The high resolution displays featured on iPads and iPhones are set to be rolled out onto Apple MacBooks, according to DisplaySearch Analyst Richard Shim.
Mr Shim believes the ‘retina display’ technology has already entered into the supply chain but added that it could cost an extra £63 to integrate into the existing framework.
The pixels that can often be seen on computer screens by the naked eye cannot be discerned on a retina display (a term coined by Apple itself), providing the user with a clearer picture. Already successfully incorporated into Apple’s slimline iPad and iPhone products, this technology will double the current 15″ MacBook’s resolution to 2,880 by 1,800 pixels, according to Mr Shim.
He added: “What’s clear is that Apple is pushing it. They’re pushing panel makers to come out with higher resolution panels because they’ve created a market demand for it, starting with their phones, now going to their tablets. Now what we’re seeing in the supply chain is that they’re going to move that to their notebooks, and it’s becoming a premium feature.”
He explained that the extra cost may not be passed onto consumers in the same way that the cost of the introduction of retina displays to the iPhone was not passed on to shoppers in the past. However, the price difference was just £19 for the iPhone, which is £44 less than the proposed changed to the MacBook.
