Next-Generation Macs To Come With Retina-Quality Display?
There’s been quite a bit of speculation regarding the screen on upcoming Mac computers. Last week, news of an Apple patent hit the web with hints that Apple could be looking to add multi-touch displays to its computers (which, for the record, is a bad idea). And now, it looks like there’s evidence in a recent OS X update of future Macs rockin’ a Retina display!
The latest update for OS X, 10.7.3, was pulled by Apple due to stability issues, but not before users noticed something very interesting – high definition cursers. Okay, that alone isn’t very interesting at all, but its implications certainly are.
There’s really no good reason for Apple to raise the resolution of anything in Mac OS X unless there’s an OS X-compatible machine that can display the updated elements.
Couple that with the fact that Mac Minis were reportedly booting into HiDPI mode after the 10.7.3 update (HiDPI is a new high-res mode that basically makes graphics super sharp without making them any smaller), and it’s no wonder Daring Fireball’s John Gruber went on record saying,
“The simplest explanation is that Apple only just now got around to increasing the resolution of these elements for the benefit of users who use the cursor-zooming Universal Access feature. But… I can’t help but wonder whether we may be on the cusp of Apple releasing HiDPI Mac displays and/or HiDPI MacBooks. I.e.: retina display Macs.”
Of course, Gruber reminds us that this is just speculation, so we should take this information with a grain of salt. Even still, though, it sure would be cool for Macs to offer the same Retina display experience we’ve grown so used to on our iPhones.
Unlike the touch-screen story, this is a feature that could really benefit Macs and, as long as it doesn’t mean a dramatic price jump, I’d love to see this pan out.
Which do you think is more likely – a Mac with a multi-touch display or a Mac with a Retina display? Or a combination of the two? Let me know in the comments section below
