One of the biggest expectations of the next version of the iPad (to be announced on March 7th in San Francisco) is its higher resolution display.
Clocking in at 2048 x 1536 on a 9.7″ display, what this means is a higher pixel density which to the human eyes, makes whatever that is displayed, look more detailed and sharp. Graphics and text can also be scaled according (no more jaggies or blurriness for example).
What’s more intriguing is how this will drive the ecosystem surrounding Apple’s products even further. One area for example is handheld gaming when it comes to graphics. We’re talking higher resolution than even most games on desktop computers. This is going to push the gaming envelope a bit. Another area is the publishing arena, where publishers will also have more real estate (as well as that higher resolution) to provide even richer multimedia in their content. And speaking of content, this will pave the way for the next step beyond 1080p video.
It seems like a no brainer that the next revision of the Apple TV will have internal component upgrades to support 1080p (the current version supports up to 720p). It doesn’t make sense to have a Retina Display iPad streaming 1080p video via AirPlay to an Apple TV, only to have it down converted to 720p. As far as that rumor about Apple entering the highly competitive television market, it is my belief that just like most of their other product offerings, their entry will be in the higher end market… in this case, ultra definition 4K. Most current day HD sets have screens which are from a pixel density perspective, low res. The panels in HD sets aren’t the same as the ones used in computer displays. And while many LCD/LED televisions can be used as a computer display, the overall experience is lacking due to this lower resolution. A good way to look at this is putting something like the 30″ Apple Cinema Display (ACD) next to a typical 32″ HDTV (like a Sony Bravia KDL32BX420 for example). The ACD has a maximum native resolution of 2560 x 1600 while the Bravia is 1920 x 1080.
I just don’t see how Apple can really differentiate themselves in the current (and highly competitive/mature) HDTV market and attain decent margins. It makes more sense for Apple to target the standalone Apple TV box at that particular area. With the Ultra Definition market though, integrating that into an iMac style form factor “smart TV” makes sense (if Apple does enter this particular arena).
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