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MacBook Air - Already near-retina

Blackberryroid

Blackberryroid

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 8, 2012
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Isn't the MacBook Air already near-retina? It has a higher PPI display than the cMBP, and it's sharp! I can't see the pixels on normal viewing distance, but it's starting to appear when I'm 5 Inch near.

Does the MacBook Air appear like the Retina-Display to any other users? How does it compare to the rMBP?
 
Not even close.

I don't have a rMBP, but I have the Air and an IPad3. The colors are much more saturated on the retina screen, and it is much clearer and crisper than the screen on the Air.

It's a pretty big difference.
 
Although resolution and reflectivity are different, I find the MBA display quite nice for what it is. Since I own a selection of OS X, & Windows laptops that see usage weekly, I am very satisfied with not only the display, but all other aspects of mine.
 
It's not that the MBA has a bad screen, but just compare it to the rMBP at an Apple store. The difference is stunning. Everything is so much clearer and crisper on a retina display.
 
I tend to use my Mac Air at a farther distance than I do with my iPad 3. Yes the difference in visual quality is noticeable, but at the distance I use it at the Air's display is just fine for me. I would like a more visually stunning and sharper display, sure, but not if it costs $200-$300 more.

I can appreciate the visual on the iPad 3, but that doesn't mean everything else I look at is garbage. At the same distance though the iPad 2 does bother me, but not the Air at a farther distance.
 
plucky duck said:
I tend to use my Mac Air at a farther distance than I do with my iPad 3. Yes the difference in visual quality is noticeable, but at the distance I use it at the Air's display is just fine for me. I would like a more visually stunning and sharper display, sure, but not if it costs $200-$300 more.

I can appreciate the visual on the iPad 3, but that doesn't mean everything else I look at is garbage. At the same distance though the iPad 2 does bother me, but not the Air at a farther distance.
Click to expand...

I would pay $200-$400 in a heartbeat for a significantly better screen...
 
SPeaking of rMBA, when is the next refresh due?

I bet they'll put in a retina screen this time around.
 
cloneofsnake said:
What makes you say that?
Click to expand...
MBA with retina would have terrible performance and battery life. MBP on the other hand has enough space for HW upgrades (CPU / GPU) that would allow it handle Retina display.

I am sure there will be a MBA with Retina display in the future (1 or more years), just not right now.
 
Cool thing about the Air is that the 13" already has the resolution of an ordinary 15" laptop. Don't be greedy. ;)
 
I agree that a retina Air is quite far away. Let's say you double the vertical and horizontal resolution (like the rMBP), that makes 4x the graphics to push for the GPU. The air is already quite slow in graphic intense situations (say 20-30 fps in most games, which is acceptable but not great). Coping with 4x the resolution in acceptable speeds demands around 400% speed increase from the GPU, or if the GPU stays the same, it will run at 25% of the current speed = slow.

Those speeds available in modern graphics cards, but not with intels integrated gpu, and you just can't fit a discrete GPU in the Air due to size and power constraints. And the Intel GPU's increase by maybe 20-40% per year. So unless they come up with a very power efficient discrete GPU that can somehow be fitted inside the Air chassis (which is very unlikely in the near future), you're either going to have a very slow Air, or have to wait a few years for the GPU's to catch up to the demand.

Knowing Apple, I guess they don't want to ship half-assed solutions so my guess is they will wait. 2-3 years minimum is my guess, if at all. I think only the 13" MBP will get retina.
 
When I got my 11" Air, i was blown away by the screen. It was far far better than my 15" Toughbook (almost twice the area, the same number or pixels), better than my iPad 1, but not quite as good as my iPhone 4s. Then I got a new iPad, and suddenly the screen on the Air looked a bit rubbish, and the screen on my Toughbook now hurts my eyes.

I love my 11" Air, but I'll seriously consider a huge heavy 13" Retina MacBook Pro just for that sharp screen...
 
There's two to three limitations. Battery performance. GPU performance. Price point. Physical space is also a limitation as well.
 
I regularly use my ipad3 and 13" MBA, and I have to say the difference is noticeable - but the fact that the 13" MBA has the same resolution as a 15" MBP does make for a good compromise in terms of being fairly high-res. It doesn't make me squint and immediately want to switch to a retina model the way using an iphone 3G does.

Btw has anyone tried the new pseudo-retina hidpi app that came out on the app store today? It would theoretically let you use a lower res (e.g. 960x600) in hidpi on a non-retina macbook.
 
Not long after the rMBP started shipping, some guy posted how epic streamed porn looked. I wish I'd bookmarked that thread because it was hilarious. For example, he claimed that he could see and count sperm in the muddies.
 
Blackberryroid said:
The Intel HD Graphics 4000 was able to power a 15 Inch Retina-Display at 220 PPI without lagging and even some games. GPU performance is no problem.
Click to expand...

The old nVidia 9400m (remember that one ? half the performance of the Intel 3000 HD) could power an internal 1280x800 display and an external 2560x1600 display, at the same time.

Sorry really, GPU power is not even being challenged here.
 
KnightWRX said:
The old nVidia 9400m (remember that one ? half the performance of the Intel 3000 HD) could power an internal 1280x800 display and an external 2560x1600 display, at the same time.

Sorry really, GPU power is not even being challenged here.
Click to expand...

So you think the Air will go retina next iteration? (Mid 2013?)
 
GrandPhrase said:
So you think the Air will go retina next iteration? (Mid 2013?)
Click to expand...

I don't. The tech isn't there to make it thin enough and maintain acceptable battery life at the same time. Battery tech and screen thickness are the limiting factors in this case, not GPU performance. The Intel HD4000 has really impressed me for onboard video. It can really push a lot of pixels.
 
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