It took Apple just one year to paint a Retina display on the iPad mini. As of now, only the razor-thin MacBook Air hasn’t joined the cool kids at the can't-see-pixels-at-normal-usage-distance party.
Maybe, just maybe, it'll get an invitation this year.
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Daniel Matte, an analyst with market research firm Canalys, penned his thoughts on the possibility of a Retina display on this year’s MacBook Air, pointing towards a 12in (well, 11.88in) model with a resolution of 2732 x 1536 pixels. This resolution is equal to a quadrupling of the current Air's 1366x768 display, and shares the exact pixel density of 264 pixels per inch with the current iPad Air, making it a suitable alternative for iFans who want a larger display than a tablet. That quadrupling factor is important: it's how Apple has scaled screens for iPhones and iPads in the past, which makes it simple for app developers to optimise for.
More importantly, modeling after the iPad Air or iPad mini means that the same technology could be used on the refreshed MacBook Air. The economies of scale and supply chain accustomed to the high demand for the Retina iPads can transfer easily to the production of the 2014 MacBook Air. But like the refreshed iPad mini with Retina display, the additional cost of a high-resolution display could deal your wallet - and the laptop's battery life - a pretty hard slap.
Not so for photographers - they’ll most likely take the bait and shell out that extra cash to get more pixels in order to view their masterpieces on an ultra light and slim workstation.
Us too. Who wouldn’t love more pixels when the top 10 movies of 2014 are available on iTunes?
[Source: Daniel Matte via Digital Trends]
Read more: No Retina display for the MacBook Air at Apple launch – here's why