New iPad review: Retina display
In outward form, there's little to distinguish the new iPad from last year's sequel, the iPad 2. The new 2012 iPad model comparably thicker, up from 8.8mm to 9.5mm by our measurements and somehow heavier as well. This has been increased from 601g to about 660g. We say about, as there are a few grammes difference between different storage capacities and Wi-Fi-only models versus those with 4G chipsets. Whichever model you look at, there's effectively two extra ounces to balance across your fingers.
The added mass is principally a byproduct of the new screen tech. Apple has uprated the new iPad screen's resolution fourfold, from the long-popular 1024 x 768 of PCs, to the HD-punishing resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. While the display shows everything the same size as before, each element now has four pixels in place of one.
The result is breathtakingly sharp typography and cunningly crisp images. Anyone who is familiar with the iPhone 4 and 4S will recognise the effect of the so-called Retina display. Writ large across a 9.7in rather than 3.5in phone touchscreen, the upgrade in image quality is quite extraordinary on the new iPad.
Behind this screen, quite literally, is a revised display technology. It's believed to be a form of the Super High Aperture (SHA) process that allows incredibly tight packing of the thin-film transistors that comprise a display matrix. Apple as ever is tight-lipped about the minutiae of internal technologies, but we believe the first raft of new iPads are taking Samsung-made screens, with LG and Sharp mooted to contribute as production is ramped up.
The irony of Apple's Korean arch-enemy supplying Cupertino with the very component that will push the iPad to a new level beyond the Android copycats is difficult to miss.
Squeezing four times as many pixels into the same 9.7in display gives a density of 264ppi. That's lower than the iPhone's 326ppi, but when viewed on a new iPad at a typical reading distance (Apple quotes 15in, which we confirmed is our comfort zone) the Retina effect is restored. Mind you, we've peered closer, much closer, and still can't see any individual pixels. Viewing most content on-screen, it's like looking at a glossy magazine, not a computer screen.
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