Pushing Pixels: Will The iPad 2′s Screen Be Insanely High-Res?

Of the myriad iPad 2 rumors making their way across the internet so far, there’s one in particular that’s both fascinating and unbelievable. And I say “unbelievable” not in the sense that it’s impossible to believe, but more in the sense that if it’s true, it’ll be unbelievable in a “that’s amazing” kind of way.

Several reports are now circulating suggesting that the next version of the iPad may have a screen with a 2048×1536 resolution. The current iPad’s screen resolution is 1024×768, by comparison. So this new screen would be double the pixels tall by double the pixels wide, for an overall multiple of four.

Why is this unbelievable?

Well for starters, the resolution of the computer screen in front of you is probably something like 1280×800 or 1280×720. It might be 1366×768—maybe even 1440×900. If you’ve got a true 1080p LCD monitor, it’d be 1920×1080. All of the resolutions I just mentioned are less than the screen resolution of the next iPad, if the rumors end up being true.

I have a 22-inch monitor in front of me with a 1920×1080 resolution. I can’t imagine shrinking it down to 10 inches and pushing the resolution up to 2048×1536. I’ve never heard of a 10-inch screen with that high of a resolution and the monitors that sports 2048×1536 resolutions tend to be at least twice that size, and are often sold for medical imaging with price tags in excess of $5000—like this one right here. Apple itself sells an iMac with a 2560×1440-resolution screen but the panel size is a whopping 27 inches.

So Apple is going to somehow stuff medical-grade resolution into a 10-inch screen and sell it in a new iPad that should theoretically cost the same or less than current iPads? This, I’ve got to see. Literally. I want to look at it with my eyeballs because it’d be gorgeous.

Before considering such a screen impossible, consider this instead. Apple stuffed a 3.5-inch 960×640 screen into the iPhone 4. Nothing like that had been done with a commercially-available product at the time. Even next-generation Android phones with 4.3-inch screens—like the Droid X, for instance—have resolutions of 854×480 or lower. So it wouldn’t be the first time Apple worked some pixel magic with a display.

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pks29733steel

What difference is it going to make if you can’t see the screen outside!! If I wanted to stay inside, I’d use my desktop or laptop. Take the ‘Idiot Pad’ into sunlite and you can’t see a thing. I’m glad I didn’t waste my money on it, but sad my friend did!
tereglith

“it looks just like the real thing! Except it glows! And is reflective. And it might give you eyestrain.”
http://kenslivejournal.wordpress.com kenslivejournal

This is typical. Right now — at this moment — the NookColor has a superior pixel density to the iPad. It is highly superior for reading because of this. When I go from my NookColor and pick up an iPad, my eye immediately sees just how pixely the iPad is. I wouldn’t want to read for 15 minutes on it.

But no one talks about this comparison. Why? Because it is not an example of Apple superiority, therefore it is not a “sexy” news story. You will notice that there are never breathless articles touting products that are better than Apple in some way. Culturally, we have already decided that Apple is the only innovator, and so we only create and consume stories that fit this schema.

So I guess it’s like this: it’s OK to write breathless “articles” about speculated “amazing” superiorities of an as-yet-unreleased Apple product (because this is an example of how amazing Apple is) but it is not OK, to compare the two products as they exist in the present moment, IF the comparison would find Apple lacking.

Apple always wins: either (a) they have a superior product right now and the media talks about nothing else, or (b) they will release an amazing product (maybe) in the almost-near-future, so no need to talk about anyone else’s superior products right now.

Media people, I thought you went to school to learn objectivity, and how best to report the truth. Please think about this the next time, before you hit “submit.”