Image assets included in Apple’s latest version of the iBooks app suggests that the iPad 2 will offer a higher-resolution screen than the current iPad. But will it be a “real” Retina display like the iPhone 4′s?
Last week, we said that details seen in the iOS 4.3 SDK suggested the iPad 2 would feature built-in cameras but the same screen resolution as the current iPad, but iBooks says different. Seemingly accidentally included in the latest 1.1 version of the iBooks app are bits of artwork tailored for a screen using a higher resolution than the iPad’s 1024×768 pixels.
The app includes bookmark graphics for the iPhone, the iPad, the iPhone 4 and — here’s the biggie — an “iPadx2″. This icon is exactly double the size of the standard iPad’s version, suggesting that the iPad 2 may revisit the trick pulled-off by the iPhone 4, of doubling its predecessor’s screen resolution.
This would leave the iPad 2 with a 2048×1536 pixel display. Sounds pretty impressive, doesn’t it? However, while this display would be greater than 1080p resolution, it can’t match the sheer pixel density offered by the iPhone 4. The fuel powering the excitement behind the iPhone 4′s Retina display was that its pixels were so dense, 326dpi to be exact, that your eyes couldn’t discern between pixels. Even with this ultra high-res screen, the iPad 2 would only offer 260dpi.
Whether a true “Retina” display or not, such a pixel-tastic screen would be a killer feature in our book, although it would all-but demand an upgrade to the current iPad’s GPU. What do you think? In our recent poll, dual cameras beat the Retina display as the most-wanted feature of the new iPad.
via Mac Rumors
YOU SHOULD READ — iPad 2 most wanted feature is… dual cameras
