Rumor: Apple's next iPad mini to pack 324ppi Retina display

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
The follow-up to Apple's iPad mini will reportedly feature a Retina display with a pixel density of 324 pixels per inch ? higher even than the display on the fourth-generation iPad.

The rumor comes via investment news service BrightWire and cites sources close to Taiwanese Apple suppliers, who say that AU Optronics is piloting the production of a second-generation 7.9-inch iPad mini.

iPad resolutions
Current iPad mini resolution (left) vs. rumored iPad mini 2 resolution (right).


The resolution on the device is said to stand at 2,048 by 1,536 pixels, four times that of the current iPad mini and equal to that of the larger Retina iPad.

Packing the resolution of the larger iPad into the smaller version would allow Apple to have a high-resolution smaller device without making developers have to tailor their apps to yet another screen size. Apple did much the same with the introduction of the current iPad mini, which has the same resolution as the iPad 2.

Apple did add a new resolution to its lineup last fall, when the company launched the iPhone 5 with a taller 4-inch display. But because the iPhone 5 retains the same pixel width as its predecessors, legacy applications can run in a "letterbox" mode with unused space at the top and bottom of the screen.

Rumors of a high-density display in the next version of the iPad mini are nothing new, having persisted since the device's introduction. While Apple was criticized in some media outlets when the iPad mini debuted due to the lack a Retina-level display, the mini has seen strong sales in the months since its release. Supplies of the tablet have only recently begun to approach demand.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 94


    No way, man. That's crazy. What, that's like… a display with the quality of a… a retina or something. Crazy talk.

  • Reply 2 of 94


    I'll buy 4 of these with 32GB of ram. This is what I've been waiting for. Now they just need to release a new Thunderbolt display.

  • Reply 3 of 94


    Originally Posted by GadgetCanada View Post

    I'll buy 4 of these with 32GB of ram.


     


    I'd buy anything with 32 gigs of RAM if the price was right. Never will I be able to go back to anything less than 30 gigs anymore…

  • Reply 4 of 94
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    I'm not sure why AI is finally picking up on this so long after it's been worked out and why they are reporting an incorrect PPI.

    Let's look at how Apple decided on the 7.85" iPad display size.


    [LIST=1]
    [*] They wanted to use the iPad's resolution and by its intrinsic property its aspect ratio
    [*] They wanted to reuse known display tech they already have to reduce cost.
    [/LIST]

    That's why we have a 7.85" iPad mini display that is 1024x768 at 163 PPI. When you double the iPad mini resolution you double the PPI to 326. 324 is the result of sloppy math by using sloppy and imprecise math by using a 7.9" size and without any consideration for how the display was chosen.

    Shameful that this was reported at all, much less re-report by AI. Bottom line: It'll use the iPhone's display when the iPad mini goes Retina.


    edit: clarified potential ambiguous text.
    edit2: proper math, sloppy proof reading. Good thing I don't do this professionally.
  • Reply 5 of 94
    kdarlingkdarling Posts: 1,640member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    No way, man. That's crazy. What, that's like… a display with the quality of a… a retina or something. Crazy talk.



     


     


    Yep.  At the predicted 324 ppi, it would be "retina" as long as we hold the screen 11" or more away from our eyes.

  • Reply 6 of 94
    solipsismx wrote: »
    Bottom line: It'll use the iPhone's display when it goes Retina.

    When will iPhone get a retina display?
  • Reply 7 of 94
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    kdarling wrote: »

    Yep.  At the predicted 324 ppi, it would be "retina" <span style="font-size:13px;line-height:1.231;">as long as we hold the screen 11" or more away from our eyes.</span>

    1) At 324 PPI (why are we now using the value) for someone with 20/20 and excluding all other factors at 11" the PPI only needs to be 312.5.

    2) Are you implying that 324 is now a weak PPI to have in a handheld device?
  • Reply 8 of 94
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    It will definitely happen--at 326 PPI, not 324--but I'd be (pleasantly) surprised if it happens in the next version, even if the next version isn't until fall. I predict Spring 2014.

    Challenges to overcome:

    1. Power consumption of the display AND of the GPU power needed to drive it. They might make the mini slightly larger and heavier to fit a bigger battery (like the iPad 3) but only very slightly. They won't want it to become a brick. The mini is about portability even more than the full-size iPad is.

    2. Yields. This is a big issue: if Apple can manufacture 15 million non-retina Minis but only 10 million retina Minis, say, because of poorer yields, then they'd be turning away 5 million customers by going retina too soon. Subtract a feature, gain customers and sales! That may be the reality.

    3. Cost vs. margins. This may be close to being solved already: I think it's the reason Apple left some "headroom" in their Mini pricing. (The non-retina Mini can stay at the low end, at a new low price point. Having both display types also helps the yield problem--but doesn't make it go away: they'd only offer the lowest capacity in non-retina, judging by the iPad 2. They wouldn't want to muddy the waters by having a 32GB non-retina for sale alongside a 16GB retina.)
  • Reply 9 of 94
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    When will iPhone get a retina display?

    Just under three years ago.
  • Reply 10 of 94

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post





    When will iPhone get a retina display?


    :)

  • Reply 11 of 94
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    nagromme wrote: »
    2. Yields. This is a big issue: if Apple can manufacture 15 million non-retina Minis but only 10 million retina Minis, say, because of poorer yields, then they'd be turning away 5 million customers by going retina too soon. Subtract a feature, gain customers and sales! That may be the reality.

    This one may have already been worked out seeing as how this past year was the first time the iPod Touch received the same display as the iPhone. Sure, the iPad mini's display is about 4x larger and likely sells a lot more units than the iPod Touch, but of all the hurdles this one appears to have the best chance of having already been checked off.
  • Reply 12 of 94
    allenbfallenbf Posts: 993member
    This isn't the retina display for the iPad mini at 324 ppi. It's the display for the iPhone Math.

    /s

    Sarcasm aside, I hope the new iPad mini has a retina display. Put me down for two of them, please. If no retina, I guess I'll get the iPad 5.
  • Reply 13 of 94
    jason98jason98 Posts: 768member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by GadgetCanada View Post


    I'll buy 4 of these with 32GB of ram. This is what I've been waiting for. Now they just need to release a new Thunderbolt display.



     


    Now they just need to add support for voice calls (the phone app) and fandroids will shut up forever... image

  • Reply 14 of 94
    kdarlingkdarling Posts: 1,640member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    2) Are you implying that 324 is now a weak PPI to have in a handheld device?


     


    Nope    But since you brought it up, are you?

  • Reply 15 of 94
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member


    The iPad mini with Retina Display will be held closer to your face, so it needs to be a higher res.

  • Reply 16 of 94
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    Here we go again, Jony Ive asking for more that Tim Cook can deliver on. /s

    Seriously, we've now heard that the mini screen will be G/F2 (DITO), and probably IGZO to keep the thickness and weight down, and still be able to drive a retina screen within the new form factor that Ive and crew have established as the standard. This overreaching is going to cost Apple sales, because of shortages, and it will cost them on their margins, thus maybe explaining their reticence on guidance.

    But these guys aren't messing around when it comes to raising the bar on quality—if the rumors are true.
  • Reply 17 of 94
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    When will iPhone get a retina display?

    He was referring to the iPad mini.
  • Reply 18 of 94
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    kdarling wrote: »
    Nope    But since you brought it up, are you?

    1) You made a false and seemingly pejorative comment that made the PPI look worse than it was hence my query.

    2) I made a very precious comment as to Apple's stated definition of Retina Display. A comment you choose to edit out before asking your question. Curious.
  • Reply 19 of 94
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Flaneur View Post



    Here we go again, Jony Ive asking for more that Tim Cook can deliver on. /s



    Seriously, we've now heard that the mini screen will be G/F2 (DITO), and probably IGZO to keep the thickness and weight down, and still be able to drive a retina screen within the new form factor that Ive and crew have established as the standard. This overreaching is going to cost Apple sales, because of shortages, and it will cost them on their margins, thus maybe explaining their reticence on guidance.



    But these guys aren't messing around when it comes to raising the bar on quality—if the rumors are true.


    If they can get retina into the mini's design/form factor all I can say is:


     


  • Reply 20 of 94
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Oh great. Having said that - the iPad sans retina is totally usable. Retina is nice and I like nice, but I never catch myself thinking "damn, I wish this was just 'that' much sharper".
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