Developers from various companies are trying to pay more attention to the display, trying to attract new users to their products. So what surprised Apple this time, and what is a Retina display? Its advantages over others and disadvantages. This is exactly what this article will talk about.
The display is an integral part of every device. Be it a tablet, computer or phone. After all, it is through him that the connection between a person and the “iron” is carried out.
What is a Retina display?
When using this display, a person will not notice the pixels at all. The picture is very clear and bright, which not every device can boast of.
Previously, such display clarity could only be enjoyed on professional computers, but now it is also available on Apple devices. Most often, Retina is used on iPad tablets, the resolution is 2048x1536 pixels. This is even more than some computer monitors.
Photo: Visual comparison of the resolution of the iPhone 3Gs (regular display) and iPhone 4s (retina display) Retina only used by Apple?
Retina display is a patented tool, which means that no brand has the right to use it in this form. However, there was an attempt to increase the screen pixels at Sony, but it was not successful. Since it is in Apple that the screen size (inches) corresponds to the number of pixels. After all, it is worth remembering that with an increase in resolution, it is also necessary to increase the technical component of the device.
Steve Jobs (founder of Apple) once said that 300 dpi is the sweet spot for phones.
Advantages and disadvantages of Retina displays
Retina display contains a number of advantages that distinguish it from displays from other companies:
- matrix type - IPS, which means that this technique is distinguished by an improved graphic component: high brightness, contrast and viewing angle, accurate color reproduction;
- photos look alive and correspond to reality as much as possible;
- perform well in digital painting;
- the picture remains legible at any viewing angle;
- the price-quality ratio is optimal;
- automatic elimination of pixel defects.
But all displays have their drawbacks. And Retina is no exception. When used at the highest possible settings, the battery quickly heats up and discharges.
Summary of Retina display
- Retina display is a development of Apple Corporation. Today it is the best in terms of price-quality ratio.
- The picture on such a display is very clear, the colors correspond to reality. It is very convenient to draw on such tablets.
- One of the main advantages is the viewing angle, which allows the picture to remain clear and "correct" in terms of colors, no matter what angle you look at.
- Considering the advantages and disadvantages, Retina retains its place as the leading display of modernity.
For those who like products Apple and mathematics, the TUAW website offers to see in numbers the features of "apple" products - hardware and software.
Everyone is talking about Retina displays these days, worried about them not coming to the Mac and looking forward to seeing them on the iPad 3 (which we'll almost certainly see on March 7th). There is one thought expressed by Bjango developer Marc Edwards on Twitter: “The number of pixels in a Retina 27" display with Thunderbolt is 5120x2880 = 14745600 pixels. With 4K resolution: 4096×2160 = 8847360 pixels. Retina on iPad 3: 2048x1536 = 3145728 pixels." The calculations make you wonder - what could the arrival of a Retina display on a Mac mean? If Edwards is right, is it really almost 15 megapixels in a Retina and Thunderbolt display?
What does the term "Retina Display" even mean? It was invented by Apple, giving the following definition:
"The pixel density of a Retina display is so high that the human eye cannot distinguish individual pixels."
The definition makes sense and is a well-thought-out marketing ploy, but is it?
In fact, this technology is used not only by Apple. Screens with a high pixel density per inch are starting to appear in other devices, such as Asus' Android tablet. The exact term "Retina display" can only belong to Apple, but the benefits of high-resolution screens cannot belong to Cupertinos. Since this is a new trend for the industry as a whole, it takes a lot of effort to shake off the “marketing dust” and try to look at the technology objectively.
Definition of "Retina Display"
What does it mean to say that individual pixels on a screen are indistinguishable? To be sure, the release of the iPhone 4 and the first Retina display was a big jump in resolution, going from 480x320 to 960x640 (that is, from 163 ppi to 326 ppi (PDI)). Thus, people understand that the hallmark of a Retina display is the density of 326 HDI, or 300 HDI. The latter number is considered the generally accepted empirical baseline in the printing industry for "photo-resolution".
However, everything is not so simple.
Look at the text in small print at arm's length. Notice how difficult it is to read. Now bring the text closer to your face and look at it from a distance of a few centimeters from your nose. Notice how much easier it is to read now. It becomes clear that Apple's definition of the term "Retina Display" as "a display with indistinguishable pixels" needs to be clarified - what exactly should be the distance from the screen to the user's eyes for each specific device. There is a difference - the iMac is on the table, the MacBook is on the table / knees, etc., we hold the iPhone in our hands, and each of us is at a different distance from our eyes.
So, what should be the size of a small pixel to be considered invisible? Mathematics (more precisely, geometry) begins - we need to think about the angle at which we look at the screen.
The viewing angle in this diagram (angle a) is an angle that depends on the pixel distance (s). As this distance decreases, the angle also decreases. In the same way, the size of an object depends on the distance from which it is viewed - the angle of view will change depending on the change in the distance from the object to the observer's eyes. Larger objects are clearly visible at a large angle. The size of the image on the retina is inextricably linked to the size of the object and the distance to it, and is calculated by the following formula:
What happens - the viewing angle is too small to see it? The average person has 20/20 vision, historically defined by being able to read the letters on a standard vision chart at 5 minutes of arc (1 arcminute, an arcminute is 1/60th of a degree). What does this mean in terms of pixels? Some of the smallest typefaces are Tinyfont by Ken Perlin and Tiny by Matthew Welch, both of which are only 5 pixels high (including their descenders in Tiny). This means that the smallest angle for the average eye is one minute of arc. In fact, one arcminute is the scientifically accepted limit of retinal resolution for a typical human eye.
Retina in existing Apple displays
The calculation can go on - take some typical viewing distances for various Apple devices, combine them with screen sizes and resolutions, and calculate how well the display matches the Retina definition above.
Google kindly provides a table with details on how this data is calculated. Just for fun, let's take a couple of "non-Apple" devices for comparison - a 50-inch TV, which we will look at from a distance of six feet (about 1.8 meters) and play BluRay and DVD discs; as well as an Asus Transformer Prime Android tablet with a display resolution of 1920×1200.
The table shows surprising things: first, it becomes clear that the definition given by Apple in relation to the Retina display correlates quite closely with the mathematical definition given above. The iPhone 4 screen, which is usually viewed from a distance of 11 inches (28 centimeters), offers characteristics very close to the Retina threshold, which means that the calculation method is correct.
Secondly, the calculations repeat the earlier conclusion that twice the iPad resolution (2048×1536) is quite consistent with Retina performance. Even if you use the tablet at a distance of 16 inches (about 40 centimeters) from the eyes, the results are very close. As well as in the Asus tablet - its display can also be considered Retina.
The calculations also show that the displays of many modern Macs are much closer to Retina than it might seem at first glance. A 27-inch iMac screen at 28 inches (approximately 70 cm), a 17-inch MacBook Pro at 26 inches from your eyes (66 cm), and an 11-inch MacBook Air at 22 inches (56 cm) all have small enough pixels to be on the threshold of invisibility.
In addition, the iPhone's 480x320 display looks noticeably worse than the rest of Apple's products to date (its pixel density is only 53% that of a Retina display). Even the iPad resolution (1024×768), which many people are unhappy with, gives the best result in the calculations - 61%. An analysis of the "worst" Mac display (a 24-inch iMac screen at 28 inches away) shows that its pixel size is a third higher than the threshold of invisibility.
Finally, the calculations make it clear why the BluRay image looks so good. On large TVs at a small distance from the screen (diagonal - 50 inches, distance - 15 cm), the 1080p picture shows 92% of the Retina level, while the DVD format shows only 36%.
There are two very important points to consider here.
First, in order to reach or even exceed the desired pixel invisibility threshold of a Retina display, Apple doesn't need to double the resolution of most of its displays. Not at all - just increase the 27-inch pixel density from 2560x1440 to about 2912x1638.
The second point is that people need to understand that they should not flatter themselves about the fact that the Retina display on the Mac will be much better than existing offerings. The release of the iPhone 4 was a huge step up from the iPhone 3GS, mainly because the 3GS screen was quite poor (by today's standards). Existing Macs have much better screens, so they won't need much improvement.
Beyond arcminutes
Based on the above, you might think that Apple hardly has any reason to change anything at all, since the benefits of high-resolution screens are actually quite modest. But the HiDPI format exists, and there are specially designed screens with a density of 508 to 750 pixels per inch used in the medical industry.
The answer is that our definition of the limits of human vision (details that are visible at the angle of a minute arc) is too primitive. There is much more to consider when considering the interaction of real human vision with computer display technology – including atypical viewing distances, different kinds of images, and so on. For example, words can be read in much smaller sizes, since our brain has an additional advantage in guessing them. The human brain is a good tool for recognizing different patterns, and it will use information from the environment to interpret details that the eye cannot clearly make out.
The figure shows several patterns that you can check on your own display. If you want to try it on the screen of an iOS device, you need to get the corresponding file (for iPhone or iPad) and save it to the Camera Roll. This is because iOS will kindly try to zoom and pan the image, and we want one pixel of the image to take up one pixel on the screen. After you get the file in the Camera Roll, view the picture in full screen through the Photos app, positioning the image in portrait mode. If you start comparing how it looks on a Mac, iPad or iPhone screen, you will see the difference in screen capabilities.
Arguments for pixel doubling
Rene Ritchie on the iMore site makes a strong argument that the iPad display resolution should be exactly doubled (that is, become 2048 × 1536 pixels, and not some intermediate value, as is the case with the iPhone 4). An intermediate value means that every existing application must either be rescaled each time (and the image will be fuzzy), or will have different dimensions from the screen. This is because every iPad app in existence is hardcoded to run in full screen at 1024x768 resolution.
Things are a little different for desktop users. Apple's current desktop display density ranges between 92 and 133 pixels per inch. Users are more tolerant of resizing UI elements (within reason, of course).
Consider a 27-inch Thunderbolt display with a density of 109 PND and a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels, and suppose that Apple wants to fit it to Retina specifications. The resolution can be scaled up to 4192×2358 pixels (178 PND), which is a better display than the iPhone 4 display. There will be a third fewer pixels than native doubling the resolution (5120×2880). UI elements will appear proportionately larger, but no larger, than on today's 24-inch iMac screen, so they won't feel fuzzy or clunky.
Conclusion
Here are a few things that the authors of the TUAW website tried to convince us of:
- Retina display is not just an attractive marketing concept;
- when determining whether the display is Retina or not, you need to consider the distance to the screen;
- if the Mac display improves to Retina performance, then the changes will be much less noticeable than the improvement in the iPhone 4 screen compared to the 3GS screen.
The development of LCD monitors is due, among other things, to the advent of a technology called IPS (In-Plane Switching). The name was given because of the way the crystals are placed in the IPS panel: the crystals are located in one plane parallel to the surface of the panel. This method made it possible to obtain much larger viewing angles, which made LCD monitors an alternative to CRT displays.
The introduction of IPS technology made it possible to remove the main disadvantages of the first LCD displays: a small viewing angle due to the different degree of rotation of the molecules of the LCD substance, which led to different intensities of the emission of light beams after they passed the second filter of the panel.
Changes in the LCD panel industry were made possible by Hitachi engineers who officially introduced IPS technology in 1996. Thanks to this breakthrough, the new displays had not very fast response times with color quality commensurate with monitors based on a cathode ray tube.
But an increase in the viewing angle made it necessary to apply two control transistors to each element at once. This became necessary as a result of placing the electric field in a plane with respect to the screen. This greatly improved the image quality, but the use of a large number of transistors automatically increased the opaque area occupied by them, as a result, the power of the backlight had to be significantly increased.
Also, a feature of IPS was that when voltage was applied to the liquid crystal, it returned its circular polarization, which means it increased its brightness.
The first IPS panels were unreasonably expensive, which in no way contributed to their popularity. In addition, the response time of 50 ms left much to be desired: the response time was noticeable even with simple scrolling, not to mention three-dimensional ones.
Naturally, improvements were required, which were made by various manufacturers of LCD panels. These are Super-IPS, Dual Domain IPS, Advanced Coplanar Electrode, etc. The refinement made it possible to achieve even greater viewing angles, up to 180 (!) Degrees. After some time, NEC began to produce panels that became a simple development of IPS technology, among which were A-SFT, A-AFT, SA-SFT and SA-AFT.
What is a Retina screen?
It is known that human vision is very inertial. That's why 24 frames per second is enough for the human eye to see a continuous image on a TV screen. The same can be said about the image itself. When far enough away, a person's eyes take a picture of large strokes as if it were a high-resolution glossy photograph. In general, a person is able to distinguish about 300 dpi. If there are fewer of them, then the eye sees the so-called display graininess, and if there are more, then the picture seems very clear and bright.
It is this feature that characterizes Retina screens, i.e. screens with high pixel density. This is the one used in the Iphone 4:
The picture shows that the density of 326 dpi provides a clear image, while a regular screen is simply intimidating with its pixels.
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In 2010, Apple changed the way we thought about mobile displays, with the iPhone 4 featuring a then-unique Retina screen. Six years later, Cupertino introduced another completely new development for displays -. How do they differ from each other - and what should we, ordinary users, choose?
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What is a Retina display?
Retina (retina) - Apple's marketing term, translated from English means "retina". It implies the following: the density of dots-pixels on the screen is so high that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels in the picture. At the same time behind the name "Retina" specific characteristics are not hidden– for example, a certain number of pixels or the exact resolution of the display.
The first smartphone with a Retina display was the iPhone 4. It received a resolution of 960 × 640 pixels, which was more than enough for a 3.5-inch display - after all, there were 326 pixels (PPI, pixel per inch) per inch.
By the way, in fact, Apple displays were not developed based on PPI, but on the basis of the pixel-per-degree (PPD, pixel per degree) parameter. It better defines the ability of the human eye to distinguish details at a certain distance. When creating this metric, screen resolution and viewing angle are taken into account. The iPhone 4 had a PPD of 57.
When the first MacBook Pro with Retina display came out in 2012, it hit a then-record resolution of 2,880 × 1,800 pixels on a 15.4-inch screen. At the same time, the PPI was even lower than that of the iPhone 4 (220 vs. 326), but the PPD was higher - 79.
Visual comparison of the resolution of the iPhone 3Gs (regular display) and iPhone 4s (retina display):
Today, almost all Apple devices have a Retina display. To the consumer, this says absolutely nothing about exactly how many pixels per inch (or degree) he will receive - after all, the Apple Watch screen is very different from the iMac monitor. But it doesn't matter, because the inscription "Retina" means that you can not see the pixels on the screen, i.e. you will enjoy a high-quality picture under any circumstances. How many people need more?
More about the technology
What is a True Tone display?
Unlike terms like HD, 4K, Retina, etc., "True Tone" has nothing to do with the number of pixels on the screen. His area of responsibility is colors and contrast. The main task is to make sure that the perfect white color always remains perfect white, in any external light. And the more “white” the display is, the more contrast it will be.
Have you noticed that the light in the morning has a slightly reddish tint, and in the middle of the day - yellowish? Not? It is logical - after all, our brain specifically “filters out” the shades.
Modern screens reflect light well, but our brain does not notice this and is still trying to filter out what is not there. As a result, our perception of colors on the screen suffers. True Tone compensates for this by adding warm colors to the display. The brain happily filters the picture - and we get a "real" white color, "like a sheet of A4 paper."
We talked about True Tone technology in more detail.
Today at the peak of popularity - tablets from Apple with a retina display. The quality of the picture on such screens is much better than on conventional ones.
Apple iPad with such a display on the market for several versions. Which model is better - our review will show.
The device comes with the following accessories:
- Battery.
- The documents.
- USB cord.
- Accessory for getting a sim card.
The new iPad mini 2 came out with a Retina display. This model is based on the A7 processor. The thickness of the iPad with the release of the iPad mini 2 device has increased slightly. The black color is gone, replaced by a dark gray gadget. The minimum amount of memory of the gadget has an Apple iPad Wi-Fi 16 GB. The maximum version contains 128 GB of internal memory. And in all other respects, this is the good old mini model from Apple.
Apple iPad design
Of course, the main innovation of this Apple iPad model is the retina display. But the appearance of any device is an important characteristic, so we will present its review as well.
The model has a design, as its review and comparison with previous versions shows, it is no different from the first mini version. And this is considered by most users as a plus.
But still, some prefer the Air model - it is convenient to watch videos on it, access sites via Wi-Fi and much more. The display dimensions allow this.
However, if you look at the sales statistics, the model mini holds a strong lead. One large version accounts for about ten iPad mini A1490 or A1489 iPad mini.
To explain this is quite simple, it is not even necessary to conduct a detailed comparative review of both types of models. And it's not even about the price. It's just that mini is much easier to take with you, putting it in your jacket pocket. You can even not take a bag with you, put the gadget in the pocket of a down jacket. So, while in the city, the user can check the mail, call via FaceTime. And all this thanks to its miniature size and Wi-Fi networks. In any case, this is not possible with Air.
Display
In addition to rich functionality, Wi-Fi support and other advantages, full-screen versions are equipped with an excellent display. The diagonal of the IPS element is 7.9 inches. There is an LED backlight. The resolution is 2048x1536 pixels. The element is protected by an oleophobic coating.
By comparison, the first mini had a resolution of only 1024x768 pixels. However, the difference at first examination is not noticeable. Because of the "OS" version 7, the capabilities of gadgets of different models are equalized. Therefore, not every user at the first examination of the display will notice whether it functions on Retina or not. Some users think that the picture on a small tablet is even more spectacular. If you look closely, the icons are indeed clearer and more contrasting. But the differences are nonetheless not impressive.
However, as soon as you connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot and launch Safari, the advantages of mini with Retina become obvious:
- Super clear picture.
- Drawn symbols.
- Lovely colors.
- High density image.
- Great pictures when using the software.
But even with these advantages, the difference cannot be called very significant, as is the case with laptops or PCs. Users, of course, expected more. But still, the developer did his best and threw a good product on the market. Obviously, the matter is in a decent diagonal and thin fonts of the OS version 7. The first users immediately noticed that yellow prevails among the colors. And later it was confirmed. But the shade of yellow is very light and invisible to many. Until someone draws your attention to this fact, most likely you will not notice it.
Performance
The full-screen version is based on the A7 processor. Architecture 64 bit. There is an M7 coprocessor. All these parameters together show excellent results. You can read more about it online. The tablet works much faster than the usual mini, and the difference is most noticeable in the process of launching regular software. We are talking about the camera, browser, maps and the like. And even social networks like Facebook just “fly”.
When heavy software like Infinity Blade is launched, the back of the device heats up. And the heat is very noticeable. So in cold seasons, mini can replace the stove. Of course, the gadget will not burn your hands, but it will transfer a sufficient amount of heat.
The device includes a standard list of wireless elements, Wi-Fi, supports 2 bands 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, Bluetooth fourth format. By default, it is always active. And perhaps this is due to the AirDrop function introduced into the OS 7. But note that with computers from Apple, the exchange of information is not possible, which is slightly frustrating.
Features of iOS 7
As was the case with the Air version, the small model came out in 4 versions - 16, 32, 64 and 128 GB. But, besides this, there are versions with Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 4G. There are only two color options.
Thus, the buyer has a decent choice. It's hard to stop at just one. Many choose the "golden mean" - a version with 64 GB on board and Wi-Fi + 4G. This is the best option. If the user plans to store a decent amount of music, games, content on the device.
Many movies are allowed to be uploaded directly to AVplayer. But if the iPad for the user is just a replacement for a laptop, it will completely cost a tablet with 16 GB. It's great that the company still gives the user a choice in this regard.
Camera
Of course, photography is one of the additional functions of the tablet. But far from being the main one. Therefore, the quality of the frames is not ideal. But if at the moment the iPhone or the camera is not available, it will do. Of course, photographs will not pull on the title of professional, but they are quite suitable for posting on social networks.
There are filters that allow you to mask not very good quality photos. The camera has a resolution of 5 MP. Selfie element - 1.2 MP.
conclusions
Predicting what may happen with the iPad mini Retina next year, we can assume the following. Surely, the company will work to reduce the size and weight of the device. Touch ID and an improved camera will likely be added.
As for prices, their range depending on the specific characteristics of the gadget is very large. So, the most inexpensive tablet costs about 20,000 rubles. The cost of expensive devices reaches 35,000 rubles. The version with 64 GB on board and 4 G costs about 29,000-30,000 rubles. If you don’t need 4G technology, great, enjoy the saved 4-5 thousand.
The most popular models in the future will be gadgets with a memory of 16 and 32 GB. Probably. They will be in high demand.
And speaking in general, has the Pad mini on Retina become much better? Certainly yes. And it's not just the display. The model has a different processor, a variation with 128 GB of memory has appeared. It's better to go to the store and see for yourself. But those who have not used mini before will not see the difference. They are quite satisfied with the tablets of the first generation.
All in all, the small tablet is one of the best on the market, all things considered. And if the big Air model, despite the beauty of the large display, does not suit you, feel free to purchase this one.
