Josh Ong
After Apple on Monday released a completely-redesigned 15-inch MacBook Pro with a 2,880-by-1,800-pixel Retina Display, sales of the laptop quickly took off, with the company's shipping estimates slipping to three to four weeks on Tuesday.
The early success of the MacBook Pro will likely come as a relief to display panel makers looking to increase profits by selling higher-resolution notebook screens. If, as it appears set to do, the Retina Display-equipped MacBook Pro becomes a hit, it could play a part in convincing other notebook makers to transition to higher-resolution panels.
Apple's role in the industry has sometimes been characterized as the one who tests the waters for new technologies and features while more risk-averse companies prefer to wait and see how Apple fares before following suit. For instance, the company has gradually been rolling out Retina Displays, its marketing term for screens with sufficiently dense resolutions for the pixels to be indistinguishable to the human eye from the standard viewing distance, across its line of products. The iPhone 4 was the first of Apple's products to bear the Retina Display moniker, followed by the iPod touch, the iPad and now the Macbook Pro.
Adding a Retina Display to the MacBook Pro doesn't appear to come cheap though, if a new report is to be believed. Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes reported on Wednesday that, according to industry sources, the new display is likely to cost "above $150 per unit" from alleged suppliers Samsung and LG Display. By comparison, panel makers reportedly told the publication that the average price of 13- to 15-inch HD notebook panels is $40 to $45, while "Full HD IPS panels" supplied to Asustek are rumored to cost around $90 to $100 a unit.
Apple is definitely an early-mover in the high-resolution laptop space. According to the publication's research, less than 2 percent of global notebook panel shipments will have "resolution of Full HD or above" in the first half of this year. Those numbers are expected to change, however.
"Panel makers expect increasing demand for high resolution panels as non-Apple firms will likely follow suit in introducing similar products," the report read.
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49 Comments
If the display is less than $200, then it kind of confirms why we haven't seen these screens earlier or on Windows PCs, OS support.
It makes sense that the cost would be high. It probably took time to develop and mass produce the screens as well. I would think in time the cost would begin to drop. I have to see one of these machines. Its gotta be incredible to look at. Well done Apple. How much do you wanna bet Steve had a hand in this design?
Although I did order a couple of these new laptops, I really can't see the retina thing catching on with windows machines quickly; windows users in my experiance are generally looking for the lowest cost Walmart computer on the market. Until PC manufacturers can change the bargin basement brainwave pc users shop with; this will be another piece of the market strictly for Apple.
All other laptop screens will now look like Nintendo Gameboys.
[quote name="tylerk36" url="/t/150674/apple-rumored-to-pay-at-least-150-for-macbook-pro-retina-display-panels#post_2126747"]It makes sense that the cost would be high. It probably took time to develop and mass produce the screens as well. I would think in time the cost would begin to drop. I have to see one of these machines. Its gotta be incredible to look at. Well done Apple. How much do you wanna bet Steve had a hand in this design? [/quote] Plus... Apple's not buying these screens in the same volume as say, the iPad's screen. Apple buys iPad screens by the [I]tens of millions[/I]. Hopefully, as the price goes down, they will offer a Retina display across the entire Macbook line.