Assuming the iPad stays at 9.7" and the iPhone at 3.5" will Apple ever again need to improve the resolution of either screen (think 3-4 years down the road) or are we now at the resolutions of the future? I'm not asking if Apple could ever improve the resolution technologically yet rather if people see any reason why they should.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Will iPad or iPhone ever need increased resolution?
- Thread starter ks-man
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Great question. When does it become "too much"? I think that in its current form factor, the new iPad is stunning. Not sure I would focus on making it 4096x3072, although that would be awesome. It needs to become thinner and lighter I think....
Nope. Its just not necessary at all, and it would cause another increase in gpu/ram/power drain with far less of an impact on what you can see (holding your eye up real close?).
The next big screen upgrade should be switching to OLED when matching the resolution becomes viable and they work out a few of the other problems with it.
Well, spekaing realistically anyway. Obviously if you go far enough out technology will change or the impact on performance/price will be so small that you may as well just do it anyway.
The next big screen upgrade should be switching to OLED when matching the resolution becomes viable and they work out a few of the other problems with it.
Well, spekaing realistically anyway. Obviously if you go far enough out technology will change or the impact on performance/price will be so small that you may as well just do it anyway.
The iPhone will go through one more doubling to get to 1920 x 1280, but it'll probably have a larger screen by then.
At 1920 x 1280 it'll be enough to hold 1080p video with 100 pixel borders on top and bottom.
The iPad is fine where it is for the next few years. Other tablet manufacturers will up their devices to be exactly 2k.
At 1920 x 1280 it'll be enough to hold 1080p video with 100 pixel borders on top and bottom.
The iPad is fine where it is for the next few years. Other tablet manufacturers will up their devices to be exactly 2k.
Amazing if true, but I wonder at what point does it become useless to increase the dpi anymore?
If they kept upping the resolution, at some point we'd have to upgrade our eyes to appreciate the difference. 
Not just pointless, eating battery and processor resources for a pointless return (maybe it'll make it so you can't even tell the pixels from an inch away but who actually holds their iphone/ipad that close unless they are trying to read without glasses and have as bad eyesight as me
. At which point they'd probably not notice "retina" or not).The only usefulness of more pixels would be something like 3D. If you double the new iPad's resolution, then you could have a retina 3D display with half the pixels for each eye. That's one of the few real benefits I read about 4k TVs.
I'm torn on if the iPhone should be changed at all. If they make a slim bezel they can sneek in more real estate
If they kept upping the resolution, at some point we'd have to upgrade our eyes to appreciate the difference.
iEye?
I like the mockups I saw of the next iPhone with a 4-inch screen and a body that looks like the iPad. It might be less practical with a more compact device, but it looked nice. I'm just kinda antsy for a Verizon 4G model since 3G gets me speed of less than half a megabit. The signal is almost always solid, but it has been an adjustment from the 2 Mb I got on AT&T for two years.
The existing retina displays approach the limits of the human eye when viewing under normal conditions. It is quite possible that some people will notice a difference if a higher resolution display were made. The question is whether or not this difference is big enough for most people to notice.
I compared the iPad 2 to the new iPad and at least for me, I noticed a definite improvement in the sharpness of text. When viewing the text in the Pulse app, the new iPad showed the characters to be very crisp. The iPad 2 appeared a bit pixated and I did not have to look hard to notice this. I used the normal font size. For pictures, the difference wasn't as big to me compared to the difference with text.
After the iPhone 4 was released, I read an article that said the resolution required to ensure the human retina cannot identify individual pixels is supposed to be significantly higher than the retina display. I believe it was something like 30%. Now 30% may sound big, but what really matters is how much better a "true" retina display would look to the average person. If the difference is barely noticeable, then it's really no big deal. I just read an article about some display that has the same resolution as the iPad, but only a couple of inches in size. I would be interested to actually see it with my own eyes to see if how much of a difference it looks to me.
I compared the iPad 2 to the new iPad and at least for me, I noticed a definite improvement in the sharpness of text. When viewing the text in the Pulse app, the new iPad showed the characters to be very crisp. The iPad 2 appeared a bit pixated and I did not have to look hard to notice this. I used the normal font size. For pictures, the difference wasn't as big to me compared to the difference with text.
After the iPhone 4 was released, I read an article that said the resolution required to ensure the human retina cannot identify individual pixels is supposed to be significantly higher than the retina display. I believe it was something like 30%. Now 30% may sound big, but what really matters is how much better a "true" retina display would look to the average person. If the difference is barely noticeable, then it's really no big deal. I just read an article about some display that has the same resolution as the iPad, but only a couple of inches in size. I would be interested to actually see it with my own eyes to see if how much of a difference it looks to me.
Iphone has the aspect ratio of 3:2, don't ever think that you will get 720p or 1080p screen on it (which is 16:9).
Suppose the current resolution double...1920x1280...and iPhone increase the screen to 4.0", it would be 577ppi, that's insane.
If they keep current resolution and increase the screen size alone, at 3.7", ppi is 311; at 4.0, ppi is 288ppi but I doubt that Apple would step back since Retina display is their main competitive advantage.
Well, just my 2 cents...Who knows what Apple up to,,,Just like we have never thought to see a 41MP camera like Nokia Pureview exist
Suppose the current resolution double...1920x1280...and iPhone increase the screen to 4.0", it would be 577ppi, that's insane
.If they keep current resolution and increase the screen size alone, at 3.7", ppi is 311; at 4.0, ppi is 288ppi but I doubt that Apple would step back since Retina display is their main competitive advantage.
Well, just my 2 cents...Who knows what Apple up to,,,Just like we have never thought to see a 41MP camera like Nokia Pureview exist
Yes, the iphone will get near 600dpi in the next few years, competition will dictate that.
One could certainly see in 3 years 600dpi being the default for all devices outside of large monitors or tv screens. It's already being worked on and these new screens use way less energy, prototypes are already out.
2048 x 1536 was selected because its a multiple of the old iPad, and the next few years it will most likely stay the same. Right about the time 4k tv gets rolling, it will go higher, probably double if it doesn't completely change form factor.
But the next revolution in dpi will take place with desktop and laptop displays since most are under 110dpi and look like crap next to an iPad.
You can't rule out a new technology not even invented yet taking the lead in a few years. The ultimate outcome of research going on now will be:
In the not so distant future, screens will look better than paper in the best art magazine.
600-1000dpi, (same as some professional art print)
No glare, Illumination only when needed.
Paper thin
Very little power consumption.
QLEDS are looking very interesting, very low power and can be up to 1000dpi with way less power consumption.
We look at screens all the time, why wouldn't anyone want to perfect them to be as close to real life as possible? People have said in the past, do we need color? Or a million colors is overkill, nobody needs over a gig of ram....
People will say how did we ever live with such low dpi? Just like we say about memory, color, monitor size etc...
One could certainly see in 3 years 600dpi being the default for all devices outside of large monitors or tv screens. It's already being worked on and these new screens use way less energy, prototypes are already out.
2048 x 1536 was selected because its a multiple of the old iPad, and the next few years it will most likely stay the same. Right about the time 4k tv gets rolling, it will go higher, probably double if it doesn't completely change form factor.
But the next revolution in dpi will take place with desktop and laptop displays since most are under 110dpi and look like crap next to an iPad.
You can't rule out a new technology not even invented yet taking the lead in a few years. The ultimate outcome of research going on now will be:
In the not so distant future, screens will look better than paper in the best art magazine.
600-1000dpi, (same as some professional art print)
No glare, Illumination only when needed.
Paper thin
Very little power consumption.
QLEDS are looking very interesting, very low power and can be up to 1000dpi with way less power consumption.
We look at screens all the time, why wouldn't anyone want to perfect them to be as close to real life as possible? People have said in the past, do we need color? Or a million colors is overkill, nobody needs over a gig of ram....
People will say how did we ever live with such low dpi? Just like we say about memory, color, monitor size etc...
Not for a very long time. Regardless of Android, Apple will go 4x or nothing. Considering the insane GPU power and almost no perceptible difference I'd say not a chance. Retina is retina.
Thats not to say we cant see any exotic new screen tech, OLED, IGZO or even newer. Apple can improve the clarity, contrast ratio, whites, saturation, plenty other areas wherethe screen can be improved but the resolution is is one area they have nailed for good.
The only thing i can thing of where they drop QVGA on a 2D screen would be if they developed a screen that used 100% vectors so there would be no physical pixels, in effect making it an infinite resolution screen.
Deep into the future, iPad wcould go 3D, projector, holographic, these are the circumstances where the current QXGA screen could be dropped.
Thats not to say we cant see any exotic new screen tech, OLED, IGZO or even newer. Apple can improve the clarity, contrast ratio, whites, saturation, plenty other areas wherethe screen can be improved but the resolution is is one area they have nailed for good.
The only thing i can thing of where they drop QVGA on a 2D screen would be if they developed a screen that used 100% vectors so there would be no physical pixels, in effect making it an infinite resolution screen.
Deep into the future, iPad wcould go 3D, projector, holographic, these are the circumstances where the current QXGA screen could be dropped.
Despite the "retina" title, the pixels are quite noticeable in games that don't use anti-aliasing. You can really see the jaggies along edges that are clost to horizontal or vertical.
So yes I think they will increase the resolution one day - but not for many years.
I can also still see the pixels in text - they are tiny, but there's still (a little) room for improvement. At least for those with decent eyes...
What could definitely be improved a lot is the maximum brightness and contrast - it's already better in some competitors' tablets. Reading in direct sunlight is possible but still not that much fun.
What could definitely be improved a lot is the maximum brightness and contrast - it's already better in some competitors' tablets. Reading in direct sunlight is possible but still not that much fun.