back to article Apple delays 'retina display' iPad 3 to 2012

Don't expect an iPad 3 with a "retina display" this year: Apple's screen supplier(s) - LG and Samsung - can't make enough 9.7in, 2048 x 1536 panels to ship the tablet before 2012, it has been claimed. Making such a screen is no small technological achievement, and there's a price to be paid for being at the leading edge: low …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. SuccessCase

    If Apple are saying they are too expensive, even as an option...

    They must still be really expensive.

  2. Scott Earle
    FAIL

    Delayed?

    How can an unannounced product be delayed?

    1. Annihilator
      Unhappy

      re: delayed

      I wondered that. It's almost like we've been living in a fairytale or an M Night Shyamalan film.

      Instead of saying "oops, we f***ed up with that original speculation of a new iPad in 6 months" to, "ah, they really wanted to, but can't. We can't show you any proof of that though"

    2. Ru
      FAIL

      The fact they haven't told you about it is irrelevant

      Not all schedules are public, chief.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Boffin

      Re: Delayed?

      There will still be some kind of schedule, either explicitly communicated or anticipated, and even if the current version is selling well, retailers wedded to selling Apple gadgetry would probably like to know what Apple will be coming along with as its competitors release several iterations of their own products in the meantime. Apart from litigation, that is.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    HiRez

    Whoa! Now that's a high rez display! I'd seriously consider getting an iPad3 for that reason alone.

    I'm also wondering whether the Samsung tablet injunction war would prevent Samsung from doing their best to get this product to market too soon?

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Since when..

    ...has a sky high price stopped Apple? Sheeple want pretty things, no matter the cost...

    1. Giles Jones Gold badge

      Erm

      You really don't understand business then?

      A business wants to design something, get it built and then sell it on for a profit. If an iPad 3 cost £700 instead of £429 then it doesn't make much sense no matter how good the screen is.

      While the margins seem high on the hardware this profit has to recoup the cost of:

      1. Hardware design.

      2. Software (boot code and any device specific code in iOS).

      3. Prototyping (samples often cost money).

      4. CE and other compliance testing.

      5. Product design (packaging).

      6. Marketing and advertising.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      The year 2000 called...

      ...it wants its fanboi-bating phrases, cliches and nicknames back.

    3. Arnold Lieberman
      Facepalm

      No silly!

      There's a difference between what Apple is willing to spend on the BOM and what they charge their consumers. A big, fat, profit-enhancing difference.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Umm....

      It's strange how people claim the iPad is expensive when the competition seem to be incapable of producing anything with similar specs at a cheaper price. At launch all competitors seemed to be the same price or in some cases more expensive and it's only recently, having realised that they aren't shifting any, that they are lowering prices.

      So Apple may not be cheap when it comes to desktop or laptop computers, but it seems that they are very competitively priced for tablets (assuming similar specs).

      1. Raz
        FAIL

        Title is missing in non action

        @AC 19:46 GMT

        Wrong. Many of the Android tablets - the ones from Asus and Acer for example - came at $399 price point, compared to the iPad 2's $499. Same specs: 16 GB memory, 10" screen, Wi-Fi. Actually they are better specced when considering USB ports, card readers, video out.

        The fact that Samsung and Motorola priced their tablets at the same price or higher means that they want to make more money, not that the production price is higher.

      2. Handle This

        The Key Phrase

        The key phrase in your comment is "similar specs". Looking at the Apple closed system with integrated vertical management and "take it or leave it" features, we do not find a similar spec to, say, the Tab currently at issue, or more open alternatives to Apple. You may argue that what is really a premium price for what you get from Apple is worth it ("it just works" (for you), ineffable "cool" factor, etc.), and I would not (could not, since it is a matter of opinion) argue with you, but then that is a different issue.

  5. DrXym

    Meanwhile

    Amazon's android based tablet is likely to launch soon (possibly in various form factors) and might cut the legs from under the iPad. That will be interesting to see though I suspect it will be as proprietary and tied into Amazon's service as an iPad is into Apple's. I truly think that the reason Google has been so coy about opening the Android 3 source code is because they don't want Amazon to lay their hands on it.

  6. willisit

    Shock and/or horror

    Not to mention that the iPad doesn't need a resolution of 2048x1536 or the costs to go along with it. Yes, most people noticed the improved iPhone 4 screen - but "noticed" is just that (remember the layman over the techy here). A cheaper iPad 2 would be nice though...

    1. GrahamS
      Happy

      Need? No. Want? Yes.

      I've certainly "noticed" the iPhone 4 screen and I dislike using the missus' 3GS now, because the screen seems unreadable by comparison. The poxy 1024×768 (132 ppi) resolution is the only thing that has prevented me from buying an iPad so far. If they can double that for the iPad 3 then I'll snap one up.

      Once you get to a point where you can't really distinguish individual pixels then the whole eMagazine concept really starts to make a lot more sense, because the text on screen becomes (almost*) as easy to read as print.

      * (okay, maybe apart from the backlight, but it will do fine till cheap true-colour high-res eInk displays are available).

    2. BristolBachelor Gold badge

      Resolution

      I was going to get one when it comes out and because of the resolution. A lot of photographers now carry iPads around with them too (and I'm sure would welcome the resolution).

      The resolution of the current iPad is like looking at a photograph printed with an Epson FX80 dot-matrix printer. If you want to review / show photographs, you need more resolution. When people look at a photograph, they rarely look at the photograph as a whole; their eyes move over it and hence the old calculations about the resolution needed for viewing moving pictures on a TV are flawed IMHO.

  7. Andy Roid McUser
    Facepalm

    Samsung

    Samsung

    'so what you are saying Mr.jobs is that you need this part in a hurry. . .

    I am sorry Steve the entire management team appear to be OOTO. . '

    JOBS,

    'when will they be back, this is urgent and directly impacts my magical awesomeness'

    Samsung.

    'Your call is important to us. please leave a message after the beep'

    1. Wake up befor you sleep thru windows last crash...

      Apple

      SJ, So, you know that order for 50 million high density 10" displays we put in last month? Cancel it, Toshiba can give us a better price anyhow, and Samsung can go pound sand, or try to sell these to 'competitors'. they should move all of them in what, 5-6 years?

  8. LPF
    Thumb Down

    But wait a minute...

    I thought thise was all a fad that would disappear soon ???

  9. Velv
    Mushroom

    Reading between the lines

    The suppliers of the screen can't deliver enough screen cheaply enough.

    LG, and more notably, Samsung.

    Samsung can't meet demand a week after Apple takes legal action against Samsung for producingna competing product.

    Smells of spin and bullshit to me

  10. RayG
    Meh

    Never mind the iPad

    ...when can I have a 9.7", 2048x1536 laptop?

  11. James Hughes 1

    Not just screen cost

    They will need quite a GPU to drive a screen that big (unless they scale lower rez up, and that would be pointless), and that won't be cheap either. And it will use a load more power.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Really?

    Is that all manufacturers can do now is increase screen clarity to try to differentiate themselves?

    WHO THE F CK CARES ABOUT IT?

    There comes a point that it doesn't matter anymore.

    1. Wake up befor you sleep thru windows last crash...

      So you've never

      used an iPhone 4. Big difference.

    2. GrahamS
      Gimp

      RE: Really?

      > "There comes a point that it doesn't matter anymore."

      Yep, but that point has not been reached yet.

      It will be reached when you can no longer distinguish individual pixels and you don't notice any further increases in screen resolution. We're not there yet (tho the iPhone 4 screen is pretty close IMO).

  13. Jurassic

    Rumors vs. reality

    Apple has NEVER stated that an iPad 3 would be released this year. In fact, they have NEVER even used the term "iPad 3" or discussed future iPad releases.

    What we have here is one rumor disputing another rumor, in a long chain of rumors about a rumored product.

    There is no point in getting caught up in all of these rumors. In the end, Apple will release its next generation iPad only when Apple releases it... not when rumors say it will.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Rumors vs. reality

    Apple has NEVER stated that an iPad 3 would be released this year. In fact, they have NEVER even used the term "iPad 3" or discussed future iPad releases.

    What we have here is one rumor disputing another rumor, in a long chain of rumors about a rumored product.

    There is no point in getting caught up in all of these rumors. In the end, Apple will release its next generation iPad only when Apple releases it... not when rumors say it will.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hmmmm.....

    I can't see Samsung rushing to reduce the price.

    Wonder if the Galaxy Tab will be getting a screen upgrade.

  16. Jon H

    PC monitors with that resolution

    2048x1536 = very nice, but on a semi-small screen the size of a tablet? Hmm, how about starting off making that resolution in a 24" PC monitor? Might be a bit easier / cheaper than trying to squeeze everything down so small too.

    We used to have 1200 line monitors but now we seem to be stuck at a mere 1080 lines because apparently "HD" resolution is better than any other resolution.

    1. GrahamS
      Windows

      PC monitors are stuck because of Windows

      Sadly PC monitors are kind of stuck at their current pixel density because historically Windows expects the monitor to be 96dpi. So if you had a PC monitor that was actually Retina-resolution (326ppi) then all the text would be tiny on it. (i.e. 10 pixel high text is quite readable when the pixels are large, but pretty unreadable when they are tiny).

      Obviously modern Windows lets you change the DPI setting - but you'll find that many apps (especially older legacy apps) will either not respect this setting, or their UI will completely break down and look awful.

This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like