You're missing the point. It's not simply about having a high pixel density. It's about maintaining the pixel ratio so the apps scale easily (i.e. x2 rather than x1.847962185485468521567 or whatever).
I think it was more a point that Retina iPad mini is already possible, not a suggestion that it could be some other resolution.
That said, I don't think it is realistic to expect yet. Expecting a Retina mini might mean something that's heavier or doesn't have adequate battery life or isn't as profitable. It's asking for everything iPad "4" is, in a mini size, which would probably cost Apple as much or more to make than the big iPad does now.
I think it was more a point that Retina iPad mini is already possible, not a suggestion that it could be some other resolution.
That said, I don't think it is realistic to expect yet. Expecting a Retina mini might mean something that's heavier or doesn't have adequate battery life or isn't as profitable. It's asking for everything iPad "4" is, in a mini size, which would probably cost Apple as much or more to make than the big iPad does now.
I'm not as sure about that anymore. WalMart announced a price cut for the full-size next-gen iPad4 down to $399. I doubt Walmart is taking a loss on them and that price is not far off the Mini.
I'm not as sure about that anymore. WalMart announced a price cut for the full-size next-gen iPad4 down to $399. I doubt Walmart is taking a loss on them and that price is not far off the Mini.
Is it a loss leader? Is it a short term sale? It doesn't show on their web site.
Shrinking the device costs money too. I'm sure a higher ppi costs more than the money saved by the area shrink. Then you still have the power consumption, especially since it would need a better chip, with the higher GPU core versions of A5X or A6. Would it still be as light and offer as good battery life? Let's say I have my doubts.
Is it a loss leader? Is it a short term sale? It doesn't show on their web site.
Shrinking the device costs money too. I'm sure a higher ppi costs more than the money saved by the area shrink. Then you still have the power consumption, especially since it would need a better chip, with the higher GPU core versions of A5X or A6. Would it still be as light and offer as good battery life? Let's say I have my doubts.
Not sure if it's going to be a permanent markdown or not. The article is over at 9to*.
If I was guessing I'd say it a permanent price roll-back, but with the bonus $30 iTunes card only a special for the Holiday's.
The fresh rumors come from Taiwanese publication DigiTimes, which cited sources from the backlighting industry as saying Apple's next-gen iPad mini will boast a higher resolution display.
The "backlighting industry" needs to make their profits now, because in a few years Apple just might go with IGZO-OLED panels on all their devices with screens. No backlighting needed, lower power consumption, thinner construction.
But in the next year or so, because of Apple's economy of scale, they should be able to ship Retina iPad minis with LCD panels. And none of their would-be competitors will be able to do that without significantly raising their prices. Bad news for the wannabes, since their customers seem to be extremely price-conscious.
Apple's competitors will need to choose from these options:
1. Continue to sell low resolution pads, giving Apple a significant quality advantage
2. Sell high resolution pads at the old low resolution pad prices, resulting in even bigger losses
3. Sell high resolution pads at higher prices and lose sales in their price-sensitive market segment
I'm not as sure about that anymore. WalMart announced a price cut for the full-size next-gen iPad4 down to $399. I doubt Walmart is taking a loss on them and that price is not far off the Mini.
I'm seeing it as $499 on their site with the comment, " Final price and shipping options depends on options you choose," which makes me wonder if you have to bunch a bunch of accessories with it to get that $399 price. They also list the iPad 2 as $399.
Or the writer could have meant that it will be coming in the next generation rather than the third or fourth.
Yes, I am sure he did mean that, but that is precisely the nature of the comments suggesting it's a no brainer. The day the mini was announced without retina, everyone instantly knew that it would be saved for the next model.
err, double an iPhone 4's screen size. It would be retina (plus some), would allow for the 'doubling' of old iPhone apps to just fit, and would extend the use of the existing glass capacity of the iPhone 4(s) line. Resolution doubling would apps to 'just work' for a period of time until developers reset their apps to the native resolution, and would ease the transition to 'yet another resolution' until the iPhone 4s is phased out (likely 3 years, if the other rumors of 'inexpensive iPhones' come true). Once done, then there would be 3 resolutions, the 5(s), the Mini, and the 'new' iPad. And once we get new retinas minis, that will pretty much be the end of the resolution wars, and it will be brightness/vividness/3dness/readiabilityness. But pixels as we know them will stop existing (sort of like baud).
That would be horrible. Doubling the iPhone 4's screen would mean a different aspect ratio for the iPad mini from the other iPads. Sure it would give it a PPI of 288, but the aspect ratio would be 1.5. The 1.5 aspect ratio is being phased out with the last of which being the iPhone 4S, and no iPad having had that aspect ratio.
So the iPad mini would be need to run old iPhone aspect ratio apps. Keep in mind, Apple decided not to do this for the first generation iPad mini. So when the iPad mini 2 comes out, it would likely be around the time of the iPhone 6, making the old iPhone aspect ratio apps 2 generations behind. Worse, those apps wouldn't be in the same resolution as the iPad mini, they would need to be scaled up to that new resolution, which would look worse than the display the iPad mini already has.
And for developers, you're no longer asking them to optimize for the iPhone 5 size and the iPad Retina, but also asking them to start developing for a whole new resolution and an aspect ratio that was missing in action from any new iOS devices for 2 years.
Apple will likely go the route of using the iPad 3/4 resolution in a couple of years for the iPad mini. But if for some reason they didn't, they'd be better off using an alternative resolution with the same iPad aspect ratio.
Was gonna buy a BMW the other day but held off when I heard that cars will soon be powered by fusion reactors. I heard that they'll be able to run for 100 years on a gallon of water! Saving my money now, so holding off on buying a car with a--get this!--internal combustion engine. What a waste of energy.
It seems like most the reviews for the mini are compared to an ipad 3 not 4, and nearly everyones gets over the screen resolution due to the size and weight. I am tempted at the mini and I know there is usually a new one 9 months away. But unless there is some breakthrough in battery tech I dont see how they could keep the same form factor. It took the iphone 4 generations to go retina and 3 for the ipad, so maybe 2 isn't unreasonable for the mini, but I see it as unlikely.
The 'problem' Apple faces is expectations to keep the iPad Apps working sweetly without modification. This means it has to go either <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:20px;">1024x768 (iPad 1 & 2) or quadruple the pixel count with the 2048x1536 of the 9.7" models. The latter would give a 326 dpi screen, which is more than Retina on a tablet.</span>
This is overkill - given the 'as good as the human retina' concept. As you imply it would <span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:20px;">require an A5X or A6X processor for the graphics, and give power (and possibly heat) issues in the smaller case.</span>
It might not be overkill in the ppi sense. If users hold the device closer to make up for the reduced screen size, then it would be equivalent. But there is a practicality issue that you're hitting on too. I don't think it makes sense to expect iPad 3,4 graphics resolution in a smaller and so much cheaper. Smaller technology generally costs more, not less. If the resolution bothers anyone, I say wait until September.
So much for the apologists saying "Oh, the screen is fine...". The screen is ~terrible~. To take something as beautiful as the iPad and put a sub-par screen on it, is, disturbing.
The issue is also iOS. It is starting to get dated, and without Steve Jobs, I'm not sure who's in charge of what at Apple nowadays.
I think Apple's compressed product cycles are hurting the company. You could count on an annual refresh, which took away some of the 'buyers' remorse' people feel now. I'd love the iPad Mini, but I turned my nose up at it because the Retina version will be coming so soon after the initial launch. Same with the iPhone 5S. Why bother with the iPhone 5 with NFC and 'colors' coming with the 5S. No wonder Wal-Mart is blowing out the 4S and 5 at $47 and $127 respectively. They know what we all do: Compressed life cycles cause people to sit on the sidelines.
I think Apple's compressed product cycles are hurting the company. You could count on an annual refresh, which took away some of the 'buyers' remorse' people feel now. I'd love the iPad Mini, but I turned my nose up at it because the Retina version will be coming so soon after the initial launch. Same with the iPhone 5S. Why bother with the iPhone 5 with NFC and 'colors' coming with the 5S. No wonder Wal-Mart is blowing out the 4S and 5 at $47 and $127 respectively. They know what we all do: Compressed life cycles cause people to sit on the sidelines.
I don't think we can expect to see updates before fall 2013. iPad "4" was a pretty mild update, basically a CPU bump and connector swap, and if the iPhone shift to fall is any indicator, it looks like Apple is merely shifting all iDevice updates to the fall, like the iPods have been for many years.
Comments
I think it was more a point that Retina iPad mini is already possible, not a suggestion that it could be some other resolution.
That said, I don't think it is realistic to expect yet. Expecting a Retina mini might mean something that's heavier or doesn't have adequate battery life or isn't as profitable. It's asking for everything iPad "4" is, in a mini size, which would probably cost Apple as much or more to make than the big iPad does now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffDM
I think it was more a point that Retina iPad mini is already possible, not a suggestion that it could be some other resolution.
That said, I don't think it is realistic to expect yet. Expecting a Retina mini might mean something that's heavier or doesn't have adequate battery life or isn't as profitable. It's asking for everything iPad "4" is, in a mini size, which would probably cost Apple as much or more to make than the big iPad does now.
I'm not as sure about that anymore. WalMart announced a price cut for the full-size next-gen iPad4 down to $399. I doubt Walmart is taking a loss on them and that price is not far off the Mini.
Is it a loss leader? Is it a short term sale? It doesn't show on their web site.
Shrinking the device costs money too. I'm sure a higher ppi costs more than the money saved by the area shrink. Then you still have the power consumption, especially since it would need a better chip, with the higher GPU core versions of A5X or A6. Would it still be as light and offer as good battery life? Let's say I have my doubts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffDM
Is it a loss leader? Is it a short term sale? It doesn't show on their web site.
Shrinking the device costs money too. I'm sure a higher ppi costs more than the money saved by the area shrink. Then you still have the power consumption, especially since it would need a better chip, with the higher GPU core versions of A5X or A6. Would it still be as light and offer as good battery life? Let's say I have my doubts.
Not sure if it's going to be a permanent markdown or not. The article is over at 9to*.
If I was guessing I'd say it a permanent price roll-back, but with the bonus $30 iTunes card only a special for the Holiday's.
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
The fresh rumors come from Taiwanese publication DigiTimes, which cited sources from the backlighting industry as saying Apple's next-gen iPad mini will boast a higher resolution display.
The "backlighting industry" needs to make their profits now, because in a few years Apple just might go with IGZO-OLED panels on all their devices with screens. No backlighting needed, lower power consumption, thinner construction.
But in the next year or so, because of Apple's economy of scale, they should be able to ship Retina iPad minis with LCD panels. And none of their would-be competitors will be able to do that without significantly raising their prices. Bad news for the wannabes, since their customers seem to be extremely price-conscious.
Apple's competitors will need to choose from these options:
1. Continue to sell low resolution pads, giving Apple a significant quality advantage
2. Sell high resolution pads at the old low resolution pad prices, resulting in even bigger losses
3. Sell high resolution pads at higher prices and lose sales in their price-sensitive market segment
None of those options are very good.
I'm seeing it as $499 on their site with the comment, " Final price and shipping options depends on options you choose," which makes me wonder if you have to bunch a bunch of accessories with it to get that $399 price. They also list the iPad 2 as $399.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigBillyGoatGruff
Or the writer could have meant that it will be coming in the next generation rather than the third or fourth.
Yes, I am sure he did mean that, but that is precisely the nature of the comments suggesting it's a no brainer. The day the mini was announced without retina, everyone instantly knew that it would be saved for the next model.
9to5?
^^
Testing if this site's stupid censoring is at work again.
I didn't see that story. I think it's probably a package deal.
Originally Posted by JeffDM
9to5?
^^
Testing if this site's stupid censoring is at work again.
I didn't see that story. I think it's probably a package deal.
"9to5" has never been censored, but watch this:
9
9to
9to5
9to5m
9to5ma
9to5mac
9to5mac.c
9to5mac.co
************
I'm going to see if that's a setting I can disable.
I just bought a iPad Mini. This would be horrible for me.
I can see only two possibilities if this happens:
1) I'll keep using my iPad Mini and be happy with it.
2) I'll get a retnia iPad Mini. I'll give my current 4G LTE Mini to the wife. We will donate her iPad 3G to a family member or charity....
Sound truly horrific does it not?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOtherGeoff
err, double an iPhone 4's screen size. It would be retina (plus some), would allow for the 'doubling' of old iPhone apps to just fit, and would extend the use of the existing glass capacity of the iPhone 4(s) line. Resolution doubling would apps to 'just work' for a period of time until developers reset their apps to the native resolution, and would ease the transition to 'yet another resolution' until the iPhone 4s is phased out (likely 3 years, if the other rumors of 'inexpensive iPhones' come true). Once done, then there would be 3 resolutions, the 5(s), the Mini, and the 'new' iPad. And once we get new retinas minis, that will pretty much be the end of the resolution wars, and it will be brightness/vividness/3dness/readiabilityness. But pixels as we know them will stop existing (sort of like baud).
That would be horrible. Doubling the iPhone 4's screen would mean a different aspect ratio for the iPad mini from the other iPads. Sure it would give it a PPI of 288, but the aspect ratio would be 1.5. The 1.5 aspect ratio is being phased out with the last of which being the iPhone 4S, and no iPad having had that aspect ratio.
So the iPad mini would be need to run old iPhone aspect ratio apps. Keep in mind, Apple decided not to do this for the first generation iPad mini. So when the iPad mini 2 comes out, it would likely be around the time of the iPhone 6, making the old iPhone aspect ratio apps 2 generations behind. Worse, those apps wouldn't be in the same resolution as the iPad mini, they would need to be scaled up to that new resolution, which would look worse than the display the iPad mini already has.
And for developers, you're no longer asking them to optimize for the iPhone 5 size and the iPad Retina, but also asking them to start developing for a whole new resolution and an aspect ratio that was missing in action from any new iOS devices for 2 years.
Apple will likely go the route of using the iPad 3/4 resolution in a couple of years for the iPad mini. But if for some reason they didn't, they'd be better off using an alternative resolution with the same iPad aspect ratio.
It seems like most the reviews for the mini are compared to an ipad 3 not 4, and nearly everyones gets over the screen resolution due to the size and weight. I am tempted at the mini and I know there is usually a new one 9 months away. But unless there is some breakthrough in battery tech I dont see how they could keep the same form factor. It took the iphone 4 generations to go retina and 3 for the ipad, so maybe 2 isn't unreasonable for the mini, but I see it as unlikely.
It might not be overkill in the ppi sense. If users hold the device closer to make up for the reduced screen size, then it would be equivalent. But there is a practicality issue that you're hitting on too. I don't think it makes sense to expect iPad 3,4 graphics resolution in a smaller and so much cheaper. Smaller technology generally costs more, not less. If the resolution bothers anyone, I say wait until September.
All you guys are giving this DigiTimes rumor a lot more credibility than it deserves.
I can't speak for anyone else but my comments on this thread are just about the overall probability of the rumour, regardless of the source.
The issue is also iOS. It is starting to get dated, and without Steve Jobs, I'm not sure who's in charge of what at Apple nowadays.
Truly sad.
I don't think we can expect to see updates before fall 2013. iPad "4" was a pretty mild update, basically a CPU bump and connector swap, and if the iPhone shift to fall is any indicator, it looks like Apple is merely shifting all iDevice updates to the fall, like the iPods have been for many years.