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[HTuran]

Retina on iPad means having a 326 ppi screen which measures 10'' right ?

Probably not. You hold a tablet further away than a phone. Double 1024x768 makes much more sense than an arbitrary 'retina' value.

Yet to get an iPad, but I'm more and more tempted as I'm travelling more for work. If these rumours turn out true, I'll bite.

 

[Al-ibn Kermit]

You keep quoting this, but you do realize that's not going to happen, right? It's just a badly worded section in the article. They're not going to bump the resolution and still be under 1080P. That's absurd.

1080P is a pretty big jump from the 1024X768 of the iPad2. Drawing arbitrary lines in the sand and saying Apple will have to cross this or fail is stupid since the actual mass market consumers don't really care so much about having a true retina display.

When the iPad2 came out, there were competing tablets with slightly higher resolutions available....if the same thing happens again, would it really be so absurd? Apple wants to sell ipads, they don't care about spec wars.

 

[gblues]

steve won't be presenting the march event =(

I dunno. They're suing the company making that Steve Jobs action figures. Maybe they can settle the lawsuit and have them create a CG "virtual Steve" that can deliver the keynote address.

 

[Oppo]

I think it'll be an even doubling in both directions.

2048 x 1536 @ 9.7" diagonal 4:3

If they can pull it off. I still suspect they might not touch the screen at all, the parts might not be ready, and people will HOWL if it's not miraculously hi-res.

 

[Diprosalic]

At first I felt bad, but when you give out 500 with such carelessness, ou can only be a 1%er.

why would a 1% buy second hand ipads though?

 

[alterno69]

I just one an SD card slot which won't happen i know. As someone who uses his ipad for at least 2 hours a day in the last year i'll be there day one.

 

[Tobor]

1080P is a pretty big jump from the 1024X768 of the iPad2. Drawing arbitrary lines in the sand and saying Apple will have to cross this or fail is stupid since the actual mass market consumers don't really care so much about having a true retina display.

When the iPad2 came out, there were competing tablets with slightly higher resolutions available....if the same thing happens again, would it really be so absurd? Apple wants to sell ipads, they don't care about spec wars.

You're completely ignoring the past, here. This is exactly what happened with the iPhone.

They had a great 480x320 screen, then the Android devices started surpassing it. Apple then leap frogged the competition and doubled the resolution. That gave them a solid year with the best display in the industry, a display that was so much better, non-technical customers could appreciate the difference. Doubling also made the transition for developers as easy as possible, and made sure that existing apps looked correct on the new screen.

There is no reason to assume they won't employ the exact same strategy with the iPad. 2048x1536.

 

[see5harp]

iPad 1 -> iPad 3 jump is going to be fucking fantastic. Day 1.

.

 

[giga]

I still think it will be 2048x1536 just because of the advantage of @2x scaling which is a lot simpler and advantageous for existing non-2x apps. The fact that they measure in points now instead of pixels make sense too. (1 point = 2 pixels, for the iPhone 4 and 4S. The 3GS was 1 point = 1 pixel. They're not going to do 1 point = 1.5 pixels or whatever)

Here's the wwdc session from 2010 that'll explain this better: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/96085/retina.mov

 

[slider]

In terms of aesthetic design I bet it won't actually be that different. I mean what can it do? But I know, I just know, it's instantly be so much more desirable than the iPad 2 (and that's nothing to do with the innards).

 

[brain_stew]

Looking forward to getting my first ipad.

I still think it will be 2048x1536 just because of the advantage of @2x scaling which is a lot simpler and advantageous for existing non-2x apps. The fact that they measure in points now instead of pixels make sense too. (1 point = 2 pixels, for the iPhone 4 and 4S. The 3GS was 1 point = 1 pixel. They're not going to do 1 point = 1.5 pixels or whatever)

Here's the wwdc session from 2010 that'll explain this better: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/96085/retina.mov

Of course it will be 2048x1536. Apple don't get things like this wrong.

Hopefully Apple are smart and give developers the tools to easily render 3D content at 1024x768 w/ 4xmsaa and integrate that with native resolution 2D elements.

 

[see5harp]

I wouldn't sell my 2, it would find a permanent home in either my iCade or my Alesis iO music dock.

Damn you got one of those Alesis docks? Jelly.

 

[kaskade]

I'm assuming that they are going to be keeping the pricing structure the same starting at 499. I wonder if they will bump up the space to 32gb for the default. Though that doesn't seem to be apples thing. I bought a 32gb iPad and never use the space. My next hope is more ram. I know that the iPad 2 has 512 so I'm sure that'll help vs my original iPad but it would be nice for a gig. That should make the web browsing way better.

 

[brain_stew]

This thread has confirmed one thing: I fucking hate Apple fanboys.

I own 3 Android devices that are all running custom ROMs and wouldn't even consider an iphone but you'd have to be delusional to not recognise how badly Apple are embarrassing everybody else in the tablet space. The ipad continues to be the only tablet worth owning.

 

[popeutlal]

I own 3 Android devices that are all running custom ROMs and wouldn't even consider an iphone but you'd have to be delusional to not recognise how badly Apple are embarrassing everybody else in the tablet space. The ipad continues to be the only tablet worth owning.

Do you mean in terms of software or hardware, or both. I don't have experience with the apps market on iOS. But my Transformer Prime is just as smooth as iPad 2.

What apps or services do you think is worth owning an iPad 2 for.

 

[slider]

What is the most "powerful" Android tablet? And on a related note, what's the best Android implementation?

Just cos I've bought my gf an iPad and think I'd prefer an Android tablet myself.

Actually: off topic so ignore... (although you'll note I've left my post in place!)

 

[Ptaaty]

I don't believe iOS handles scaling well (or really at all). I believe I read this somewhere and the proof is in the doubling of rez any time a change is made.

Basically it will either have double rez or the same when it comes out.

 

[br0ken_shad0w]

Do you mean in terms of software or hardware, or both. I don't have experience with the apps market on iOS. But my Transformer Prime is just as smooth as iPad 2.

The iOS market destroys android.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

This. Apple does not generally raise price points once they've established one. They tend to deal with any 'increase' with efficiencies in the manufacturing chain.

I don't believe iOS handles scaling well (or really at all). I believe I read this somewhere and the proof is in the doubling of rez any time a change is made.

Basically it will either have double rez or the same when it comes out.

Or basically because simply doubling the resolution makes it easier for everything including developers. Why make it more complicated than it needs to be?

 

[Fox Mulder]

Do you mean in terms of software or hardware, or both. I don't have experience with the apps market on iOS. But my Transformer Prime is just as smooth as iPad 2.

What apps or services do you think is worth owning an iPad 2 for.

the ios app market just utterly destroys Android in quantity, quality, and dev support. It was pretty eye opening coming from Android before I got an ipad.

 

[Technosteve]

I don't believe iOS handles scaling well (or really at all). I believe I read this somewhere and the proof is in the doubling of rez any time a change is made.

Basically it will either have double rez or the same when it comes out.

you have scaling confused with having to support different aspect ratios in android for different devices.

 

[Majine]

There are many apps I like that don't even have iPad support yet, and now they are gonna make it retina? :/

 

[Kinitari]

the ios app market just utterly destroys Android in quantity, quality, and dev support. It was pretty eye opening coming from Android before I got an ipad.

Mmm, I cant say that I've ever used the app market on iOS, but people say this a lot... I'm genuinely curious, can you give me an example?

 

[Divvy]

Ahhhhhh you guys!

 

[mrklaw]

just sold my iPad 1 in preparation. If its a quad core, I'm buying an ipad3. If its the same internals as the iPad 2, just with a retina display, then I'm buying a (hopefully discounted) iPad 2.

 

[popeutlal]

Mmm, I cant say that I've ever used the app market on iOS, but people say this a lot... I'm genuinely curious, can you give me an example?

I've asked that too, never gotten an answer.

 

[bob page]

Mmm, I cant say that I've ever used the app market on iOS, but people say this a lot... I'm genuinely curious, can you give me an example?

There's a whole thread for that:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=448523

And yes, the app store's offerings completely destroy all competition in the tablet space. Many apps are simply of a much higher caliber- it's worth it for devs to put in a ton of polish on iOS because they know they'll be rewarded with sales.

 

[Kinitari]

There's a whole thread for that:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=448523

And yes, the app store's offerings completely destroy all competition in the tablet space. Many apps are simply of a much higher caliber.

That thread just talk about iOS apps, and I recognize a lot of the best of's as available on Android.

My question is, why do you feel it's better? I'm not being snarky, as I wouldn't be surprised if it were, but just saying "it's better" in different colourful language doesn't tell me much.

 

[Wrestlemania]

just sold my iPad 1 in preparation. If its a quad core, I'm buying an ipad3. If its the same internals as the iPad 2, just with a retina display, then I'm buying a (hopefully discounted) iPad 2.

Why? I mean, what difference does it really make to how you use it if it's quad core? It's not like the iPad 2 is noticeably slow or anything.

 

[Vanillalite]

Mmm, I cant say that I've ever used the app market on iOS, but people say this a lot... I'm genuinely curious, can you give me an example?

Garageband....

It's only $5 and it's amazing at what it does for the price. It does a shit ton of stuff, it's extremely easy to use, and it's more feature rich than you think at a glance. It's a STEAL @$5 for the iPad. That and Android doesn't really have anything close to as good yet either. (I've looked into this)

 

[Jharp]

Why did I buy a goddamn iPad 2 in October? WHY DIDN'T I WAIT?

 

[C.Dark.DN]

Why did I buy a goddamn iPad 2 in October? WHY DIDN'T I WAIT?

Half a year of enjoyment and they are going to release updates yearly it seems.

People say they hold good resell value.

So you're probably going to be doing that yearly.

 

[brain_stew]

just sold my iPad 1 in preparation. If its a quad core, I'm buying an ipad3. If its the same internals as the iPad 2, just with a retina display, then I'm buying a (hopefully discounted) iPad 2.

Any CPU upgrade isn't going to be a big deal either way. A quad core A9 isn't going to make all that much difference, you're going to want to wait for the A15 based ipad 4 if you want to see a real increase in performance outside of games.

 

[funkystudent]

Why did I buy a goddamn iPad 2 in October? WHY DIDN'T I WAIT?

well if you want a ipad 3 I would sell the ipad 2 ASAP. you should have no problem getting at least 75% of your money back selling it now.


they have amazing resale value but you will lose about $100 as soon as the ipad 3 is announced.

After the ipad 2 announcement the price of a second hand 16gig ipad 1 went from 400/450 to 300/350.

 

[bob page]

That thread just talk about iOS apps, and I recognize a lot of the best of's as available on Android.

My question is, why do you feel it's better? I'm not being snarky, as I wouldn't be surprised if it were, but just saying "it's better" in different colourful language doesn't tell me much.

The real difference in the app offerings lies in gaming, to be honest. iPad has so many games that Android doesn't.

 

[Kentpaul]

Why? I mean, what difference does it really make to how you use it if it's quad core? It's not like the iPad 2 is noticeably slow or anything.

out dated apple products don't go down to well at the local starbucks.

 

[reKon]

When it comes down to consumer electronics, all I get is typically get is extreme hyperbole from GAF (especially when it comes down to Apple products). I think it's clear here that it's not really specs (that's just the icing on the cake), but the 'user experience' that makes people desire only iPads and that nothing else in the market even comes close - iPad just destroys everything (which is the GAF hyperbole I'm going to assume, but I could be wrong).

The funny thing is I saw the same exact statements said when comparing iOS 5 on the iPhone's to Gingerbread on phones like the Galaxy S II and I determined that people are stupid and have no idea about what they're talking about. I know what to expect when it comes to iOS - it's smooth, responsive, simple and consistent, and the app support is strong. It still doesn't change the fact that competitors are not doing almost as well and that they actually offer some great incentives to go with android for smartphones (I'm not going to list everything). Ice Scream Sandwich just closes the GAP difference even more and will continue to as they improve the performance and make things easier/accessible for the developers. The rest will rely on the developers themselves.

What I know want to know is that: was Honeycomb so bad that iOS on the iPad was deemed the king of tablets by a landslide? I know that build quality/batterye life is another factor, but I just want to focus on this one aspect of tablets.



Anyways, for the record, none of this tablet hyper really concerns me at all because I'm never going to drop more than $299 on an Android tablet or iPad because I'm not going to fucking pay $500+ dollars for convenience. In fact it was a miracle that I pushed myself to buy the touchpad for $90 and I still use my small Asus laptop more. What I want to know is the question I asked above.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

That thread just talk about iOS apps, and I recognize a lot of the best of's as available on Android.

My question is, why do you feel it's better? I'm not being snarky, as I wouldn't be surprised if it were, but just saying "it's better" in different colourful language doesn't tell me much.

often times, the apps themselves simply run better. more predictable, more stable, better animations and transitions. Also, there are still plenty of apps that are only available on iOS that are simply must-haves. As new "must-have" apps come out, you KNOW they're going to be on iOS first, then Android at some point later. Certain must-have apps like StreamToMe and AirVideo never made the jump to Android. And as has already been pointed out, there are infinitely more games available on iOS.

iOS reminds me of the PS2 in some ways. More software, better software overall....where the compeition has to wait before a mediocre port is available.

Outside of a few UI things that I think Android does better, the iOS experience is better in every way, from apps to battery life to overall experience. The only thing that can/will unseat an iOS device is a Win8 Tablet. Though I expect pros and cons to be realized when those start rolling out too.

$0.02

rant

the question is how much are you willing to pay for an "almost as good as" experience when you can have the genuine article and all the benefits (and drawbacks) that come with it?

and it's not about what Honeycomb (or ICS for that matter) lacked as an OS; it was about the support it doesn't have. The easily accessible ecosystem it doesn't have. The 3rd party accessories and support it doesn't have. The unilateral rollout and upgrade support across devices it doesn't have. and at the end of the day, there are simply better apps on iOS and more of them. It's demonstrably true. The only question is what all that is worth to you. Maybe $500. Maybe $200. If the later, get yourself a TouchPad or Kindle Fire and call it a day.

 

[Raistlin]

Probably not. You hold a tablet further away than a phone. Double 1024x768 makes much more sense than an arbitrary 'retina' value.

Retina value isn't arbitrary, or at least not entirely. It's based on Apple's assertion that humans cannot resolve beyond 57 arcseconds per pixel. Some would argue that it should be lower, so in that sense it's somewhat arbitrary, but they do have a specific max arc goal they're shooting for. Here's the general formula:

arctan( ( 1 / dpi ) / viewing distance in inches ) = arc per pixel​

Since they were assuming a 12" viewing distance and 57 arcsec per pixel, solving for dpi yields 300. They actually overshot it with iPhone 4.

The point here is if they want to claim this as a retina display and be consistent, they're going to shoot for a dpi at some viewing distance (what would we argue is the average viewing distance on a tablet? 24"- 30" maybe?) that yields 57 arcsec per pixel or better.

 

[luckyarcher]

There are many apps I like that don't even have iPad support yet, and now they are gonna make it retina? :/

TBH there's not been a single app that had me wishing it were retina-esque. Other than ibooks of course.

 

[Tobor]

TBH there's not been a single app that had me wishing it were retina-esque. Other than ibooks of course.

Any app with text would benefit.

 

[brotkasten]

do you guys drop your last version of iPad and buy a new one?

I'll keep my OG iPad as XBMC remote.

i would like to see a 9,7 inches display at 2048x1516 but i doubt that is gonna happen

Why? It's not a ridiculous high resolution or pixel density.

What does retina display mean? Why should I care

Would we see any tablet use OLED screens anytime soon?

Some Samsung tablets have OLED screens.

It honestly wouldn't surprise me if they only use 512mb of ram in this. Actually, I'd bet money on it.

I'd be so pissed.

And still buy it, because everything is better than my OG iPad.

TBH there's not been a single app that had me wishing it were retina-esque. Other than ibooks of course.

Text looks like shit on the display*. Everything is blurry and jaggy and ugly.

*hyperbole

 

[Majine]

TBH there's not been a single app that had me wishing it were retina-esque. Other than ibooks of course.

It seems superficial but when you see it on an iphone, hot damn. And now that i'm imagining it on an iPad. Hoooot daaaaamn.

But alot of developers are so slow to update their apps, and if we now have to go back to zero: Hnngh.

 

[Raistlin]

You're completely ignoring the past, here. This is exactly what happened with the iPhone.

They had a great 480x320 screen, then the Android devices started surpassing it. Apple then leap frogged the competition and doubled the resolution. That gave them a solid year with the best display in the industry, a display that was so much better, non-technical customers could appreciate the difference. Doubling also made the transition for developers as easy as possible, and made sure that existing apps looked correct on the new screen.

There is no reason to assume they won't employ the exact same strategy with the iPad. 2048x1536.

I see you're continuing with the same logic as before. Since Apple's A5 beat it's competitors, the A6 inherently must beat it's competitors. Similarly, since they doubled the resolution of iPhone ... they inherently must double the iPad's. While I actually wouldn't be surprised if they did double the res (simplifies scaling), I find the basis for your logic suspect. That's especially true regarding chipsets.

If anything, you're completely ignoring the past. If you expand out history to include the entire industry, a given chipset designer does not consistently have the highest performing part in a given sector every generation. Similarly, a product manufacturer does not consistently source the highest performing parts.

Sure in a small sampling that may hold true ... and it's quite possible this will be the case for iPad 3 ... but your argument stems from the assertion that to infinity, iPad will always offer the most powerful SoC or best resolution. History says that should actually not be the case.

 

[MilesWebber]

No way will they do that with the cameras and storage.

Why not? They're already mass producing both cameras and both are small enought to fit in current gen enclosures.

 

[kehs]

With the amount of power the ipad3 is going to have, I would really like to see apple do away with a raster based UI and just go balls out with full on vector objects.

 

[Grady Durden]

All I want is retina.

First reply nails it.

 

[Raistlin]

First reply nails it.

he forgot to add 'and more RAM'

 

[Tobor]

I see you're continuing with the same logic as before. Since Apple's A5 beat it's competitors, the A6 inherently must beat it's competitors. Similarly, since they doubled the resolution of iPhone ... they inherently must double the iPad's. While I actually wouldn't be surprised if they did double the res (simplifies scaling), I find the basis for your logic suspect. That's especially true regarding chipsets.

If anything, you're completely ignoring the past. If you expand out history to include the entire industry, a given chipset designer does not consistently have the highest performing part in a given sector every generation. Similarly, a product manufacturer does not consistently source the highest performing parts.

Sure in a small sampling that may hold true ... and it's quite possible this will be the case for iPad 3 ... but your argument stems from the assertion that to infinity, iPad will always offer the most powerful SoC or best resolution. History says that should actually not be the case.

I'm not trying to imply infinity. I'm talking about 2012. Who knows 10 years from now. Keep in mind, I was talking about benchmarks, where the software does factor in.

As for the resolution bump, that's just obvious. It's a strategy that paid huge dividends for them before, combined with very similar market conditions in the lead up, combined with common sense.

Predicting anything other than a pixel doubled display is a bad prediction at this point, given all we know. The only other option would be to hold off another year if they still can't source them, but I don't see that happening again.

 

[giga]

My iPhone 4 and iPad 2 literally side by side.