iPad Pro iPad Pro 4K, anyone?

[Ralfi]

With 4K now widespread across many digital platforms, & with the iPads (arguable) main use be to watch YouTube/movies, wouldn't it make sense for the next iPad to have a 4K resolution?

I feel 4K & HDR/Dolby Vision are must-inclusions for the next gen iPad Pro, as an increasing number of iTunes Movies are now available at those specifications.

YouTube is another issue of course, with Google/Apple not in sync with codec support....still, it'd be a major boost to the iPad Pro Line if these differences were sorted & users could then watch video at their best, even on LCD (save OLED for the gen following 4K).

 

[AutomaticApple]

With 4K now widespread across many digital platforms, & with the iPads (arguable) main use be to watch YouTube/movies, wouldn't it make sense for the next iPad to have a 4K resolution?

I feel 4K & HDR/Dolby Vision are must-inclusions for the next gen iPad Pro, as an increasing number of iTunes Movies are now available at those specifications.

YouTube is another issue of course, with Google/Apple not in sync with codec support....still, it'd be a major boost to the iPad Pro Line if these differences were sorted & users could then watch video at their best, even on LCD (save OLED for the gen following 4K).

That’d be heaven on Earth!

 

[benshive]

With 4K now widespread across many digital platforms, & with the iPads (arguable) main use be to watch YouTube/movies, wouldn't it make sense for the next iPad to have a 4K resolution?

I feel 4K & HDR/Dolby Vision are must-inclusions for the next gen iPad Pro, as an increasing number of iTunes Movies are now available at those specifications.

YouTube is another issue of course, with Google/Apple not in sync with codec support....still, it'd be a major boost to the iPad Pro Line if these differences were sorted & users could then watch video at their best, even on LCD (save OLED for the gen following 4K).

Only thing that makes me hesitant to believe that this will happen soon is that Apple has been using a 2880x1880 display for the 15 inch MacBook Pro since 2012. You'd think that would be the first machine to make the jump to 4k, especially considering how many people use it for video editing.

 

[TheRealAlex]

With 4K now widespread across many digital platforms, & with the iPads (arguable) main use be to watch YouTube/movies, wouldn't it make sense for the next iPad to have a 4K resolution?

I feel 4K & HDR/Dolby Vision are must-inclusions for the next gen iPad Pro, as an increasing number of iTunes Movies are now available at those specifications.

YouTube is another issue of course, with Google/Apple not in sync with codec support....still, it'd be a major boost to the iPad Pro Line if these differences were sorted & users could then watch video at their best, even on LCD (save OLED for the gen following 4K).

I think iPad Pro needs a solid 2 years or more at the same Resolution and Size 11” So Apps and developers can optimize and brings their apps up to date. The vast majority of Apps still dont have native 11’ iPad Pro resolution support.

 

[subjonas]

Do you see the pixels on your retina iPad now? I can only see pixels if I put the screen 2-3 inches from my face, which I never do (unless I’m trying to see pixels).

 

[Conan86]

I doubt we’ll see 4K on Apple mobile devices anytime soon.. just look at how the iPhones aren’t even 1440p.. we’d probably need to wait for some outstanding advancement in battery technology or panel to have much lower power consumption before Apple implement 4K on its mobile devices..

 

[RevTEG]

At what point can the human eye actually see/tell the difference on a small screen like an iPad?

 

[Hym tix]

with the way Apple seems to approach iPad design, I don't see 4k happening soon. It seems like keeping down weight, thinness, low power consumption are more important than a true 4k screen.

Personally I don't really care since the 12.9 screen is sharp enough(for me) at the current 264ppi resolution. The 326ppi of the iPad Mini does look incredibly good, but only because it is a smaller screen and held closer to my face.

an 12.9 iPad with true 4k would be 371ppi (at the 4:3 ratio of 3820x2878) which is almost double the current number of pixels. I can't imagine that it would make the viewing experience that much better for most iPad owners.

 

[Ralfi]

Do you see the pixels on your retina iPad now? I can only see pixels if I put the screen 2-3 inches from my face, which I never do (unless I’m trying to see pixels).

iPads do handle things well in this regard for sure.

But I’d say if you had YouTube playing on a current iPad Pro with 1080p non-HDR/DV screen up against a 4K iPad Pro with HDR/DV, the overall picture would be noticeable.

Then add OLED into the mix later on, & we’ve got ourselves a true feast for the eyes in the palm of our hands.
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I doubt we’ll see 4K on Apple mobile devices anytime soon.. just look at how the iPhones aren’t even 1440p.. we’d probably need to wait for some outstanding advancement in battery technology or panel to have much lower power consumption before Apple implement 4K on its mobile devices..

Good point about battery. I wouldn’t want an iPad that’d last as long as the old iPad Air 2 did just before I replaced it.

Without significant battery improvement, 4K would reduce it badly. Hopefully by then, bigger, more efficient batteries can handle things better.

Re: iPhones. Their screens/batteries are much smaller & people would be watching less movies on them compared to the iPad imo, so 1440p does the job, rounding out an overall, quality & practically specced device.

 

[masotime]

OLED is more important than 4K at this point. Movies look much better with true blacks. The resolution increase isn’t going to improve visual fidelity much better than more accurate colors and contrast IMO.

 

[muzzy996]

iPads do handle things well in this regard for sure.

But I’d say if you had YouTube playing on a current iPad Pro with 1080p non-HDR/DV screen up against a 4K iPad Pro with HDR/DV, the overall picture would be noticeable.

Is 4K YouTube content even playable on Apple devices? I thought there were VP9 codec issues with YouTube content making it even impossible for us to watch 1440p content on our iPads currently.

i get your point though - I would think one could tell the difference too.

 

[HDFan]

With 4K now widespread across many digital platforms, & with the iPads (arguable) main use be to watch YouTube/movies, wouldn't it make sense for the next iPad to have a 4K resolution?

No. But who knows what they will do.

At what point can the human eye actually see/tell the difference on a small screen like an iPad?

On my 65" TV screen I often have to look to see the difference between a 1080p and 4K video. But this may relate to the fact that a lot of 4K movies are just upscaled:

"Why your Avenger UHD Blu-Rays aren't actually 4k | Upscaled"

Really does show up on the Apple TV screen savers though.

OLED is more important than 4K at this point. Movies look much better with true blacks.

OLED is certainly nice, but HDR has a much greater impact. That downtown LA screensaver on the Apple TV at night with 4K HDR is spectacular.

 

[Precursor]

4k panels on tablets are not widespread. I think ipads will have 4k and above only after switching to oled, and only after 4k oleds at this size will be down to a reasonable cost to Apple, to keep iPad prices reasonable. I for one wouldn’t pay $300-$400 more now to have a 4k screen on an iPP

 

[Ralfi]

Is 4K YouTube content even playable on Apple devices? I thought there were VP9 codec issues with YouTube content making it even impossible for us to watch 1440p content on our iPads currently.

Yeah that’s what I meant by them not being in sync with codecs. This needs to be sorted out as limiting a great iPad Pro screen to 1080p is criminal

 

[gnomeisland]

4k panels on tablets are not widespread. I think ipads will have 4k and above only after switching to oled, and only after 4k oleds at this size will be down to a reasonable cost to Apple, to keep iPad prices reasonable. I for one wouldn’t pay $300-$400 more now to have a 4k screen on an iPP

And current mobile OLED panels are only higher resolution because they use pentile displays. If LG or Japan Display started making RGBW OLED panels that size I doubt Apple with increase the dpi. Maybe they would go 3X (so 3336X2502 for 11") but even that seem like an awkward multiplier with diminishing perceptible gains.

 

[spiderman0616]

With 4K now widespread across many digital platforms, & with the iPads (arguable) main use be to watch YouTube/movies

That's where I stopped reading.

 

[Silver Idaten]

But...why?

It’s like 4K on a laptop, I find it unnecessary. I had a 4K laptop and it became more of a hindrance to me after awhile because it kept ****ing with the resolution for a bunch of other things I ran on it. The screen is too small to really need 4K in my opinion.

 

[Ralfi]

That's where I stopped reading.

It’s a discussion.

Contribute, smartarse.

But...why?

It’s like 4K on a laptop, I find it unnecessary. I had a 4K laptop and it became more of a hindrance to me after awhile because it kept ****ing with the resolution for a bunch of other things I ran on it. The screen is too small to really need 4K in my opinion.

What ‘other things’?

Reason I mentioned movies was that iTunes Movies are in 4K, & since people are watching movies on tablets much closer (within arms length) than they do on TV’s, they’d be able to see the difference 4K brings.
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OLED is more important than 4K at this point. Movies look much better with true blacks. The resolution increase isn’t going to improve visual fidelity much better than more accurate colors and contrast IMO.

Possibly. Hence mention of HDR/DV along with 4K in the OP - a good ‘stepping stone’ before OLED’s are affordable on an iPad.

 

[hajime]

With 4K now widespread across many digital platforms, & with the iPads (arguable) main use be to watch YouTube/movies, wouldn't it make sense for the next iPad to have a 4K resolution?

I feel 4K & HDR/Dolby Vision are must-inclusions for the next gen iPad Pro, as an increasing number of iTunes Movies are now available at those specifications.

YouTube is another issue of course, with Google/Apple not in sync with codec support....still, it'd be a major boost to the iPad Pro Line if these differences were sorted & users could then watch video at their best, even on LCD (save OLED for the gen following 4K).

Since so many devices have 4K screen already, if Apple wants to be innovative they should be the first to release a 6-8K iPad Pro.

 

[Kal-037]

OLED is more important than 4K at this point. Movies look much better with true blacks. The resolution increase isn’t going to improve visual fidelity much better than more accurate colors and contrast IMO.

Micro LED, no burn in, longer life, more accurate colors, just as deep blacks and bright whites. OLED is a technology I hope goes away from Apple. I much prefer LCD for true faster refresh rates and no image burn in. Micro LED will be the next big thing. Apple will probably have it in their 2020 iPhones or 2021.

just my 0.2 cents. lol

 

[TheRealAlex]

With 4K now widespread across many digital platforms, & with the iPads (arguable) main use be to watch YouTube/movies, wouldn't it make sense for the next iPad to have a 4K resolution?

I feel 4K & HDR/Dolby Vision are must-inclusions for the next gen iPad Pro, as an increasing number of iTunes Movies are now available at those specifications.

YouTube is another issue of course, with Google/Apple not in sync with codec support....still, it'd be a major boost to the iPad Pro Line if these differences were sorted & users could then watch video at their best, even on LCD (save OLED for the gen following 4K).

I’d be happy with 120Hz 1440p HDR10 with a 10-bit IPS Display.

Currently it’s just an 8-bit IPS Display 120Hz

 

[spiderman0616]

Micro LED, no burn in, longer life, more accurate colors, just as deep blacks and bright whites. OLED is a technology I hope goes away from Apple. I much prefer LCD for true faster refresh rates and no image burn in. Micro LED will be the next big thing. Apple will probably have it in their 2020 iPhones or 2021.

just my 0.2 cents. lol

I agree. I finally got a 4K TV last year and an Apple TV 4K to go with it. It truly does make 4K content look amazing. However, if I watch that same 4K content on my iPhone XS Max or my 11" iPad Pro, it looks every bit as amazing to my eyes, especially now that iOS devices support HDR. I'd much rather watch that kind of content on my large 4K TV, but when I'm on a train or airplane and want to pass the time watching a movie on my iPad it's a pretty amazing screen to have with me.

 

[gnomeisland]

I think HDR/DV is far more important than a resolution bump. A slight increase in DPI might be nice, and if they go with a pentile AMOLED like Samsung makes it will be necessary, but I don't have issues with my current iPad's sharpness. Given the dynamic nature of iPadOS I don't think burn-in would be an issue so I'd love to see OLED screens on the iPad. Micro LED is still a lot harder to make than OLED and affordable OLED may right around the corner (finally!).

The other big advantage of OLED is thinness. A thinner display layer and thicker glass would go a long way to make the iPad Pro more durable without adding significant weight.

 

[spiderman0616]

I think HDR/DV is far more important than a resolution bump. A slight increase in DPI might be nice, and if they go with a pentile AMOLED like Samsung makes it will be necessary, but I don't have issues with my current iPad's sharpness. Given the dynamic nature of iPadOS I don't think burn-in would be an issue so I'd love to see OLED screens on the iPad. Micro LED is still a lot harder to make than OLED and affordable OLED may right around the corner (finally!).

The other big advantage of OLED is thinness. A thinner display layer and thicker glass would go a long way to make the iPad Pro more durable without adding significant weight.

Exactly. This is 100% correct.

 

[mrklaw]

No point 4K screen on a 10-13” device. Probably not even on a MBP. If your editing 4K footage you wouldn’t be watching just the footage on the laptop screen anyway - you’d drive an external monitor.

I hope (and think it’s more likely) that Apple updates the usb-c out to support driving a 4K display at 4K - perhaps even extended ‘desktop’ for things like video editing. Seems a ‘pro’ thing to support.