Shining, Shimmering, Splendid: iPad 3′s Retina Display Dazzles

• By JesseLangley on Mar 26,2012
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Chances are you have heard about the new Apple tablet affectionately named “iPad 3.” If you’re wondering what the big deal is with the buzz surrounding Apple’s latest tablet, then you really haven’t been paying attention. Perhaps the most talked about, and hyped aspect of the new iPad is the retina display. While the retina display is not new to Apple — the iPhone 4 saw the introduction of the retina display in mid-2010 — but the flashy new display is a key piece of what makes the new iPad great for gamers. There are already some games that push the limits of the iPad’s new display and many argue that the iPad retina display outshines every other tablet on the market in the video quality category. Still, others wonder if the new retina display is enough to drive hardcore gamers to the iPad.

Some Amazing Graphics Features

• Retina Display – In case you were wondering whether or not the new retina display was awesome, we’ll bang that drum one more time — the new iPad retina display is awesome. It boasts four times the video resolution of the iPad 2. What does this mean in numbers? For the true gadget nerds out there, this means a resolution of 2048-by-1536, 44 percent more color saturation and upwards of 3.1 million pixels on the screen. That’s over 3 million pixels on a 9.7-inch screen.
• Quad-Core Graphics Processing –There is some controversy surrounding the iPad’s A5X quad core graphics processing claim. Without getting too technical, the argument is that Apple misrepresented the GPU capabilities, or that the new iPad is not truly capable of quad-core graphics processing. Wherever you land on this issue, it’s undeniable that the graphics processing capabilities on the new iPad are superior to most tablets on the market. Tested against other tablets, the new iPad performs complicated graphics processing tasks much quicker, and with minimal to zero latency.
• Up to 1080p HD — While not a graphics-specific feature, this is a neat tool for anyone interested in tech gadgets of the future. That is, the new iPad can shoot HD video up 1080p, which is a significant upgrade from the iPad 2 that shot digital video up to 720p.

So, Will Gamers Migrate to the iPad HD? Probably.

It would surprise no one to find that Apple’s recent foray into mobile gaming was no coincidence — especially with the release of the new iPad. The key to attracting the most hardcore gamers has to do with mobile graphics processing. Without a powerful graphics processor, mobile gaming is pointless. But this is where things have gotten a little fuzzy in the race for the fastest graphics in the tablet world. Many tablets that claim to have the best graphics are often making that claim while running a dual core graphics processor. But considering that Apple upgraded the iPad HD’s video processor to quad-core processing with the new A5X processor, that claim can no longer hold up. This is where the graphics race expects to get heated. More and more hardware manufacturers are beginning to develop quad core graphics processors, which will bring mobile gaming to the next level.