iOS 8.1 Code Hints at Retina HD Display for New iPads

[wizard]

Retina Display: Perfect
Retina HD Display: Perfecter


I love high dpi and I think I would notice the difference, but honestly I have no idea why they are doing this. It is going to have a pretty serious performance hit for no real upside. If they include an ultra fast A8X processor, I can kind of see this making sense, but... meh.

IPad 3 is fine for me resolution wise I'm not sure my old eyes could see the difference. It is performance that I worry about so if this can't be done without a performance regression then maybe it isn't worth it. I say maybe because the screen is a minor issue for me.

As to A8X Apple needs such an updated processor even without Retina HD. ThE one thing that bothers me about iPad is,the,general performance of the device. Also people should realize that it isn't just GPU cores that will or could make the A8X faster, you also have the memory bus which could be vastly improved to deliver better performance.

 

[Max(IT)]

I'm pretty darn happy with my iPad Air. They are going to have to do a lot more than better resolution to make me want to upgrade!

I don't see a reason to increase resolution on the current lineup of iPads.... It would be a pointless waste of pixels

 

[x-evil-x]

I used to have an iPhone 5... and now got an iPhone 6 Plus. I have perfect 20/20 vision, too. But... well... It seems like the 6+ display is a bit better... color-wise. And it generally feels a bit better, probably because the cover glass is also thinner... but other than that, the increased resolution is pretty much unnoticeable. Your perception is skewed anyways with the 6+, given that the display itself is just sooo much bigger.

So while here the difference is rather small, I have to say, that back in the day I did notice a Galaxy SIII's Pen-Tile display... Now THAT really WAS noticable!

As always YMMV.

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Haha. I should have read your comment first... you beat me to it

Have you compared an iPhone 5 5/s to the plus? Even on this site(full desktop mode).
You can definitley tell a big difference between the sharpness of the phones. Night and day actually. Both held same length away and closer in for both.
So if assume going from a less sharp iPad air and mini retina a bump to 400ppi or around will make a huge difference.

 

[Max(IT)]

If it runs the same A8 as the new iPhones, I don't foresee too much of a heat problem.

It would has to run a much higher definition display than the iPhone 6+

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The original iPad was 132dpi, and the Retina iPad 264dpi. Extrapolating, a 3x "Retina HD" iPad would be 396dpi, which is nearly an exact match for the 401dpi used in the iPhone 6 Plus.

So it wouldn't surprise me if the iPad Air 2 were to get an ever-so-slightly smaller display (9.6") at exactly 401dpi, with a 3072x2304 "Retina HD" resolution. This would exactly mirror the situation with the iPhone 4/4s/5/5s/6 (326dpi) and Retina iPad Mini (326dpi) sharing the same resolution.

You must have a reason to increase dpi on a tablet, otherwise you are just wasting resources.

 

[Jsameds]

superman was complaining too much on how he can see the individual pixels.

stupid clark kent.

Congratulations, you fell for Apple's marketing fluff.

You indeed can't see the pixels, but images/games/text/video on a higher PPI display (for example the 6+) look better than on a "retina" display.

If they do up the resolution I won't be buying this year, I want a product that can comfortably handle the resolutions required, not a tablet that can just about manage but struggles to do it, so I'll wait for the 2nd or 3rd gen higher res iPad.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Congratulations, you fell for Apple's marketing fluff.

You indeed can't see the pixels, but images/games/text/video on a higher PPI display (for example the 6+) look better than on a "retina" display.

If they do up the resolution I won't be buying this year, I want a product that can comfortably handle the resolutions required, not a tablet that can just about manage but struggles to do it, so I'll wait for the 2nd or 3rd gen higher res iPad.

you mean...i fell for science?

BTW, most 3D games (the ones that matter) aren't rendered at native iPhone/iPad resolutions for obvious reasons.

 

[Tech198]

I'm sure Apple doesn't need to leave hints in their code to suggest 3x (oh ya that's HD)

I would have thought Apple can eaily remove this stuff by now, just don't use the marketing term... simple .... then users won't get suspicious...

If I can wipe all traces from where i've been with private browsing, i'm sure Apple can do this too.

Whats soo hard about it?

For example, use "three" not "3"

 

[GreyOS]

Btw 3x assets doesn't mean 3x resolution/PPI of the original iPad, the iPhone 6 Plus (3x) illustrates this.

 

[majkom]

If Apple releases a iPad Pro it will be the best release product without leaks they have announced in a long time. Minus a few shells here and there....there really hasn't been much. I'll be impressed and shocked.

3 words: new mac pro

 

[cRuNcHiE]

If they do put Retina HD in the new air then I get a horrible feeling it will be underpowered just like the iPad 3 was.

 

[greytux]

Highly unlikely

Consider the total number of pixels that GPU would have to push:
- Current iPad Air (A7): 3.1 Million
- iPhone Plus (A8): 2.7 Million (scaled down to 2.1 Million on screen)
- 15" Retina Macbook Pro (Intel Iris GPU): 5.0 Million
- any 4K display: 8.3 Million
- rumored iPad Air: 7.1 Million

I think it is highly unlikely that a SoC, even an improved A8 with 4 cores, would be able to provide acceptable performance on such a crazy amount of pixels...

 

[aberrero]

IPad 3 is fine for me resolution wise I'm not sure my old eyes could see the difference. It is performance that I worry about so if this can't be done without a performance regression then maybe it isn't worth it. I say maybe because the screen is a minor issue for me.

As to A8X Apple needs such an updated processor even without Retina HD. ThE one thing that bothers me about iPad is,the,general performance of the device. Also people should realize that it isn't just GPU cores that will or could make the A8X faster, you also have the memory bus which could be vastly improved to deliver better performance.

The iPad 3 is really slow. I own both a 3 and an Air and the iPad Air is already substantially faster.

 

[Jsameds]

you mean...i fell for science?

BTW, most 3D games (the ones that matter) aren't rendered at native iPhone/iPad resolutions for obvious reasons.

No, marketing fluff.

Take the 6 and 6+ side by side and you'll see what I mean.

Higher resolutions also represent more accurate colour reproduction too. Either way, "Retina" resolutions can be improved upon, and that's all there is to it really.

 

[Keirasplace]

Congratulations, you fell for Apple's marketing fluff.

You indeed can't see the pixels, but images/games/text/video on a higher PPI display (for example the 6+) look better than on a "retina" display.

If they do up the resolution I won't be buying this year, I want a product that can comfortably handle the resolutions required, not a tablet that can just about manage but struggles to do it, so I'll wait for the 2nd or 3rd gen higher res iPad.

For text, UI, OK, but Really, video and games?... Give me a break. A real one. The limitations of the medias alone makes this improbable.

Even in tests, differences are seen only in HIGH CONTRAST PRINTED TEXT with people with perfect vision when going from 350 through 450ppi and beyond.

I really hate exagerations to make a point.

LCD and AMoled screen have much much lower contrast and are obviously not printed.

 

[Sandstorm]

I'm pretty sure these are preparations for the upcoming 12.9" iPad Pro/Plus...

Maybe it'll be previewed next week... I'm definitely interested in larger iPad (hopefully with wacom-level stylus - a dream of any creative professional).

 

[TheDeviceUser]

I thought this Retina HD Display was coming and called it over a week ago. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1793069/.

 

[farewelwilliams]

No, marketing fluff.

Take the 6 and 6+ side by side and you'll see what I mean.

Higher resolutions also represent more accurate colour reproduction too. Either way, "Retina" resolutions can be improved upon, and that's all there is to it really.

pretttty sure this 3d game i'm playing on my iPad Retina isn't drawing at full 2048 x 1536 resolution.
also too, i have taken 6 and a 6+ side by side, there were times where 6 looked better due to 6+'s downscaling methods (1px borders @3x downscaled to fit 1080p screen).

 

[Jsameds]

pretttty sure this 3d game i'm playing on my iPad Retina isn't drawing at full 2048 x 1536 resolution.
also too, i have taken 6 and a 6+ side by side, there were times where 6 looked better due to 6+'s downscaling methods (1px borders @3x downscaled to fit 1080p screen).

You're moving the goalposts now.

You know exactly what I mean about screen clarity but choose to opt for the not so nice auto scaling that happens on apps that aren't updated to support iP6/6+ resolutions yet.

Also, plenty of games render at iPad's native resolution. Look it up.

 

[fallenjt]

The original iPad was 132dpi, and the Retina iPad 264dpi. Extrapolating, a 3x "Retina HD" iPad would be 396dpi, which is nearly an exact match for the 401dpi used in the iPhone 6 Plus.

So it wouldn't surprise me if the iPad Air 2 were to get an ever-so-slightly smaller display (9.6") at exactly 401dpi, with a 3072x2304 "Retina HD" resolution. This would exactly mirror the situation with the iPhone 4/4s/5/5s/6 (326dpi) and Retina iPad Mini (326dpi) sharing the same resolution.

What the hell are you talking about? iPhone and iPad don't share resolution, they have different aspect ratios for God sake.
Reduce screen by 0.1"? That's a dumb marketing move. Apple don't have problem creating another resolution for iPad to maintain 326 dpi number, but that wouldn't happen for the same screen size. Instead, it's easier to go with 2X or 3X retina. I doubt that they will change resolution this time for Air 2. Instead save the 3X retina is for 12.9" version. Btw, "Retina HD" is not about resolution increase but pixel property which are dual domain now.
My prediction: same resolution as current Air but with retina HD. Why increase resolution while retina HD is already a big improvement for the same dpi?

 

[fallenjt]

Have you compared an iPhone 5 5/s to the plus? Even on this site(full desktop mode).
You can definitley tell a big difference between the sharpness of the phones. Night and day actually. Both held same length away and closer in for both.
So if assume going from a less sharp iPad air and mini retina a bump to 400ppi or around will make a huge difference.

No it's not. iPhone 5/5S has Retina display while 6/6+ has Retina HD which has dual domain pixels to allow better viewing angle and color saturation. That's why you see the icons on Retina HD almost float on the surface of the screen. ppi difference in 6 and 6+ is not distinguishable side by side with naked eyes since I have both. This proves Jobs' point: beyond 300 dpi, you can't tell the difference At normal viewing distance

 

[x-evil-x]

No it's not. iPhone 5/5S has Retina display while 6/6+ has Retina HD which has dual domain pixels to allow better viewing angle and color saturation. That's why you see the icons on Retina HD almost float on the surface of the screen. ppi difference in 6 and 6+ is not distinguishable side by side with naked eyes since I have both. This proves Jobs' point: beyond 300 dpi, you can't tell the difference At normal viewing distance

so you are saying i can't see a difference with my own eyes because you say so?
Retina and retina hd terms are dumb and should be thrown away.
Compare the phones side by side on the same page full desktop view and tell me you don't see a difference. if its the dual domain pixels or whatever it is it sure is sharper. i would only think that would make a difference off angle. i was looking it mostly straight on...

 

[fallenjt]

If they do put Retina HD in the new air then I get a horrible feeling it will be underpowered just like the iPad 3 was.

Why? It's the same amount of ppi, just dual domain pixels. That means no extra power to drive this screen.

 

[Mago]

One less manufacturing process. Economy of scale. Easier/cheaper to have multiple devices sharing the same display process.



12.9 at 3x res would be about 298dpi, which doesn't seem to match any existing device. But the "2.6x" iPhone 6 Plus trick is really inelegant and computationally wasteful, so I hope they don't do that with the "iPad Plus"! I half expect next year's "iPhone 6s Plus" or "iPhone 7" to have a native 1242x2208 display (414dx736 @3x) to get away from this awkward scaling.

You're absolutely wrong :

Why Apple need ~300 dpi? Retina display have been an very successful marketing feature, offering an consistent user experience across the product line it's imperative when you have an ecosystem of devices and services.

3x scaling: an 12.6“ iPad with same aspect ratio as its smaller sisters with this 3x scaling have immediate more less optimal (or usable) legacy apps since it's more complicated to recode to an different aspect ratio than just update object resolution while keeping scale.

The iPhone 6+ it's in fact an entirely new product line, programmers need to update their apps to the new GUI starting from 0, it's not desirable by programmers but am very common practice on Android ecosystem where fragmentation it's definitely am common issue, Apple just fragmented the iPhone by 2rd time (the first was the iPad), later when the iPhone may need an 4K screen only need to 2x scale the current 6+ GUI (as the iPad does when go retina), of course until there are optimized apps for the iPhone 6+ you'll suffer as the iPad users when forced to run iPhone only apps on their iPads in *compatibility mode *...

 

[fallenjt]

so you are saying i can't see a difference with my own eyes because you say so?
Retina and retina hd terms are dumb and should be thrown away.
Compare the phones side by side on the same page full desktop view and tell me you don't see a difference. if its the dual domain pixels or whatever it is it sure is sharper. i would only think that would make a difference off angle. i was looking it mostly straight on...

Yes, I have both 6 and 6+ side by side now on this current page. No difference. Whoever said difference is a liar.
Btw, whoever think Retina display is Apple marketing term, read the experiment below and S.T.F.U.

prometheus.med.utah.edu/~bwjones/2010/06/apple-retina-display/

 

[Donka]

The "new iPad Air" anyone? I'll pass. I don't want to be on a crap cycle like the iPad 3 again with crap performance and heat.

This. I was only going to upgrade if 2GB Ram showed up. Now, if the screen gets upped as well, it will certainly pique my interest in the device but at the same, will ensure I won't be an early adopter.
I'll be sitting back and seeing how things unfold before considering an upgrade.