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- The Future of Apple's Retina Display
Apple has been known for incorporating one piece of technology across its entire product line. Most consumer tech companies will try something radically different with each product but Apple replicates what works across every product. This makes for a good user experience and it gives us the comfort that how it works on one device is something we expect to work the same on another, such as holding down the power button turns off your Mac, iPhone and even wireless keyboard.
Historically, what you see in today’s high-end machines will eventually make its way to the low end models like Apple’s Airport Express getting 802.11n a year after the Extreme, or the MacBook getting glass multitouch trackpads 1-2 years after the MacBook Pro. These sort of hand me down improvements are normal, but what do these two principles tell us about what’s coming next? Does iPhone’s Retina Display give us a hint for the future of Apple’s product line?
Currently, most of Apple’s displays, whether they are in a desktop, notebook or a standalone monitor like Apple’s 24″ and 30″ Cinema Displays have a standard PPI (pixels per inch) ratio that is equal with most other displays from computer companies. The average is between 113-130 for most of Apple’s displays. The iPhone 4′s retina display is a mind-boggling 326 PPI which produces clarity that no other display on any device from any manufacturer can match, at least in most of the consumer tech you’ll find at the local Best Buy. Apple has raised the bar so high that every iPhone 4 owner I meet says to me that going back to the MacBook Pro or iMac display or even an iPod nano is a total joke and they’ve been spoiled by the new screen.I vote that Apple will make Retina Display the buzz word of 2011 as every product receives this as the key feature and trust me when I say that users (myself included) will shell out the cash to get the same clarity and crystal clear display quality that we’ve become so accustomed to on our iPhones. I could be wrong, but Apple has already laid the ground work for Retina Display in every Mac. A look at Apple’s Dev Center docs reveals a technology known as Resolution Independence. Here’s the intro:
In the past, developers could assume that the resolution of screen displays was 72 dpi and that one unit in the application’s drawing space corresponded to one pixel. Specifying a 100 x 200 window in the application would result in a 100 x 200 pixel window onscreen. However, with the introduction of LCD displays with higher pixel densities (often well over 100 dpi), maintaining a one-to-one correspondence between drawing units and screen pixels can result in images that are too small for most users.
The solution is to make the drawing sizes specified by the application independent of the display’s pixel resolution and allow arbitrary scaling between the two. Depending on the type of application, the user interface, and the drawing technologies used, you may need to update your code to provide the best user experience on a resolution-independent system.
Of course, Apple added this to make things easier on developers as displays produced by Apple do fluctuate such as ordering a 15″ or 17″ Macbook Pro with the high-resolution display should yield a clearer experience for users and this is thanks to resolution independence. However, this minor technology can be leveraged and must be leveraged if Apple were to ever bump that spec from a measly 113 PPI to upwards of 326 PPI like we see on the iPhone 4.
I’ve been very vocal about Apple’s inability to keep up with resolutions that competitors like Dell provide on its notebooks. A 15″ notebook from Dell has had resolutions that triumph over Apple’s for the longest time. Of course, those insanely high specs generally lead to text that’s simply too small to read, but it’s an option that Dell offers which Apple does not and the only way to completely shut down one of the only advantages a Dell has over a Mac is to up the PPI to Retina Display levels.
Of course, there’s much more involved. Only a handful of Macintosh computers have the IPS (In-Plane Switching technology) that you see in the iPad, iPhone 4 and Apple’s flat-panel iMac. That’s something we’ll start seeing in Macs very soon and possibly before Retina Display makes its way to our computers. Apple has spent the last three years slowly moving each display to LED backlighting which reduces energy use but also offers a more accurate and complete back lighting and instant-on without the need for a warm up.
It’s an easy prediction to say that Apple will improve its displays, but it’s obvious that Retina Display is just the beginning and it’s a sign of things to come. When our eyes grow so used to the iPhone 4′s gorgeous display that we find ourselves preferring it over our Macs, Apple will release new computers that offer the same technology and we’ll be lining up to get them. Trust me.
Переслать - Apple is Abandoning the Mac…and Why I'm Wrong
Leading up to this year’s WWDC in San Francisco, the amount of articles and speculation about Apple’s commitment to Mac OS grew when Apple announced practically zero tracks dedicated to Mac OS and threw out the IT track completely. Apple also didn’t give any Apple Design Awards this year to Mac OS Apps. The winners (listed here) were only iPad and iPhone apps.
That decision actually inspired Ars.Technica to hold its own ADAs (Ars Design Awards) celebrating Mac OS developers and their work in the past 12 months. Developers gave their opinions on TUAW.com and this quote from Justin Williams of Second Gear Software gave his opinion:
“Whether it’s intentional or not, Apple is saying that the Mac is not an important platform compared to the iPhone and iPad. With great Mac-only software still being released by many top notch companies, I find it hard to believe that they couldn’t find it in the budget to generate a few more of those glowing ADA awards.”
Of course, this is all old news. iPhone 4 is out, iPad is still getting great new apps and Snow Leopard will only be a year old this August. Most of the developers who gave their thoughts on WWDC’s lack of Mac specific tracks stated that Leopard shipped in 2007, Snow Leopard shipped in 2009 and that’s three years of tracks dedicated to a largely unchanged operating system and it’ll just be more of the same from Apple if you do attend those sessions. Besides, iPad is new, iOS 4 is hot and Apple should do everyone a favor by devoting more resources to it. I agree.
But, there’s the argument that I still want to make. The iPhone was released in 2007 running iOS 1.0 and now, in 2010 we receive our fourth huge update to iOS where Apple’s Leopard and Snow Leopard are largely unchanged from a feature perspective and only maintain system improvements, speed enhancements and other changes. Snow Leopard was a welcome update and priced appropriately at $29 but I’m still using the same features in Dashboard, Spaces and Finder that I was in 2007, and that irks me a bit.
When I sounded off on Twitter about this, the replies were all over the place. Most notably, people were saying that Apple has to compete in mobile and the competition (Google, Nokia, Palm) hasn’t stopped innovating just so Apple can update its Mac OS with new features. Apple had to be happy with its desktop OS as is, maintain it and focus on mobile in order to maintain its competitive advantage and continue innovating beyond competition and it shows. Apple is the most profitable mobile company in the world, but why did it have to do one or the other?Steve said at the D8 conference a few weeks ago that Apple is the largest startup in the world, and we all know that Apple keeps teams small so innovation moves quickly and Apple maintains huge profitability with very low R&D costs compared to competitors. For that, shareholders must be proud and the big picture shows that Apple is doing a great job. Mac sales are still booming and Mac OS is still ahead of the competition, but that doesn’t mean Mac users don’t feel a little left out by Apple’s choice to dedicate more resources to mobile.
My second point is Apple doesn’t have to act like a startup. Keeping teams small and focusing all of the best talent (which, according to Jobs is everyone at Apple) on a single product at a time is working for them but there are thousands of qualified people in the world who could do great things for Apple and help them simultaneously change the world both in desktop and in mobile without either product suffering. Even in 2007, Apple delayed Leopard’s release because it was busy getting iPhone out the door.
My fear is that Apple will continue to spend all of its time and money on what’s hot right now. Those of us who were Mac users before the Intel switch and before the iPod know that Apple runs like a startup and thus what’s not hot will suffer while it promotes and innovates in one area. iPod was the highlight of the majority of Apple events starting in 2004 and now the iPhone and other iOS devices get Apple’s love but we have to ask, “where would Mac OS be if the iPod and iOS were never made?” Well, part of us knows that Apple wouldn’t be at the size it is today without those products but we also know that the Mac OS could be light years ahead of where it is now if Apple only focused its resources on it.
All we can do as the Mac faithful is trust that Apple will make the right choices and not let us down. We might be the most vocal bunch of Apple customers but we’re also the most loyal. We stuck with Apple through the dark years, through the OS X switch and the Intel switch and we’ll stick with Apple while it spends 90 percent of its time head first on the iPhone. I just hope this “phase” doesn’t last forever. I want a new Mac OS and more breathtaking Mac OS computers.
Переслать - iPad Dock Perfect for Writing
One of the best features of the iPad is its lack of features, especially when it comes to writing. Knowing that chat is not running and Twitter is turned off lets the writer focus entirely on the task of writing. However, typing on the iPad’s software keyboard for anything more than a couple of paragraphs is frustrating, for me at least. That’s where the Apple iPad dock comes in. Putting the iPad in the dock presents the writer with an elegant and enjoyable environment perfectly focused on cranking out text.
At first, I resisted getting the dock, opting instead for the Apple iPad case. When using the iPad in the case, it is possible to set the iPad on its edge and use the bluetooth keyboard to type. Possible, but not elegant. The case is malleable and unstable, so while the case can balance the iPad on its edge, to interact with the touch interface still requires both hands. If you don’t use one hand to steady the iPad, the first time you try to tap on a word in Pages you’ll knock your iPad onto its back. I’ve done this more than once and it makes a sickening sounding “whack” noise.
The case isn’t all bad. Using the case in its other, more stable position, laying down with the small edge at the back, lifts the iPad up to a perfect reading angle, and a good angle to type using the software keyboard. Once you try to use the bluetooth keyboard at this angle though, it becomes much more awkward, since the screen is sitting farther back.
There is no way to dock the iPad while it’s in the case, but sliding it out of the case is fairly easy. The dock is small, and at first I was worried about how stable the iPad would be resting in it. It turns out that its much more stable than I expected. The dock is surprisingly heavy and solid, reassuringly so, and most importantly it doesn’t distract with worry about the iPad tipping over like it does with the case.
I’m not convinced that the Apple dock is the best stand for the iPad, but I am convinced of the usefulness of the dock for the purpose of writing. Combining the dock with a bluetooth keyboard and Pages is one of the most elegant and relaxing writing experiences I’ve ever had. I’m looking forward to many long hours with this setup.
I’d love to hear your opinion on the case, the dock, or the software keyboard. Let me know your favorite way to interact with the iPad in the comments!
Переслать
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