Apple Watch resolutions and other interesting tidbits disclosed in developer tools

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 18, 2014

Apple has left many questions unanswered regarding its upcoming smartwatch following its September unveiling. Representing a brand new form factor for iOS, the fashionable wrist-worn accessory sports a Retina panel which Apple bills as an “incredibly high pixel density” screen laminated to a machined and polished single crystal of sapphire (strengthened Ion-X glass on the Sport collection).

With today’s release of the official Apple Watch software development kit (SDK), watchful third-party developers have scanned the files in search of interesting tidbits and discovered references to pixel resolutions for both the 38mm and 42mm high Apple Watches, in addition to other previously unknown details worth mentioning. Read More

 

Apple announces 27″ iMac with Retina 5K display available today for $2,499

By Jeff Benjamin on Oct 16, 2014

Thirty years after the first Mac was unveiled, Apple has announced its highly anticipated 27″ iMac with Retina Display. The desktop’s display, which comes in at 5120×2880 native resolution, features a stunning 14.7 Million pixels, and is available starting today at $2,499.

To put these numbers in perspective, the display has 7 times more pixels than standard 1080p Full HD. That’s four times the pixels of the old 27″ iMac’s display, and 67% more pixels than a 4K display. In fact, it allows for full 4K video editing with room to spare.

Read More

 

Rumor claims ultra-slim 12″ Retina MacBook Air coming in 2015 in Silver, Space Gray and Gold

By Christian Zibreg on Sep 12, 2014

File this one under the ‘We Shall See’ drawer: Apple’s long-rumored MacBook Air with a 12-inch Retina display is reportedly launching next year in Space Gray and Gold, in addition to the usual aluminum silver look, A Tech Website said Friday citing sources “familiar with Apple’s plans”.

This is the first time someone has mentioned iPhone-inspired colors with respect to Apple’s ultra-thin notebook. We’re not sure what to make of this report because in my personal view, a gold MacBook Air sounds preposterous, to say the least. Read More

 

This is the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus with Retina HD display

By Christian Zibreg on Sep 9, 2014

Putting an end to months of rumors, speculation and analysis, Apple today finally showed off its eighth-generation iPhone smartphone with a higher-resolution 4.7 and 5.5-inch screens, improved cameras, new sensors, a dedicated NFC chip for mobile payments and more.

In announcing the new phones, which Apple named the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, to the crowd of technology journalists, fashion media editors, analysts and investors Tuesday morning at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said the device will come in two sizes.

He also played a teaser video showing off its design, which looks just like in leaks. Read More

 

‘Modbook Pro X’ turns your 15-inch Retina MacBook into a powerful tablet

By Cody Lee on Jul 30, 2014

Folks longing for a more powerful Apple tablet may want to checkout the new Pro X project from long-time MacBook-modifier Modbook. The company has taken to Kickstarter to market its latest creation—a 15.4″ quad-core tablet with Retina display that runs Mac OS X.

The Modbook Pro X will be available in a number of configurations, based on the new Retina MacBook Pros Apple unveiled just this week. Packages can include a processor as fast as Intel’s 2.8GHz Haswell chip, up to 32GB of RAM, and up to 2 terabytes of flash storage… Read More

 

Apple updates Retina MacBook Pros with faster processors, more memory

By Cody Lee on Jul 29, 2014

As expected, Apple has refreshed its family of MacBook Pro with Retina display laptops this morning. The updates add faster processors and more memory, and come just after the launch of the company’s annual back-to-school promotion.

There are three new 13-inch models and two new 15-inch notebooks, all of which have received the latest versions of Intel’s i5 and i7 Haswell processors. In terms of additional memory, Apple has doubled the entry-level RAM for both lines… Read More

 

Evidence of Retina iMac found in OS X Yosemite beta

By Cody Lee on Jun 4, 2014

Folks wanting an iMac with Retina display will be happy to hear that some evidence has surfaced in favor of the mythical machine. The recently-released OS X Yosemite developer preview includes a new file that defines display scaling resolution options for an iMac.

The native resolution of the computer is not mentioned, but the file includes a series of scaling resolution options that max out at 6400 x 3600 pixels, or 3200 x 1800 as a Retina display. It’s likely the display will scale down to a lower resolution like the MacBook Pro… Read More

 

Rumor: the next iPhones have sharper 4.7″ and 5.5″ Retina screens with sapphire protection

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 12, 2014

According to a new report by the South China Morning Post, Apple is reportedly gearing up to launch two new iPhones with bigger screens sporting sapphire crystal protection. The handsets are reportedly scheduled to launch in September 2014.

In corroborating previous rumors by Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, sources claim the upcoming iPhones have 4.7 and 5.5-inch screens coated in sapphire, the expensive gemstone Apple uses to protect its Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 5s and iSight camera lenses on iOS devices. And, the screens will be flat, not curved… Read More

 

Dell’s new and affordable 4K displays suggest Retina iMac is edging closer

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 2, 2013

Three and a half years ago, Apple released the iPhone 4 which introduced the world to the then-new Retina display.

In Apple’s parlance, Retina is basically a cleverly-coined marketing moniker which stands for a screen with pixels so densely packed that the average eyesight (20/20 vision) is unable to discern the individual ones at normal distance.

Apple has since Retina-fied its iOS device lineup, including some Mac notebooks. With the exception of the MacBook Air which stayed at 1,366-by-768 and 1,440-by-900 pixels for 11 and 13-inch models, respectively, we’ve been kinda keeping our fingers crossed for a Retina iMac this Fall.

Apple instead gave us a radically different Mac Pro as its first desktop so powerful it’s capable of driving three 4K displays simultaneously.

One would also expect Apple would by now have released a Retina Thunderbolt Display because the product’s been unchanged for almost two years. Instead, the firm opted for the waiting tactics until Retina-grade desktop screens become available at consumer prices.

That day is now looming as Dell on Monday released two 4K desktop monitors starting at just 50 percent more than the $899 Apple Thunderbolt Display. Just a year ago, you couldn’t find a decent 4K monitor under $5,000. But Dell’s only warming up: by early-2014, the computer maker plans to release a 28-inch 4K monitor priced at under $1000… Read More

 

Some thoughts on iPad mini with Retina display

By Jeff Benjamin on Nov 18, 2013

As you’ll hear me recount on the upcoming episode of Let’s Talk iOS, I had to go through quite a lot to get my hands on the iPad mini with Retina display that I desired. The model, a Space Grey 32GB Cellular version with a bundled T-Mobile sim, proved to be a pretty tough get.

But I finally did get my iPad mini, and I’ve been able to spend the last few days truly analyzing the device, and analyzing whether or not the time I invested into acquiring it was worth the hassle.

You’ve likely read plenty of other reviews that pretty much spout off the same thing. Yes, the mini now has an awesome screen, has the same guts as the iPad Air, and it did so by compromising some of its thinness. So what’s the end result? Is this a good product? Will it go down as the best iPad ever? I share my thoughts inside. Read More

 

Some early adopters complaining about screen burn-in on their Retina iPad mini

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 15, 2013

An unknown portion of the first batch of Retina iPad minis coming out of assembly line is apparently plagued with the screen retention problem, reports from disgruntled users claim. Every Apple product launch is marred with teething issues, though this one is more than skin-deep. As we reported, Korea’s ETNews blamed the issues last week on production woes with Sharp-made IGZO Retina panels.

Manufacturing issues have apparently prompted Apple to negotiate with Samsung Display for the supply of 7.9-inch Retina screens starting next year, as Samsung’s display-making unit “was the first to solve the technological problem”. At the heart of the issue is malfunctioning of Sharp’s thin-film transistor screen technology… Read More

 

Retina iPad mini teardown: LG Display Retina panel, larger battery, A7 and more

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 13, 2013

Yesterday, I wondered on Twitter what was taking the repair magicians over at iFixit so long to do their ritual teardown of Apple’s stealthily-released iPad mini with Retina display. My prayers have been listened to as iFixit has torn apart the device, revealing its guts and components for the whole world to see. As you could imagine, they found an Apple-designed A7 chip inside, slightly underclocked versus the iPad Air.

On top of that, there are usual suspects in terms of wireless and supporting chips. As for the titular update to this iPad mini – the Retina display – the teardown analysis has identified an LG Display-supplied 7.9-inch in-plane switching LCD with a 2,048-by-1,536 screen resolution.

While the resolution is the same as the iPad 3/4/Air, the images are crisper at 326 pixels per inch (264 ppi on the iPad Air) due to a shrunken form factor, as noted MacStories editor Federico Viticci noted in his hands-on article.

Other tidbits follow… Read More

 

Apple expected to increase holiday-quarter iPad screen purchases from Samsung

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 11, 2013

Samsung of South Korea may have gotten itself into hot water with Apple over patents and design issues, but its semiconductor unit continues to churn out unabated the Apple-designed engine which powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod devices. As for Retina screens, Apple originally sourced mobile displays from non-Samsung suppliers such as Sharp and LG Display.

Last we heard, recent yield and quality issues have reportedly prompted the iPhone maker to turn to its frenemy for help. Korea’s ETNews last Friday claimed Apple has asked Samsung for help as Sharp struggles to solve burn-in issues with IGZO panels for the iPad Air.

At the heart of the production issues is Japanese giant’s malfunctioning of the thin-film transistor display technology. Corroborating the report, a display research firm on Monday said Apple’s purchase of Samsung-made panels for the iPad is about to skyrocket in the fourth quarter… Read More

 

iPad mini with Retina display vs iPad mini tech specs

By Sébastien Page on Oct 22, 2013

Apple quickly unveiled the new iPad mini with Retina display today. The event felt like a non event as the company didn’t spend much time talking about the new device.

Prior to the announcement, I was worried that the mini, my iPad of choice, was going to get a weight and size increase, just like the iPad 3 got when it was updated with a Retina display. Turns out that my concern got confirmed as the Retina mini is indeed a tad bit bigger than its predecessor. Nothing dramatic, as you can see in the iPad mini with Retina display tech specs compared to the original iPad mini… Read More

 

iPhone 6 may adopt IGZO screens as Sharp finally commercializes tech

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 21, 2013

Apple has long wanted to make a switch from the traditional LCD IPS display technology utilized on iOS devices to Sharp’s cutting-edge IGZO technology.

Unfortunately, Apple’s been unable to offer an IGZO iPhone because the struggling Japanese giant had been facing tremendous technical hurdles preventing mass production of these sophisticated panels.

According to the latest supply chain chatter, Sharp has now successfully commercialized production of IGZO panels for smartphones and will begin manufacturing them at its Kameyama Plant Number 2 before the end of 2013… Read More

 

Another report claims Retina iPad mini inventory will be limited at launch

By Cody Lee on Oct 18, 2013

With Apple’s tablet event just a few days away, speculation continues to mount on what we may see unveiled on stage. A redesigned iPad 5 seems like a given, but there are still some unknowns regarding the new iPad mini.

The biggest question on everyone’s mind is if the 7.9-inch slate will get the Retina treatment this time around. According to Peter Misek, the answer is yes. The analyst fully expects Apple to introduce a hi-res mini next week… Read More

 

iPad rumors: redesigned Smart Covers, Retina iPad mini could bulk up slightly

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 14, 2013

In today’s roundup of the somewhat obvious Apple rumors, a new report has suggested that the upcoming iPad mini 2 will be a tad thicker than its predecessor, presumably in order to accommodate a bigger battery needed to drive Apple’s power-hungry Retina display. This is newsworthy as none of the leaks to date has pointed to added bulk.

The thicker iPad mini meme isn’t unexpected: watchful readers will remember that Apple’s third-generation iPad with Retina display turned out to be slightly thicker than the previous iPads, due to the larger battery inside… Read More

 

Why Retina display is more than twice as responsive as the competition

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 1, 2013

Say what you will, but Apple owns the most responsive mobile OS and has the smoothest multitouch implementation by leaps and bounds.

Unsurprisingly, the Retina display hardware is a major part of that accomplishment – and I’m not talking about pixel density or image quality.

No, the key contributing factor to the iPhone’s multitouch immediacy is the short response time of the device’s touch panel on the hardware level. In fact, Apple’s capacitive touchscreen implementation runs circles around competition, a recent barrage of tests have proven.

The iPhone 5’s four-inch Retina screen is significantly faster than any of its rivals – up to twice as fast as its nearest competitor. Jump past the fold for detailed findings… Read More

 

New report claims Retina iPad mini may not ship alongside iPad 5

By Cody Lee on Sep 27, 2013

Apple may not be planning to release an iPad mini with Retina display alongside its next-gen iPad 5 next month, according to a new report, which claims that there’s little supply chain evidence suggesting otherwise.

The news comes from market research firm IHS iSuppi, who is reporting that while the iPad 5 looks to be on track for its expected October launch, manufacturing volumes for the Retina mini point toward a 2014 debut… Read More

 

IHS iSuppli: production of iPad mini Retina display on track for fall launch

By Cody Lee on Aug 15, 2013

While it seems all but certain that Apple is going to launch a redesigned fifth gen iPad this fall, the fate of the iPad mini isn’t quite so clear. Reports thus far have been split between the tablet having and not having a Retina display.

Well this morning we’re adding another one to the ‘having’ pile. Well-known market research firm IHS iSuppli reports that the new mini will indeed have a high resolution screen, and that production volumes are on par with 2012… Read More

 
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