2048x1536 pixel Retina display examined, rumored to be iPad 3 bound
For a while now most people outside the walls of Apple have generally assumed the iPad 3 would come with a 2048x1536 Retina display. The 2010 iPhone 4 introduced the idea of pixels so small they were almost invisible to the naked eye, and while rumors suggested the 2011 iPad 2 might make a similar leap forward, Retina displays that big just weren't in the cards. That was then. This is now.
MacRumors got their hands on a 9.7-inch panel which sounds a lot like what Apple is rumored to be using in the iPad 3, and broke out their science kits to confirm it is, indeed, 2048x1536. It absolutely had to be -- there's no way Apple could release anything but a 1x (1024x768) or 2x (2048x1536) display without shredding their app ecosystem, but it's still nice to see the panel get measured in the wild.
Since we only had a raw iPad 3 display with no method to power it, taking high quality photos of the pixels was difficult. Still, even with the relatively poor lighting, you can easily make out the pixels on each display (made up of red, green and blue elements). We highlighted a cluster of 4 pixels (2x2) from the iPad 2 to compare it to the same area on the iPad 3. On the iPad 3, the same cluster was occupied by 16 pixels (4x4) -- exactly twice the resolution in each direction.
No doubt we'll be seeing a lot more leaks and stories leading up to the expected iPad 3 announcement on March 7, and iPad 3 release in mid-March. Along with the Retina display, a quad-core Apple A6 chipset, and 4G LTE radio are also rumored to be in the cards.
Source: MacRumors
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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Sweet! Finally some tangible evidence!
Very nice.
What's really interesting is how similar the display is in form factor to the iPad 2 LCD. The resolution may be doubled, but the fact that it is so similar in form makes you wonder what the external look of the iPad 3 will be. The cost of these puppies is going to be much higher too... so don't break you iPad glass!
No reason to believe they will do things differently with the iPad that they do for the iPhone.
First Gen - New product
Second Gen - Redesign, Speed/Spec bump
Third Gen - Same design, Speed/Spec bump, new features
Rinse and Repeat
the iPhone 3G didnt really have any spec bump
I'd say that the introduction of 3G itself was an spec bump. Even mobile versions of websites or apps like Facebook load poorly over EDGE while they work quite well over 3G
But if you do break it... try sending it to RepairZoom. Really good job with my iPad 2 glass repair at RepairZoom. http://www.repairzoom.com
did you try going to apple store first? my hubby broke his screen (dropped it getting out of his car) and he went to apple in tears and they replaced it! They have brand new iPads in these different colored (plain) boxes just for occasions like that-- To keep a customer happy!
I wonder if developers are gonna take as long as they did with the iPhone 4 to update apps to retina display resolution, it was bad for a minute.
I'm sure it will be bad for awhile. There will probably be a few showcase apps that really shine but I'm sure we'll all be dealing with boxy looking apps for several months.
I want an iPod nano with retina display and Siri. Thanks apple.
Or maybe the first Apple TV set will be really tiny. (Kidding!)
I've been on the fence about an iPad, and thinking of getting one (even my wife asks when the new one is coming out).
If they keep prices the same, I think I'll be ordering a 32gb ASAP.
You won't regret it.
Just to compare, iPhone's retina display is 329.65 Pixels Per Inch (PPI). Steve Jobs said that anything above 300ppi, when viewed from 1 foot away, would not have any detectable pixels for the average eye.
The supposed iPad 3's retina display would be 263.92 PPI, however, it should be able to get away with being under 300ppi due to being viewed from a distance of around 2 feet.
Good math. @Rob I'm with you on that.
is this Leak that Macrumours have got is Real ? How Real is this Raw LCD that they have got claiming to be the one which is gonna be used in the iPad-3 !! How does one believe it ??