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Why can iPad still not run iPhone apps at full "retina display" resolution?
- Thread starter neiltc13
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I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that one. I'm pretty sure Apple cares a lot about how devs price their apps seing as Apple gets 30% of all profits.
I just installed RetinaPad on my jailbroken (4.3.2) iPad. It's fantastic! Probably just what the OP was hoping Apple would do. iPhone apps which used to be painful to look at now look great. No UI problems that I can discern.
As others in this thread have suggested, I'm convinced that Apple wants to leave iPhone apps crippled on the iPad - purely for marketing reasons. RetinaPad proves that this is not a technical problem.
I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that one. I'm pretty sure Apple cares a lot about how devs price their apps seing as Apple gets 30% of all profits.
i know universal apps are a hard concept to understand, as is the idea that apple allows free apps as well. both those things force devs to charge you obscene amounts of money, just so you can pay for an iphone app AND an ipad app.
or, they could be ways apple allows one payment to work on both... maybe?
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Jailbreak Time
Well this gave me a good reason to Jailbreak and I've only had it a few hours. Seems kind of petty to deny me my retina apps while the universal ones are so thin on the ground.
Old style iPhone ones are unusable at 2x, and although I do see the logic of trying to get developers to make iPad versions, I think they would anyway as that would still be better.
Well this gave me a good reason to Jailbreak and I've only had it a few hours. Seems kind of petty to deny me my retina apps while the universal ones are so thin on the ground.
Old style iPhone ones are unusable at 2x, and although I do see the logic of trying to get developers to make iPad versions, I think they would anyway as that would still be better.
When the original iPad came out last year, there were no dedicated iPad apps, so running iPhone (before the Retina devices existed) apps was a good way for consumers to fill the time until dedicated apps appeared.
Now, a year later, with thousands of dedicated iPad apps available, I really hope Apple flicks the switch with iOS 5, so that older apps look better.
Today, there surely can be no excuse for THIS.
Now, a year later, with thousands of dedicated iPad apps available, I really hope Apple flicks the switch with iOS 5, so that older apps look better.
Today, there surely can be no excuse for THIS.
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It isn't possible to easily detect which mode the app is written for, really. The iPad can present itself as an iPhone 4, but then everything will need to run at 960x640, even the ones without the assets. Then it's more of a case that if you don't want to fill the screen, it has to scale down which is (ironically) more expensive than pixel doubling.
Glad to find this thread. I'm frustrated by this. Three simple screenshots, both taken using the "press the standby and round buttons at the same time" method:
screenshot of the iPhone-version Angry Birds on iPhone 4:
![5772999787_42d789a928_z.jpg]()
screen shot of the iPhone-version Angry Birds on iPad:
![5773537836_56aa665db1_z.jpg]()
and, bear with me:
Screenshot on an iPad (in Photos) of the screenshot of the iPhone-version Angry Birds on iPhone 4 (to show that it's not a screen resolution issue, it's simply how they choose to display it:
![5773558564_8393dbd4c6_z.jpg]()
Why is this okay?
screenshot of the iPhone-version Angry Birds on iPhone 4:
screen shot of the iPhone-version Angry Birds on iPad:
and, bear with me:
Screenshot on an iPad (in Photos) of the screenshot of the iPhone-version Angry Birds on iPhone 4 (to show that it's not a screen resolution issue, it's simply how they choose to display it:
Why is this okay?
As crazy as you may think I am, I am Happy Apple did this and want them to continue to keep it this way.
Letting iPhone Retina apps run full res on the iPad will only mean less properly written iPad versions that take advantage of the physically larger screen.
On a tiny 3.5" screen you can only make icons and buttons so big for them to be usable with a finger tip, but on the iPad you can have more on screen for the same screen resolution and it's still usable for finger input.
We will just have devs become lazy and not bother with a proper iPad version and the iPhone version is good enough.
that's the very last thing I want. What surprises me is, over a year after launch there are still not some basic apps converted for the iPad.
Letting iPhone Retina apps run full res on the iPad will only mean less properly written iPad versions that take advantage of the physically larger screen.
On a tiny 3.5" screen you can only make icons and buttons so big for them to be usable with a finger tip, but on the iPad you can have more on screen for the same screen resolution and it's still usable for finger input.
We will just have devs become lazy and not bother with a proper iPad version and the iPhone version is good enough.
that's the very last thing I want. What surprises me is, over a year after launch there are still not some basic apps converted for the iPad.
The iPhone-only game Trainyard runs high resolution graphics when in the iPad 2x mode. But that's achieved by using high res graphics at all times, downscaling when run on the 3GS and similar, which in turn looks a bit jaggy.
I agree that the real solution is universal or iPad-only apps. Not only because of the obvious UI concerns, but also because iPhone apps on the iPad confuses first time users.
I agree that the real solution is universal or iPad-only apps. Not only because of the obvious UI concerns, but also because iPhone apps on the iPad confuses first time users.
Seems like a lose-lose-lose proposition:
end users: iPhone apps can only be viewed @ 132 or 66 dpi on the current iPads. x1 view could at least rotate to the current orientation of the unit, if retina isn't going to be supported. I have to physically rotate the iPad to use those apps, many times - which is not convenient when on a mount.
developers: additional overhead for iPad may not be justifiable. This "encouragement" doesn't seem to be working all that well - especially where Microsoft is concerned.
Apple: their "credibility" in terms of the necessity of the "retina" density threshold, and their perceived policy of not allowing their devices to do things "half-assed", is diminished by allowing iPhone apps to be displayed at 66 dpi. Having to unnecessarily rotate the device to use the iPhone app also diminishes the value of the statement "It just works".
end users: iPhone apps can only be viewed @ 132 or 66 dpi on the current iPads. x1 view could at least rotate to the current orientation of the unit, if retina isn't going to be supported. I have to physically rotate the iPad to use those apps, many times - which is not convenient when on a mount.
developers: additional overhead for iPad may not be justifiable. This "encouragement" doesn't seem to be working all that well - especially where Microsoft is concerned.
Apple: their "credibility" in terms of the necessity of the "retina" density threshold, and their perceived policy of not allowing their devices to do things "half-assed", is diminished by allowing iPhone apps to be displayed at 66 dpi. Having to unnecessarily rotate the device to use the iPhone app also diminishes the value of the statement "It just works".
Because to push the ipad2 out the door in time, they had to go to a bulk quantity low resolution display. It could not be "fixed" mid-stream even though the hi res displays became available about 30 days after the ipad2's release. For your 350 dpi screen, you'll just have to wait for the ipad3 like everybody else
Is no the iPhone way is android way, and yes is cause of that, they look like crap, but ipad apps do look really nice
I also wonder how the apps would switch graphics on the fly between the 1x and 2x modes. Of course the apps could just launch in a larger 1x if they are retina and not have an option to scale down but this seems like it would be a lot more for the iPad to figure out.
In the end my vote is mainly on the marketing and try to encourage developers to make specific iPad apps and users to buy specific iPad apps.
Personally I was shocked the iPad supported iphone apps at all. I think the only reason was to help sales because of a fear that nobody would buy an iPad if it had no apps. It was Apple's way of saying it already supports thousands of apps.
Apple doesn't care about selling two apps. They actually encourage developers to make universal apps. They just want it done the right way.
In the end my vote is mainly on the marketing and try to encourage developers to make specific iPad apps and users to buy specific iPad apps.
Personally I was shocked the iPad supported iphone apps at all. I think the only reason was to help sales because of a fear that nobody would buy an iPad if it had no apps. It was Apple's way of saying it already supports thousands of apps.
Apple doesn't care about selling two apps. They actually encourage developers to make universal apps. They just want it done the right way.