Hidden graphical assets in iOS 8.1 beta 2 hint at 'Retina HD' iPads
Continuing his analysis of Apple's most recent iOS 8.1 beta 2, developer Hamza Sood on Wednesday discovered frameworks containing graphical assets labeled "3x~ipad," suggesting the company is preparing to update its tablet lineup with high-resolution "Retina HD" displays.
As seen in the screenshot Sood posted to Twitter, graphics relating to the Clock app in iOS 8.1 beta 2 are offered in "3x~ipad," "2x~ipad" and "ipad" designations. According to Sood, the presence of the "3x" PNG files hints at super high-resolution iPad displays.
When Apple introduced the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus at a special event in September, the company revealed new pixel-dense screens dubbed "Retina HD." Specifically, the new panels come in at 1,334-by-750 pixels at 326ppi for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 1,920-by-1080 pixels at 401ppi for the 5.5-inch Plus.
It is possible that a rumored next-generation iPad Air model could also move to the upgraded display technology, though potential pixel densities are at this point unknown. For reference, the current iPad Air packs in a 9.7-inch Retina display with a resolution of 2048-by-1536 pixels at 264ppi, while the smaller iPad mini with Retina display carries the same resolution, but squeezes the pixels into a 7.9-inch display good for 326ppi.
Earlier today, Apple sent out invitations for a media event set to take place on Oct. 16. The company is widely expected to announce a next-generation iPad Air that features a slimmed-down chassis, Touch ID fingerprint recognition, faster A8 processor and minor design tweaks. Pictures of a supposed "dummy unit" also hit the Web on Wednesday, offering what could be a first look at the upcoming iPad.
As seen in the screenshot Sood posted to Twitter, graphics relating to the Clock app in iOS 8.1 beta 2 are offered in "3x~ipad," "2x~ipad" and "ipad" designations. According to Sood, the presence of the "3x" PNG files hints at super high-resolution iPad displays.
When Apple introduced the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus at a special event in September, the company revealed new pixel-dense screens dubbed "Retina HD." Specifically, the new panels come in at 1,334-by-750 pixels at 326ppi for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 1,920-by-1080 pixels at 401ppi for the 5.5-inch Plus.
It is possible that a rumored next-generation iPad Air model could also move to the upgraded display technology, though potential pixel densities are at this point unknown. For reference, the current iPad Air packs in a 9.7-inch Retina display with a resolution of 2048-by-1536 pixels at 264ppi, while the smaller iPad mini with Retina display carries the same resolution, but squeezes the pixels into a 7.9-inch display good for 326ppi.
Earlier today, Apple sent out invitations for a media event set to take place on Oct. 16. The company is widely expected to announce a next-generation iPad Air that features a slimmed-down chassis, Touch ID fingerprint recognition, faster A8 processor and minor design tweaks. Pictures of a supposed "dummy unit" also hit the Web on Wednesday, offering what could be a first look at the upcoming iPad.
Comments
Woah, this sounds like bad news maybe! I might have to reconsider getting a new iPad! Damn!
I bought an iPad 3 to replace my iPad 2, and I was pleased with the retina display, but the performance between the iPad 2 and the iPad 3 was about the same.
I need to see how this new iPad performs, and it had better be considerably more powerful than the iPad Air. I'd rather have increased performance instead of more pixels. Retina is already good enough if you ask me.
Now, if this rumor is about a 12.9" iPad, then that's a different story.
I would hope so.
To be honest, the double scaling on the 6 plus is less than ideal- I'm speaking of hardware upscaling and subsequent software downscaling that eventually results in 1080p. While better executed than any android scaling by a mile, it somehow feels like a stopgap. Curious what next year will hold.
I guess what I'm saying is im a little nervous if something the size of an ipad scales in the same fashion as the 6 plus.
Earlier today, Apple sent out invitations for a media event set to take place on Oct. 8.
TYPO!
I'm pretty sure that you meant to write Oct. 16th.
As they’re retina now, and have been since 2012, no.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
...screamed my bank account!
...and get ready for the iPad Air Plus!
How is it a stopgap? Or is it that noticable? I'm on a 6, so no first hand experience.
I feel as though 99.n% of people would have no idea this process is happening behind the scenes if it hadn't of been spelled out on the Internet. Of course, not doubting an eye trained in the matter or obvious issues in the process.
Hopefully it comes with a faster GPU than what's in the iPhone 6 Plus.
Yeah, the iPhone 6 Plus is one big pile of crap isn’t it.
Good thing Apple has made it easier than ever to empty it with the all new ApplePay!
What a gimmick- I thought retina was HD. Does this mean my 13"Retina MBP should be Retina Hd instead?
I think Apple's new Retina HD is just their way of saying Retina 2.0 i.e. higher than the original ones we've gotten used to, that were introduced in 2010 and 2012 for iPhones and iPads respectively.
I would hope so.
To be honest, the double scaling on the 6 plus is less than ideal- I'm speaking of hardware upscaling and subsequent software downscaling that eventually results in 1080p. While better executed than any android scaling by a mile, it somehow feels like a stopgap. Curious what next year will hold.
I guess what I'm saying is im a little nervous if something the size of an ipad scales in the same fashion as the 6 plus.
Not sure where you get that double scaling thing (software downscaling??). On the iPhone 6 plus, the UI is rendered natively on a 2208x1242 canvas like it would on a 2208x1242 iOS device, nothing fancy here. The whole thing is then hardware downscaled to 1920x1080 by the A8 chip.
The reason why Apple did this on the 6 plus is that to keep standard UI elements the same size as previous iPhones, as the density needed to get native pixel perfect 3x was 489 PPI. Since they used a lower density screen at 401 PPI, this would've made the UI uselessly large at native 3x for such a small device, and not much different than the current zoomed mode.
The downscaling trick brings down the 3x UI size down to compensate for the lower than 489 PPI screen.
Now, the 9.7" iPads always had a lower density and we're used to have buttons and UI elements that are larger than on the iPhone. To keep the UI the same size, only 396 PPI is needed for the 9.7" iPad. This means, no downscaling trick would be needed for 3x at 396/401 PPI on the iPad Air 2.
What about 1920 x 2512?
That aspect ratio (1.3099:1) makes little sense.
iPads have an aspect ratio of 4:3 (or 1.33:1). The original iPad was 1024x768 pixels. Current iPads are twice that on each dimension. The most logical pixel count for a 3x-iPad display would be 3072x2304.
First of all, you have not maintained the 4:3 aspect ratio. Secondly, you have not used an integer as a multiplier.
And even if Apple changed the aspect ratio of the next-generation iPad, your dimensions still make zero sense. If Apple decided to make the next-gen iPad like an iPhone aspect ratio, that would be 16:9 (1.7778:1).