Sam Oliver
Sharp's recent iPad Retina display approval means the company only managed to ship 2.71 million total units to Apple, according to DigiTimes. As a result, Apple has remained largely dependent on one of its fiercest rivals, Samsung, to produce the high-resolution screens for its third-generation iPad.
While Sharp recently entered the supply chain for displays for the new iPad, another major LCD manufacturer, LG, is not yet providing components to Apple. It was said that a "quality issue" has kept LG from building screens for the new iPad.
That contradicts a report from last week, in which Reuters claimed that LG was, in fact, supplying Retina displays for the new iPad. That report made no mention of Sharp, which was previously said to be pushing its IGZO display technology for the third-generation iPad, but Apple ultimately passed.
Aside from Samsung's involvement, there has been considerable confusion as to who is building Retina displays for the new iPad. One report even claimed that Samsung was the sole supplier of high-resolution iPad screens to Apple.
Samsung's role in the new iPad's Retina display was confirmed last week in a teardown of the device. While Apple often uses multiple suppliers for key components, that one particular model that was disassembled was confirmed to have an LCD panel manufactured by Samsung.
According to NPD DisplaySearch, the new iPad's screen has been difficult for display makers to manufacture, as it relies on the "a-Si TFT" production process that reportedly tests the upper limits of display technology. The 264 pixels-per-inch packed into the iPad's 9.7-inch screen is believed to be the highest possible pixel density for an a-Si TFT screen.
The new iPad is also said to feature twice the number of LEDs for backlighting, now utilizing at least 72 LEDs. The additional horsepower required to drive the new high-resolution display has also led to more power consumption, necessitating the larger battery found in the iPad, while it has also led to a device that runs slightly warmer than its predecessor.
Wesley Hilliard
William Gallagher
Thomas Sibilly
Andrew Orr
Marko Zivkovic
8 Comments
So it can't possibly go to 265 PPI then?
While the quality of the display is great, there is one problem. There is a magenta/green crossover. That means that the magenta/green curve(it's one color in that magenta is below the neutral grey and green is above it), or gamma, is different from the cyan/ red or yellow/blue curves. So the shadows go magenta, and the lighter parts go green. But in this case, it sharply goes magenta in the highlights.
I recommend lightening the screen a bit, as Apple has it set too low at 50%. That will clear up the highlights, and remove a bit of magenta from the shadows. But without being able to calibrate it, it's going to remain this way.
For photographers, there is a monitor calibration tool that's not too expensive, made by Datacolor Spyder3 Express. It costs about $75. I bought it just for the iPad. I ll explain, if anyone is interested.
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but wouldn't it just be generating a profile? I don't believe the ipad has any real matrix or LUT based system, and if the gamma is really off like you suggest, even that could be problematic given the number of hardware values you could lose. I mention the difference at times because it becomes more noticeable as the display ages. X-rite has something where they do regional patch tests on displays when generating a profile much like the old Barco tests. It would be cool if they had that for the ipad given its infusion into professional fields where such a thing would carry increased desirability.
For photographers, there is a monitor calibration tool that's not too expensive, made by Datacolor Spyder3 Express. It costs about $75. I bought it just for the iPad. I ll explain, if anyone is interested.
Is the display able to be calibrated? Is there an app that changes to colors on the display to better the accuracy?
I can't imagine that Apple allows any changes out of the box.
I predict all apple pc's will be retina from here out. At fist I did not notice the diference between my iPads after using the new iPad on the weekend now the old iPad screen looks bad and my laptop horrible...