask those who bought the iPhone right after release how they felt when Apple slashed the price with 200 bucks and discontinued the 4 GB model after only a couple of months.

Oh wait, here it is: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/350348/

Actually, Apple would never just screw over first generation owners. They would screw over both first, second and third generation owners of any Apple product.

Remember, they might go retina soon, but they will still continue use an older CPU, bad camera, low RAM, etc, for the next revisions to come. So, it will take a couple of generations for it to be what it should have been in the first place. The money milking machine at its finest.

So if the iPad 5 turns out to be smaller and lighter than the iPad 2, will the iPad 4 owners have reason to feel cheated too?

 

[paradox00]

People believe analysts/rumors/"reports" when they want it to be true.

I want it too, but I see near zero chance of this happening in 2013 at all, much less within the next few months:

Screen power consumption
Screen thickness
Screen weight
GPU performance
GPU power consumption
Battery capacity
Battery thickness
Battery weight
Cost and margins and end price
Yields and supply

The mini already sells well, and to change it to retina, all of the above must be addressed--without making it noticeably heavier/thicker, or you lose much of what makes the mini great. The mini (unlike the full 10" iPad) is already part of Apple's newer generation of lighter batteries/hardware. There are limits to how fast you can squeeze blood from that stone. Also remember the newest iMacs: yields were low, so they would have sold more iMacs total if they'd waited to release them!

Think 2014 for a retina mini. On the bright side: also think faster mini this year, and lighter 10" iPad this year.




Why do some people hear any Apple news (or fiction in this case) and assume this particular item is the last thing we'll hear from Apple? It's very odd.

The power drains associated with the Retina iPad were related to the requirement to switch from a single light bar to a dual lightbar backlighting system, effectively doubling the power requirements, thus adding weight and thickness. Display tech has advanced enough that they won't need to do this in the fall, allowing the Retina iPad to become thinner and lighter, and the iPad Mini to gain a retina display without compromising dimensions and battery life. The GPU comment is a joke considering Apple already has GPU's powering a retina display of that resolution. The die shrinks that occur over time, increases power efficiency and allows these chips that are already in use to fit into the smaller mini.

 

[krravi]

You don't seem to have a rational though process there. More specifically the logic leap you made there is so poorly thought out it's mind boggling.

LG & Samsung both make some of the best displays in the world. The only reason why LG displays had issues is because LG in a cost cutting measure used sub-standard materials with low ionic purity to make their retina displays. Apple quickly caught the issue and now LG displays are actually better than Samsung ones.

While cost cutting resulting in huge embarassment is a black mark against LG, they are more than capable of making a top notch product.

LG and Samsung make the best displays in the world? And you are calling my thought process mind boggling? What a irony!

But.. enough said.

 

[cocky jeremy]

With the mini going to match the resolution of the bigger iPad; think we might see another resolution increase on the bigger one?

Otherwise...why even get the big iPad? It's more expensive and same screen resolution and less pixel density.

Because they want a larger screen?

 

[dec.]

But iPad Mini owners were telling me it would take years before retina mini came out and apple would never screw over first gen owners of their product

That's funny. iPad Mini owners were telling me that it probably won't even take a year before retina mini will come out.

If someone seriously feels "screwed over" because a company improves existing product lines, they really need to reconsider their process of decision making when it comes to buying those products.

 

[Ubele]

Most people will not be able to see the pixels on either display, so at that point it'd be all about size preference. Some people will want a smaller package to easily carry around, while others will want more area to work and view shtuff. I'll have to check out a retina mini at the store to see if its worth the size drop. I lovvveee my big iPad.

I have no doubt that some people will complain that the full-size Retina iPad looks like crap compared to the Retina Mini, that it's obsolete and unusable, and that Apple is screwing over its customers by selling old Retina technology at inflated prices.

Seriously, I'll be curious to see what the Retina Mini is like in person. Last fall, I compared the iPad 4 with the iPad Mini, and while I loved the Mini's light weight, the iPad 4's screen blew me away, so I bought the 4. I see no need to upgrade this year, but if I like the Retina Mini, that might be the next iPad I get. Other factors to consider will be weight (will the Retina Mini have a bigger, heavier battery than the current version, thereby limiting some of its appeal?), the processor (will Apple differentiate the full-size iPad by continuing to give it a faster processor?), and storage (will 128 GB – which is important to some people – only be an option for the full-size iPad?).

What difference the screen size makes will be subjective, and I can't yet tell what I'll think until I see a Retina Mini in person. While I love my iPhone 5, I don't use it for nearly as many tasks as I did before the iPad came out. The screen is just too small for me for Web browsing and serious typing. I only use Safari when I'm out and need to look up information. At home, I use my iPad. And while photos look great on my iPhone, they look even better on my iPad, because the image is bigger yet still "Retina" sharp. If the reduced size of the Retina Mini's screen doesn't subjectively diminish its impact and usability for me, then I'll probably go Mini next time.

 

[SuperBunn]

Retina with A6 and I'm sold on the Mini and I would hand my iPad 4 down the line.

I sincerely hope it will come with the A6! I read an article earlier that said they'd be sticking with the A5 for some reason.

 

[Internaut]

I sincerely hope it will come with the A6! I read an article earlier that said they'd be sticking with the A5 for some reason.

That could mean many things. Perhaps a faster variant of the A5 or a better graphic subsystem to help things along. The package should be greater than the sum of its part - an aspect of Apple we tend to take for granted.