The launch of Apple's iPad Mini has triggered a wave of rush buying again, but many users are not satisfied with the iPad Mini they bought: the iPad Mini is not a retinal screen. Recently, CNET interviewed Vinita Jakhanwal, an analyst who specializes in display screens at IHS iSuppli, and commented on why Apple did not use retinal screens on the iPad Mini.

Vinita Jakhanwal believes that Apple will iPad Mini It is positioned as a thin and portable tablet computer, rather than a product containing the latest display technology. In addition, she also believes that Apple can fully equip the iPad Mini with a retinal display, but then they may have to make concessions in thickness, weight and price.

So, if the iPad Mini is equipped with a retinal display screen, what concessions does Apple need to make?

thickness

Is the retinal display thicker? In fact, when we compare the parameters of the iPad 2 (ordinary display screen) and the "The New iPad" (retinal display screen), we can find that The thickness is 9.5mm, while the thickness of iPad 2 Only 8.7mm, the difference is about 8%. This is because the steak's retinal display system needs to be equipped with a dual light bar lighting system. In the screen, the ordinary display screen can save 0.8mm.

The actual thickness of the iPad Mini is 7.2mm, even lower than the 7.6mm of the iPhone 5. Of course, the iPhone 5 uses retinal display. If the difference brought by retinal display is removed, the other parts of the iPad Mini are actually thicker than the iPhone 5. This may be caused by the difference in the back shell technology and battery thickness.

weight

Compared with the ordinary screen, the weight of the retina screen increased by adding a light-emitting tube is very little, which is more reflected in the battery capacity and weight. Take iPad 2 and steak for example, the specification of iPad 2 rechargeable battery is 3.8V, 25Wh, and the battery capacity is 6580mAh; In order to maintain the same service time as the iPad 2, the new iPad is equipped with a rechargeable battery with the specification of 3.7V, 43.0Whr, and the battery capacity of 11560mAh, which is 76% more than the iPad 2. Accordingly, the weight of the steak has also increased to 680g, while the iPad 2 is only 603g.

The disassembly data of iFixit shows that the iPad Mini is 3.72V, 16.7Wh, and the battery capacity is 4490mAh. If the iPad Mini uses the retina screen and the battery capacity increases by 76%, it is estimated that it will increase by 52.8g compared with the current one, while the iPad Mini weighs 308g, that is, it will weigh 17% more than the current one.

Price

What is the price difference between retinal screens and non retinal screens? Let's take a look at iSuppli in the calendar iPad Cost analysis of disassembly hardware after release:

On March 14, 2011, iSuppli released a report estimating that the cost of iPad 2 display+touch screen was 127 dollars;

On March 17, 2012, iSuppli released a report estimating that the new "steak" uses a retinal display screen, which costs US $87, and the touch screen that costs US $40 will cost US $127; In the same period, the cost of iPad 2's display ($57)+touch screen ($40) was $97;

On November 3, 2012, iSuppli released a report estimating that the cost of iPad Mini display+touch screen was $80.

Love to play computer games It is estimated that if the retina screen is used, the cost will increase by $20-25. According to Apple's pricing strategy, the retail price of the iPad Mini may be set at $399. This price is the same as the price of the iPad 2 after the launch of "steak". Users are bound to compare it with the iPad 2, and the sales of the iPad Mini will also be greatly affected.

To sum up, Apple did not use the retina screen in the iPad Mini. In addition to the factors of thickness, weight and price analyzed above, it is more to create a new product with the greatest difference from the original product positioning. There is a story in the industry that Jobs spared no expense to reduce the thickness by 0.5mm. Although this is a joke, it also shows that for Apple, in the combination of 7.2mm, 308g, retail price of $329 and 9.5mm, 361g, retail price of $399, Apple pays more attention to the thinness and portability of the iPad Mini, so it chose the first solution.

Dear netizens, which one will you choose?