THE STATS
APPLE FACTS
1976 YEAR FORMED
2001
FIRST IPOD
AMOUNT OF IOS DEVICES SOLD 2013 REVENUE
800 million
$170.9 billion
435
APPLE STORES WORLDWIDE
1.2 million
APPS IN THE APP STORE
DID YOU KNOW? Pixel density is the number of pixels in a fixed area. Resolution is the pixels over the width and height of a device
Retina HD displays
Apple products that use Retina display technology produce images that are clear and crisp
History of the Retina display 401 PPI iPhone 6 Plus The first to contain a polarized layer to reduce reflections
Is Apple’s invention better than its counterparts? In today’s world of smartphones and tablets, a top-notch display is essential to watch the latest Vine or check out Instagram updates. Since 2010 Apple’s iPads and iPhones have used a Retina display, which was considered by many to be the finest screen type on the market. After being upstaged by the likes of 4K and 1080p resolutions, it has now made a comeback in the form of Retina HD. Apple claim that this new version of Retina fools the human eye into thinking that it is looking at a real object rather than a picture on a screen. This is due to the incredibly high pixel density, meaning the brain can’t distinguish between individual pixels. At 401ppi (pixels per inch) the screen of the new iPhone 6 Plus is reportedly the sharpest display available. The Retina HD display also uses IPS (in-plane switching). This allows the LCD to be seen from a much wider range of angles than a regular screen. The downside to it is that the new display uses up a lot of precious battery and compatible apps take up much more of your device’s space. Essentially, if an image looks better under Retina HD, it will take up a whole lot more space, for better or worse. So make sure pictures of your cats are kept to a manageable amount on your new iPhone!
326 PPI iPod Touch / iPhone 4, 4s, 5c, 5s, 6 Twisted nematic LCDs became IPS to reduce glare
264 PPI iPad Air The same resolution as the iPad mini 3
227 PPI MacBook Pro (3rd generation) MacBook needs fewer PPI as it’s viewed from further away
How do pixels work?
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are to cause interference with each other and affect the image. SHA helps avoid this. Apple believes that a person cannot differentiate between individual pixels from one of their Retina HD devices at a normal viewing distance – around 25 centimetres (ten inches) for an iPhone and 38 centimetres (15 inches) on an iPad. It remains to be seen whether technology companies can keep pumping in pixels or whether a maximum level will be reached in the next few product generations.
An enhanced depiction of a Retina pixel, made up of blue, green and red sub-pixels © Apple
The golden rule is the more pixels you have, the sharper the display. Pixels are made up of red, green and blue sub-pixels and signals in a device tell each when to light up. In its Retina display, Apple uses Super High Aperture (SHA) technology, which places a layer of resin between the pixels and signal lines. The pixels are so tightly packed in this system that the resin is needed to keep everything in order. A possible downside to Retina technology is that the more pixels you squash in, the more likely they
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