IDC Analyst Says No High-Resolution Display on iPad -- For Now
Posted 01/24/2011 at 6:40am
| by J.R. Bookwalter
There’s been plenty of chatter in recent weeks about the potential for the next iPad to pack a higher-resolution display, but the leading speculation says it won’t be happening -- at least not until the iPad 3, presumably next year, says one analyst.
9to5Mac is reporting that Apple is indeed working on a so-called “Retina Display” for the iPad that packs 2,048x1,536 pixels into the screen -- but it won’t make its way to the next-generation tablet. According to PC World, the time is just not right quite yet.
“Our sources say Apple has requested that manufacturers begin work on displays with that resolution for the iPad 3,” claims IDC analyst Tom Mainelli. “I don’t believe anybody is ready to produce that resolution in volumes at this point. And Apple is going to require huge volumes for the iPad 2.”
The ongoing “will they or won’t they” speculation has reached fever pitch in recent days, with everyone claiming to be an expert on the subject. One thing is for sure: Mainelli believes that the iPad 2 will consume “the lion’s share” of the tablet market for 2011, which is estimated to hit as many as 44.6 million units.
Even if Apple doesn’t come forward with a high-resolution display for the iPad 2, the device is still expected to wow us -- 9to5Mac specifically predicts it will be “thinner, lighter, faster and equipped with more memory,” not to mention a storage bump and at least a front-facing camera to enable FaceTime video calls.
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(Image courtesy of 9to5Mac)