Do you want your iPhone apps sharpened up for iPhone 4's Retina Display?
Do you want your iPhone apps sharpened up for iPhone 4's Retina Display? iPhone 4 has a whopping 960x640 screen which is literally 4 times (twice vertical, twice horizontal) the pixel size, but the same physical size, as previous generation iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3GS. That's a density of over 300dpi -- print magazine quality. Existing apps will just seamlessly use 4 pixels on the iPhone 4 compared to 1 pixel on previous gen iPhones, so they'll look identical.
In fact, fonts -- and if you built your app in Xcode, UI elements -- will automagically be rendered at the new 4x sharpness, so they'll look better.
To truly take advantage of the new display, however, developers and designers will have to go back to the drawing board (or paint program) and make new, higher definition graphical elements like icons, textures, and other artwork.
For some developers this won't even be a question -- they love their apps and they want to make them look as good as possible. They're already getting this done. For others, especially for those with older, catalog apps somewhere in the longer tail of the App Store sales cycle, they may not be sure the effort is financially justified (especially given the 100,000,000 existing, lower res, iOS install base).
So we're curious what our readers, developer and user alike, think? Do you want to see nothing but ultra-sharp apps on your iPhone 4? Do devs need to do it immediately? Wait for the next update? Focus on new apps only? Go back and retrofit old apps? How important is it to you?
Editor-in-Chief of iMore, Executive Producer at Mobile Nations, co-host of Iterate and ZEN and TECH, cook, grappler, photon wrangler.
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The iPhone suck. evo hands down
dark evo has no clue. yes, i want sharp apps but not too sharp. i hold phone in hand most time. cuts would hurt me and phone. then i not resell. edges look good as is but should not be weapon. you agree, yes? this will many many hours work but look good. maybe we pay for update?
I'd like em at native resolution of the device. Who wouldn't?
@Dark evo you evo gäÿ a$$. Go lick evo
Dark Evo... that describes the screen next to iPhone 4...dark.
Washed out Evo might be a better name.
@Dark Evo: Get a grip Dark Evo. Why are you on a iPhone blog page in the first place.. I hope it's not only me but the iPhone is the best smartphone out there period. I have never seen any tv networks ever talk about the Evo more then an IPhone period. So crawl back under your rock and think what you just wrote.....
Unless the new iPhone 4 will somehow make old apps look bad - which is highly unlikely - then I personally don't see it as a huge concern that a developer go back and re-up their app. However, I do imagine that a lot of developers will update their apps just for the sake of the new iPhone 4.
I'd be curious to see the difference between apps that have been designed specifically to take advantage of the higher res, and those that are "automagically" upscaled.
YepYepYep. I want it, whats why I'm getting the Phone. So developers...make it happen. Please and thank you.
@Eagleyesmith
Correction: that's
Yes I do, thank you
Yes, prease!
Of course. Who wouldn't?
Darkevo = loserville. How you like paying an extra $10 a month for 4G when only like 3 people actually get it. And the battery only lasts about 2 hours with it on lol evo is FAIL!
To answer the question I'd like to see it with my own eyes before I decide if they really need to upgrade their apps. I find the comparison that apple is using in that picture a tad misleading because the iPhone 3GS doesn't look that blurry at all. You can definitely see pixels but it isn't as bad as that picture makes out. That said it's always good to have innovation so I'm glad to see that apple has once again upped the bar on smart phone displays.
i honestly dont understand the big deal bout the droids.
few guys at work are talkin bout them all day long. so i checked his droid out (not the incredible or evo) and the thing is choppy as hell and slow. Am i missing something?
I can't wait till this comes out!!!!!
If the native resolution is there it shouldn't be wasted. New aps should use it old apps should be upgraded as and when.
What is it with these Droid lovers I compared the 4 to the EVO...no contest.
Can't wait for my very own 4.
Its a 960x640 not 960x480 display...
No. I want them blurry. Stupid question.
Simple. If the old apps don't look so good, hide em in a folder. Hey presto - it's like hiding the cheap stuff in a nicer shop's bag
@Marty + 1 to wanting them to be blurry, haha.
I can't wait until we get games coming out taking advantage of this resolution and new processor! What will games like that Halo clone look like on the iPhone 4?
Evo all the way. iphone sucks.
I believe the general consensus is yes! who wouldnt want their apps looking better.
Why the comment that you would have to use Xcode? While I have not used MonoTouch, they shipped iOS4 support already, and, as it uses native widgets, it should similarly benefit, as should any such toolkit that uses employs a native approach.
Since I got my iPad, I don't really care about apps on my iPhone anymore... Now it's been relegated back to being a communication device. Anyone who bitched about an ipad just being a large iPod is a tool and never user one: it's extraordinary.
And I am an Apple fanboy: had 1st gen, 2nd gen, now 3rd gen iPhone. But won't be getting 4 unless my 3gs breaks.
Polish up, gives hope that they even look better on the iPad if they Run under 3.2
Heck ya we want better looking apps. All for a HD doodle jump say I. "I"
Ok so today I went to a sprint store to see this evo. So if I say any pros or cons there legit. When I first saw it I'm like wow this thing is big. Way to big for a PHONE. I played with it a bit the UI is way different from the iPhone not as smooth and kinda on the choppy side and apps did not run to good either. Felt alittle cheap to. And if you get one and drop it lol it's done. Not impressed at all. Now let's start with billing. I asked the lady about prices. She told me for the evo there a $59.00 a month data plan because the phone is pretty much an all data phone. Lol and people were bitching about AT&T's data pricing. Plus another $10 a month for 4g which does not exsist where I live. All this plus your minutes and texting. And the 4g is only in a had full of cities. I was told they would have it here later in the year or next year. Either way you still have to pay. As I said I just wanted to see it. I had no interest in getting it as I've already read about it. A phone just based on specs don't make it better. Sorry but no thanks.
Apps and everything else will look awesome on that display on my new iPhone 4. Can't wait till the 24. And I'm not ordering it either I'm doing it old school. Getting in Line at the apple store. Just like when I got my first iPhone,3g and 3gs.
Why can't you guys keep this about the iPhone? Why do you have to get into these childish bickering about Evo or some other device?
The question has nothing at all to to with other phones.
It has a lot to do with presentation on the new iPhone, and how doing the best job there affects the existing iPhone user base and the work involved vs the discernible visual improvement on the iPhone 4.
I submit, that until the device is out in the wild there is no way to make the claim that this has to be done always and everywhere.
the high res is also supported for "old" apps: the pixels in between get aliasing so they should look better right from the start
Also just to add I have a question. Why are there android users on a iPhone blog? Someone please tell me why these people are here? I don't go to android central. I can see if you used both a iPhone and a android device. But if you did you wouldn't be downing one or the other. Grow up really.
@icebike sorry I just felt I had to share that I went and saw that thing.
@Macboy15 This is something i worked out today, something that's been bothering me that I couldn't put my finger on. This feeling started at the I/O conference, google taking childish pot shots at apple, android lovers chanting 'Go Android' on every forum like they are at school and apple not rising to the bait. Android lovers having to come on iphone forums to start fights. It's pathetic, apple and generally people who buy apple are more mature compared to google and android users who are young, and childish and act accordingly. See them for the kids who are insecure about what they are doing and feel the need to back themselves up by taking these laughable actions, (annoying but laughable)
@Soupy The example was enlarged to show the difference. If you were to take a screenshot of the same page, one on the 3GS and one on the iPhone 4, then zoomed them in, that is the difference you would see. If you look closely enough at the previous iPhone screens, you'll notice anything with a curve looks a bit pixelated. The "e" at the end of the "app store" logo is a perfect example. It almost fuzzes together. The current iPhone screens are good, but the new one blows them completely away.
P.S. Rene, as someone else pointed out, it's 960x640.
What sort of stupid article is this? Of course I do!
@Macboy 15
What happened to you're 99.99% sure the iPhone 4 prototype wasn't the new iPhone, and if it was, you certainly weren't going to get one???
@anon I did say that but after seeing it at wwdc and understand why it looks the way it does and how it functions. I have changed my mind. And also seeing that there nothing else out there that I would have the pleasure of using everyday. It is still the iPhone for me. If it wasn't then I wouldve just stayed with the 3gs till next year. I wouldve never went to the android platform that's for sure.
Yea what's the deal Dark Evo? Good job sticking it to all us dumb iPhone users. lol
iPhone 4 is the iPhone I have been waiting for and can't wait to sell my 16gb 3GS to buy a 32gb version. I would love to see my apps look better on the new screen. "Let's make it happen Captain."
OCD issue #1 for me - Not running a moniter/screen at it's native resolution. This drives me so nuts I can't even begin to explain how crazy I get when I see people do this stuff.
That said, it might be different with this screen since the pixel density is so high. But if I'm paying for an app I expect it to be native resolution, free apps I will probably give a pass. Also I'm gonna need all new iPhone wallpapers for sure.
Anything that uses Apple's default control images (MOST apps, believe it or not!) will automatically see a drastic improvement. All they need to increase is their own artwork, which they likely created at a higher resolution anyway.
Depends on the app, but native resolution is always preferred. Will there be 2 versions of apps, one at 480x320, one at 960x640?
IPS 4 MBP!
I personally would like to SEE the update, but it's not crucial that developers rush into sprucing up thier apps. BUT I would like to see a few notofications in the App store saying that an update is available for iPhone 4 on launch day.
Just a thought.
Well may be someone can finally get a sharp clear picture/video of big foot. So take them phones and head to the wilderness. May be big foot is about as real as a great Android phone.
@Macboy 15
I definitely feel ya man. Not only do i like the new iPhone 4, Apple would have to f u c k up pretty bad to swing me to another device. I do think this is a worthy upgrade, especially since i can for free.
As far the the res, who wouldn't love the better pixels?? I can't wait to hold this baby in my mind
Yes! Do it! Apps like Pocket Informant with small text will be easier to focus on
As an aside, Apple's retina display claims are already being challenged: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2364871,00.asp
Typo in your article. You mean the iphone 4 retina display is 960 x 640...not 960 x 480. Just clarifying.
Yes, I want it all and I want it done by release date.
I can't believe Apple put that beautiful display in 3.5 inch screen. Soooo tiny! Imo the evo should of had this too, but my 4G makes up for it.
I want my iPhone apps blurry like I want my ding-dong soft while I'm laying the pipette
You mean 960x640?
Yes, I want all the apps updated to 960x640! Bring it on!
I'd like to see the app store tell whether an app was smaller or the larger resized version before I buy it. That way I don't have to guess and be disappointed.
was fun watching the keynote online where they demo the different but there appears to be no different because of the compression
@zero credability Don't kid yourself. Apple fanboys are not more mature than Android fanboys. I'm an iPhone fanboy, but I'm also a Microsoft fanboy in a way, and I always have to debunk Apple users bickering about Microsoft. Nobody is better or more 'mature' than other fanboys.
A fanboy is not mature in any way to be honest.
@carl really because i've just been over to android central and there are no iphone trolls going over there. What does that tell you ? In fact all I see is the same insecurity and inferiority complex that you see everywhere else. Thats my point.
I am an app developer and I have just updated all of my apps for the new HD retina display on the iPhone 4. My question to all of you is: how can I indicate clearly that the apps are iPhone 4 compatible? I was thinking of naming the apps "XX HD" and putting a note about iPhone 4 compatibility in the app descriptions, but not sure if everyone reads that...
Yes, when you bring a new updated product out it needs to be that good at this current time.
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/06/10/iphone-4-display/
for old apps, couldn't care less, but for new apps, or apps that came like a month or two ago it SHOULD be sharpened
So if you make an app that is iPhone 4 resolution, do you have to supply smaller graphics for the older iphone or can you scale them with code?
Correction, existing apps won't look identically, they should, but they don't. I am a developer and I did a game with pixel art graphics, perfectly fine in previous devices, but blurry with the iPhone 4. Also to say, as developer, the effort to us to re-do again the whole set of graphics, it's in most cases not worth it or not affordable. Thanks Apple.
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This is what I think, they both suck..... and this is the reason why. I'm on my 4th evo in 3 months, my girlfriends on her 4th shiny new I phone 4 in 2 months. Is there anything else that I really need 2 say? Both H.T.C and Apple need to stop selling crap, cause at the end of the day we the consumer are the ones paying the price. So maybe instead of bashing each other maybe you should be bashing H.T.C and Apple.
Serious question I've done this and got it to work but can the water seep into the camera through the edges of the camera hole? Curious how sealed that is.. This seems like the sort of thing that could ruin the whole phone in a second and you'll look like a huge idiot for trying. But. I don't know if I can resist..