Challenges with high-res displays

Apple would have to address significant challenges in order to bring a 2880×1800 resolution display to a MacBook Pro, which DigiTimes reports is in the works. Currently, the max screen res on the biggest MBP is 1920×1200, so a bump up to the reported resolution wouldn’t require a doubling of vertical and horizontal pixels, but it would be a considerable step up.

And taking that step would come with a cost in terms of requiring more processor power, and in terms of battery life, too. Also, producing high-res displays at scale is a tricky thing; the higher the resolution, the more difficult it would be for Apple to produce screens in THE numbers they require. But, next-generation chips from Intel could address some of these problems, especially as Intel says it’s investing more on graphics and media.

What Apple stands to gain

Some might think that Apple stands to add relatively little to its MacBook Pro with the introduction of a much higher-resolution display; Apple’s notebook market share has steadily risen for many years, after all, and the last time it changed its max resolution at the top end of its laptop offerings was in 2008. Do users really need higher resolution in a notebook?

The short answer is yes. Digital graphics and video pros invest in larger-screened MacBook Pros precisely because of their real estate advantage relative to other computers. Advancements in this area mean that Apple can continue to maintain a competitive advantage with pro users who still seek portability as well as power, and don’t want to depend on connecting to an external display to accomplish certain tasks. And with HD resolution offerings set to become more common among PC laptops, any measures Apple can take to stay ahead of the game will go a long way in terms of consumer perception.

OS X Lion also suggests that this is something Apple has been working toward for a while now, since it contains resolution independent features that allow developers to include “2X” graphics resources just like those found in apps compatible with the iPhone’s Retina Display. That the system is basically ready to go in Lion suggests the introduction of Macs that can take advantage of it during the lifetime of that OS.

Less of a leap than you might think

A jump up in resolution is actually something Apple is just about due for in its MacBook Pro line anyway. And the proposed change isn’t about something as dramatic as doubling res, as it is with the rumored iPad 3. It’ll no doubt be a big step up, but one in a key area that consumers will easily be able to see and experience, which is crucial in a market where big, visible feature changes are now relatively few are far between.

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The iPad 3, iPhone 5 LTE and iTV are all unannounced products at this stage, of course. The iPad 3 has been the subject of quite a few recent rumors, including reports on Monday that suppliers were working on issues related to the manufacture of iPad Retina Displays, along with code findings in iOS 5 that point to the imminent release of a next-gen tablet device. The iPhone 5 is rumored to have a larger display, and the iTV has been the subject of plenty of speculation since making an appearance in the recent Steve Jobs biography.

Jeffries also cut its fourth quarter estimates for iPad shipments from 17 million to 14 million, which is still ahead of the Wall Street average of 13 million, following reports Apple was reducing its iPad component orders. Following its stock checks, Jeffries believes “reports have overstated the iPad weakness as they have not accounted for inventory at Hon Hai [Foxconn], iPad 3 production starting in CQ4 [fourth calendar quarter] and Sharp’s share gain.”

Parts sourcing for iPad 3 production has been reported to be already underway. DigiTimes reported last week that Apple had ordered two million display panels from Samsung, LG and Sharp in November, adding to an earlier order for one million in October. The components, according to DigiTimes, were intended for assembly at Apple’s final product manufacturing partners in January. And Monday, a DisplaySearch report also claimed the iPad 3′s 2048×1536 display had entered production, at Samsung, LG and Sharp.

Apple and Samsung sat down in October to discuss the long-term supply relationship between the two companies, but if Misek’s and other reports of Apple attempting to diversify its supplier chain for upcoming devices prove true, it looks like that relationship is indeed becoming harder to maintain. The legal battle between the two companies is really only becoming more pitched, with Samsung needing to make major hardware changes to its devices in Germany, and injunction requests flying back and forth around the world.

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The new iPad 3 display shipments will be joined by touch modules from TPK Holding and Wintek starting in mid-November or December, with targets of over one million units to be shipped per month, according to DigiTimes’ sources in the Apple supply chain. These and other parts shipments will then be combined to assemble final-product versions of the iPad 3 in Jan. 2012 for a first-quarter launch, say the sources.

Last year, we saw similar reports leading up to the launch of the iPad 2, which was initially pegged for January assembly but likely went into full-scale production in February. Even if the DigiTimes source estimates are off by a month, I think it’s fairly safe to assume that preparation for Apple’s iPad 3 is already rolling in earnest.

The timeline also makes sense in light of current developments, because Apple is likely going to want to repeat its annual refresh on time with the iPad if possible, since competition in the tablet space might finally begin to heat up with the introduction of low-cost, 7-inch devices from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Also, it’s a good bet because Apple will definitely want to be first to market with a tablet that can boast Retina resolution; it’s a marketing win that continues to bear fruit with the iPhone 4S, which still uses the same screen technology as the iPhone 4. That kind of longevity in a tech as central to mobile devices as displays would pay big dividends with tablets, too. The sooner Apple can get it to market, in other words, the longer it can lord the advantage over its competition.

Inevitably, people seeing these reports will wonder if it isn’t worth waiting for an iPad 3 instead of buying an iPad 2 now. The short answer is no, because these are still early, unconfirmed reports, and even if they are accurate, next-gen iPads probably won’t reach consumer hands before March. The best gadget in any given category is the one that you can use right now, in terms of most people’s needs.

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The 24HD is a brand-new addition to the Cintiq line, and it’s the largest yet of Wacom’s combined display/tablets. It features a built-in 24-inch screen with 1920 x 1200 resolution, with a 178-degree viewing angle and a wide-screen, 16:10 aspect ratio. The tablet features 2,048 lines of pressure sensitivity; it ships with two pens for drawing input, an art pen that allows for roll effects in certain painter applications, and a classic pen for everyday sketching and drawing.

The beast connects via DVI-I or DisplayPort, and it also ships with a DVI-I to VGA adapter, so you’ve pretty much got your bases covered. You’ll also have to connect a USB cable to your computer to power the tablet functions. The bezel around the screen also includes 10 express keys, to which you can assign keyboard functions like undo and redo, as well as two touch rings for zooming and scrolling.

The bigger screen, which beats the existing 21UX by 3 inches and doubles the screen size of the smallest Cintiq, the 12WX, comes with a cost in terms of weight. It’s 63.8 lbs, which means that this baby will likely take up permanent residence at your desk. Wacom took that into account and mounted the display itself on a weighted stand that lets you adjust its position so that it hangs over the edge of your desk, letting you work with the massive tablet essentially in your lap.

Price will be a factor for those hoping to grab a 24HD but not as much as you might expect; at $2,499, it’s actually only $500 more than the 21UX, which for pro designers won’t be a lot to ask for in exchange for the added screen real estate. It’s available to order now from Wacom’s website. Not being a graphic pro myself, I’ll just have to ogle the 24HD in this video below and drool, but let us know if you get a chance to take her for a spin.

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The report from DigiTimes, which has a fairly successful history of discovering information about the parts going into future Apple devices ahead of their release, says the iPhone 5′s display panel, despite not being much larger than the current iPhone’s 3.5-inch one, will nonetheless appear larger thanks to a new design. The bezel surrounding the display will be able to be made smaller, which will allow the screen to sit closer to the phone’s edge. This will make it look much bigger, and allow the iPhone 5 to sport an even slimmer, more compact form factor. It’s also possible that these reports address just one of two new iPhone models coming this fall, if speculation about a cheaper version of the iPhone arriving alongside a full-fledged iPhone 5 prove true.

Sources also claimed in the report that the iPhone 5′s back will be metal, instead of reinforced glass. That’s a rumor we’ve heard mentioned before, but so far, we’ve yet to really see much supporting evidence to back it up. Some think it would interfere with reception, but aftermarket mods that accomplish the same thing with the iPhone 4 do exist, and users don’t seem to report any reception problems (it may help that the antenna on the iPhone 4 is actually outside the device) so in theory it should work fine.

I argued early this year that the next iPhone might not need a considerably larger screen. While I still believe it likely won’t hinder its selling ability, after using the Samsung Galaxy S II with its 4.3-inch screen for a while, I do think a bigger display would be beneficial to iPhone owners. What do you think? Would a smaller screen be disappointing, or a welcome change if it helps the iPhone 5 take up even less room in your pocket?

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The information reported by the WSJ reportedly comes from “people” familiar with the matter, at least some of whom appear to be connected to Apple’s component suppliers. The sources reported that Apple has already placed orders for display panels and processors, with the goal of beginning trial production in October, in time for a full public release scheduled for early 2012. One source said Apple was planning to order as many as 1.5 million new iPads during the fourth quarter of 2011.

There were few details about the device’s specs or design from the WSJ‘s sources, although they did assert that the iPad 3′s screen resolution would be higher than the current model’s, at 2048 x 1536 instead of 1024 x 768. We’ve heard in the past from industry experts that Apple needn’t necessarily go that high with the iPad 3′s resolution to impress, but it would represent a significant marketing victory if the company could apply the “Retina Display” brand to its tablet line.

While I’ve been skeptical that Apple would release a second iPad in 2011, as some sources have been reporting, an early 2012 launch makes much more sense. Starting in a new calendar year makes it a lot less likely that existing iPad 2 owners will feel slighted by the move, an important consideration especially for a company like Apple, which owes a lot of its success to repeat business.

Apple might also start to vary the iPad’s update timeframe because the tablet seems to be competing more with PCs than with mobile devices. With Macs, Apple doesn’t really stick to a regular annual schedule for hardware updates, opting instead for small upgrades interspersed with major design overhauls.

The timing of this report also coincides with what is essentially the death of webOS. Apple’s tablet advantage has never been more secure, but the prospect of a new device in the relatively near future definitely adds to that perceived lead.

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While it would undoubtedly represent a marketing coup for Apple to be able to say the iPad 3 has a true Retina Display, DisplayMate says it would also come with a considerable cost — such a device would require “significantly more processing power, more memory and battery power,” and the screen’s “display brightness efficiency” would be much lower.

DisplayMate says that because of the typical distance at which users typically view their iPads, which it claims is 15-18 inches away, it can actually get away with achieving the same Retina Display silky smoothness with only a 240 pixels-per-inch (ppi) count, instead of the 300ppi entry point referred to by Steve Jobs when the iPhone 4 was introduced. Even so, the resolution required would be “overkill,” says DisplayMate, but there is another way.

Apple can still improve the iPad’s screen without making unnecessary sacrifices by compromising with a 1600 x 1200 display resolution, according to DisplayMate. That would achieve a 206 ppi, which would still represent a huge improvement over the existing screen, without nearly as much of a cost in terms of resources and battery life. DisplayMate says that scaling apps designed for the existing iPads shouldn’t be a problem at that resolution.

Apple gains a marketing coup by creating an iPad with quadruple the resolution of the current model, and I have little doubt that’s what we’ll eventually see. The company is already putting resources that support such a display in its OS, after all. But it’s not something Apple has to pull out of its hat at this point, given the competition so far, and making less dramatic changes that preserve the iPad’s other key selling features (speed and battery life) is a much more likely development for the iPad 3.

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The iPads start with video and music synced wirelessly on all devices, with each individual tablet displaying one part of the greater picture. Audience members are then invited to interact with the display. They can change the playback speed of both audio and video on each iPad, and also adjust screen brightness and choose what melody is being played. The experience essentially puts individual audience members in the role of DJ.

As people interact with the installation, video and audio get out of sync. The challenge is then to try to work together to get it back to its original state, just like how humans have to work together to try to negate some of our effect on the environment. Of course, the iPad itself uses some pretty toxic materials in its construction, isn’t user upgradeable, and can’t be recycled locally, and the project uses 25 of them, but who’s counting?

iProject25 was created by Taq, a composer who worked with Konami on the game BeatMania and his friend Simon Mayer, who heads a German design firm. Programmer Mui Iwase handled the iOS coding of the app used on the iPads. It’s a great example of the iPad being used for artistic purposes, but its creators believe it also demonstrates another way businesses might take advantage of Apple’s tablet for promotional efforts. What do you think? Wouldn’t you want to play with a giant wall of iPads if you ran into one in your local mall, for instance?

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The top of this list would probably be the Apple TV, but recent rumors of an imminent refresh of the device, perhaps built on iOS, has bumped the “hobby” project in favor of some other devices and features that are waiting for a little love from Apple.

Airport Express

The Airport Express was last updated in March 2008 when Apple added 802.11n capabilities. The Airport Express was the first device to sport AirTunes remote speakers so you could play iTunes audio in another room, but it is the last device to still have 100baseT ethernet. When 802.11n can hit transfer speeds of 150-300 megabits, it seems silly to be bottlenecked at 100 megabits on the ethernet side. The Airport Express would also benefit from AirDisk support in addition to the printer facilities it currently provides through the USB port. Simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi as found in the Airport Extreme would also be a nice update.

30″ Cinema Display

[inline-ad align="right"]A lot has already been said about the lack of updates to the 30″ Cinema Display, introduced in June 2004. The 30-incher is still a great display, but the newer 24″ LED Cinema Display sports a lot of upgraded technology that needs to make its way into the 30″ model too. The 30″ is crying out to be updated with LED backlighting and Mini DisplayPort inputs. I know it is a bit un-Apple-like, but I would really like to see multiple HDMI and Mini DisplayPort inputs so that the next 30″ display could be connected to a MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and/or a Blu-ray player, game console, etc. While we’re at it, both displays could use an upgrade to a higher resolution iSight sensor and Firewire 800 connectors.

Front Row

Front Row is not exactly a product, but this feature of Mac OS X provides a 10 foot interface for your iTunes content. Unfortunately, it has not been updated since Mac OS X 10.5 in November 2007. Front Row does not even understand newer content like iTunes U or iTunes Extras. The new interface on the Apple TV introduced with version 3 would be a good place to start, but frankly the whole thing could be redone. Adam Jackson pointed out to me that a new Front Row would be great for the Mac mini because the new HDMI output makes it the perfect Mac to connect to an HDTV — where you actually need an interface that you can use from across the room with a remote.

Apple Remote Desktop

Speaking of remotes, Apple Remote Desktop is supremely useful for managing large numbers of Macs in a school or enterprise setting. But the last major update was April 2006 and has only seen three minor updates since then, the most recent coming out last summer which consisted of bug fixes and sending function keys to the remote machine.

Apple TV

OK, I know I said I was going to leave this alone since the Apple TV update is rumored to be coming soon. Still, I love my Apple TV and I have to point out a few things that need updating in the next release. Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n at 5GHz, 1080p video,  HDMI bitstreaming of advanced audio codecs, and support for iTunes U are a few of the features that I really want to see in the next Apple TV.

Other Thoughts

• I know the Finder has been a frequent contestant on these lists of things to be updated but I am never sure if anyone really knows what needs to be done. Most of the Finder wishlists I have seen look like notes from the Norton Commander fan club, but there might be something here.
• iTunes Home Sharing should evolve into a more general iTunes content server.
• It is great that iBooks 1.1 lets you read ePUB and PDF files on your iPad and iPhone, but iBooks for Mac is still missing and publishers cannot submit PDF books to the iBookstore.
• Geoffrey Goetz wants to know why you can control presentations on your Mac with Keynote Remote, but not presentations on your iPad.
• Andy Boothe wants key rebindings for every feature in Mac OS X.
• Chris Ryan wants consistent features across the iPod lineup — cameras from the nano, voice over and speech from the shuffle.

What Else?

I have probably only touched the surface of Apple products and features that have been languishing. What products or features do you want to see Apple update this year?

Before the holidays, Apple put its foot down and delayed shipment on all new larger iMac orders until after Christmas. The ordering page for the 27-inch machine changed today to three weeks, extending delays further still. Maybe it’s just a backlog resulting from the initial delays, but reports of problems don’t seem to be slowing down, so that doesn’t seem likely.

Let’s review the storied past of the iMac that held so much promise when it was announced. Very shortly after that announcement, as soon as the first units started shipping, reports came in from users about problems with Flash performance, hard drive spindowns, bad Snow Leopard installs and permissions issues. So it tripped a bit out of the gate, but this is a distance race, not a sprint, right?

But as the race continues, the iMac in question doesn’t seem to be improving its performance. The display seemed to be the primary cause of concern as time went on. People reported cracked displays on delivery, screen flicker that drove a whopping number of customers crazy, and visual noise and dead pixel issues. The latest and most talked about complaint is significant screen yellowing and gradient change from top to bottom of displays on the 27-inch model.

The screen isn’t the only problem, though. Out of the box, some users are reporting DOA machines that just would not boot, and more complaints than any other about processor performance. A friend of mine had to return theirs twice for the same issue, and still hasn’t received a problem-free unit. Apple has tried software fixes, too, but they haven’t worked for everything.

The question isn’t really whether or not the 27-inch iMac is a lemon, it’s how Apple let this happen to begin with. Cupertino is not known for a tendency to rush machines into production before they’re ready, but this has all the earmarks of that exact situation.

Perhaps Apple was distracted by the tablet it’s apparently been developing, and if so, I’m not optimistic about the future of the Mac line. With the iPhone and a brand new similar platform in the tablet, will QA suffer in other areas? Apple’s reputation depends on two things: innovation and reliability. I, for one, am not willing to sacrifice one for the other. Are you?

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