Apple's Messages beta hints at high-res Macs with Retina Displays
Katie Marsal
Digging through some of the resources from the Messages beta, MacRumors discovered that a number of graphics included with the software are available in two resolutions: regular, and double. The images are contained in multi-part TIFF files, and are labeled with the "@2x" distinction.
The "@2x" modifier first appeared in iOS, when Apple introduced its Retina Display branding on the iPhone 4. To simplify the transition to a higher resolution screen, Apple simply doubled the resolution of the iPhone display from 320 by 480 pixels to 640 by 960.
The Messages beta was released on Thursday and is meant to serve as a hint of what Apple will offer later this summer, when it launches its next major operating system update, OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. But the inclusion of double-resolution images suggests that the software also offers a hint at Apple's plans for the Mac lineup in 2012.
AppleInsider detailed last week how Apple plans to radically redesign its MacBook Pro lineup in 2012, with new models that will be more like the company's hot selling MacBook Air. It's possible that those models could also feature high-resolution Retina Displays.
Rumors of MacBook Pros sporting Retina Displays are not new, with one report in December claiming that Apple was working on a new notebook model with a 2,880-by-1,800-pixel display to launch in 2012. And earlier this month, upgraded high-DPI user interface elements were discovered in the current build of Lion, OS X 10.7.3.
Apple is also expected to bring the Retina Display branding to its third-generation iPad, which is expected to launch next month. The company is rumored to be planning a media event for March 7 to unveil its next touchscreen tablet.
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23 Comments
2880 x 1800 makes it a 16:10 display -- 16:9 (HDTV) would be 2880 x 1620.
We may yet see new 32-inch, 37-inch or even 42-inch monitors doubling up as TVs (or vice versa) -- just don't know how displaying a 1920 x 1080 video would look on such a monitor.
Why would it be 2880x1800 when the Desktop images are 3200x2000?
Come on, guys.
2880 x 1800 makes it a 16:10 display -- 16:9 (HDTV) would be 2880 x 1620.
And given that they're 16:10 now, that's not out of the question at all, and I'm quite happy about it.
Is it possible that they are using the same code base for Mac OS-X Messages and iOS Messages?
If this is the case, the 2x resolutions will be there for the expected retina display iPad 3, even if there is no planed retina display Mac.
Remember that under the hood, iOS and OS-X are the same flavor of Unix. The real difference is the bundled software, packages and drivers.
Why would it be 2880x1800 when the Desktop images are 3200x2000?
Come on, guys.
And given that they're 16:10 now, that's not out of the question at all, and I'm quite happy about it.
Well..it depends. If they're marketing this as a great way to watch movies, it should be at least the aspect radio of an HDTV, 16:9 (1.78:1). If they want to make it better than most HDTVs, they should go even wider, maybe 2:1 so that 2.35/2.39:1 films don't have such big letterbox bars.
I used to criticize people who wanted 2.39 displays because I thought the majority of films were actually 1.85. But that hasn't actually been the case for many years: the vast majority of the films that do the most business are 2.39:1.
A wider display would also be better for displaying two pages/images of content on the screen at a time while still leaving room for toolbars. (Of course, that's for people who still use their computers to do real work and not just as a media consumption and tweeting device.)
Well..it depends. If they're marketing this as a great way to watch movies, it should be at least the aspect radio of an HDTV, 16:9 (1.78:1). If they want to make it better than most HDTVs, they should go even wider, maybe 2:1 so that 2.35/2.39:1 films don't have such big letterbox bars.
We're talking about computers, not a mythical television.
Which is why established television companies should start making televisions in that ratio, I agree. For Apple, a non-television company, all this amounts to is supporting said resolution in OS X.