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0 pointsgoosedragons4y ago0 comments

The ThinkPad R50p had a QXGA screen (2048x1536) option back in 2003. Granted Windows had zilch support for it which is probably why it died. Even the base model was a 1600x1200 screen. And there was plenty of phones with 200+ ppi before the iPhone 4. I think it has more to do with higher PPI screens getting cheaper and Apple could just get more supply first...

0 comments

8 comments · 2 top-level

alwillis4y ago· 4 in thread

Remember that it’s more than just raw resolution.

Of course macOS supports these higher resolutions but there’s also the color calibration and support for wider color gamuts other than sRGB and having that all integrated together.

For example, the iMac had Display P3 (a color space 50% bigger than RGB) support starting in 2015.

goosedragonsOP4y ago

And Apple still hasn't shipped a laptop with a higher refresh rate than 120hz when competitors have been shipping 144 or even 240hz for years (A 100% bigger value than 120hz!).

alwillis4y ago

Apple doesn't ship stuff just because it's available; there has to be some appreciable value.

Faster refresh doesn't necessarily mean a better display. I suspect Apple's displays are higher quality than most competitors even if they max out at 120Hz.

Here are the specs for the latest MacBook Pros:

    16.2-inch (diagonal) Liquid Retina XDR display;1 3456-by-2234 native 
    resolution at 254 pixels per inch
 
    XDR (Extreme Dynamic Range)

    1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
    XDR brightness: 1000 nits sustained full-screen, 1600 nits peak2 (HDR content only)
    SDR brightness: 500 nits


    1 billion colors
    Wide color (P3)
    True Tone technology
    Refresh rates

    ProMotion technology for adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz
    Fixed refresh rates: 47.95Hz, 48.00Hz, 50.00Hz, 59.94Hz, 60.00Hz

faeriechangling4y ago

120hz is slow technology but those MBP displays are around the best you can get when you look the whole picture, notch aside.

1 more reply

alanbernstein4y ago

Is there any evidence that such high refresh rates provide any value, or are even detectable by human eyes?

2 more replies

dijit4y ago· 2 in thread

That was an extreme outlier, the r-series is an uncommonly deployed thinkpad line.

Check the t- or x- series which are many many orders of magnitude wider deployed.

diffeomorphism4y ago

Which also had higher resolution than macbooks.

Random cheapo laptop: 1366x.. One better: apple Even better: higher priced laptop had 1920x.... Oh, and those had IPS displays unlike apple with (halfway decent) TN panels.

So everybody else pushed, then apple not only caught up but jumped ahead. And now they are again behind with 3k vs 4k and 5k vs 8k and miniled vs oled with the same order: cheap < apple < expensive.

Same for the macbook air/ultrabook form factor: Invented by Sony but only got popular once apple jumped on the train years later.

Apple is really good at "sherlocking" and getting out a polished/well-integrated version of something that has been around for years and making it popular.

goosedragonsOP4y ago

You could get a 1600x1200 T60p too...

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

8 comments · 2 top-level

alwillis4y ago· 4 in thread

Remember that it’s more than just raw resolution.

Of course macOS supports these higher resolutions but there’s also the color calibration and support for wider color gamuts other than sRGB and having that all integrated together.

For example, the iMac had Display P3 (a color space 50% bigger than RGB) support starting in 2015.

goosedragonsOP4y ago

And Apple still hasn't shipped a laptop with a higher refresh rate than 120hz when competitors have been shipping 144 or even 240hz for years (A 100% bigger value than 120hz!).

alwillis4y ago

Apple doesn't ship stuff just because it's available; there has to be some appreciable value.

Faster refresh doesn't necessarily mean a better display. I suspect Apple's displays are higher quality than most competitors even if they max out at 120Hz.

Here are the specs for the latest MacBook Pros:

    16.2-inch (diagonal) Liquid Retina XDR display;1 3456-by-2234 native 
    resolution at 254 pixels per inch
 
    XDR (Extreme Dynamic Range)

    1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
    XDR brightness: 1000 nits sustained full-screen, 1600 nits peak2 (HDR content only)
    SDR brightness: 500 nits


    1 billion colors
    Wide color (P3)
    True Tone technology
    Refresh rates

    ProMotion technology for adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz
    Fixed refresh rates: 47.95Hz, 48.00Hz, 50.00Hz, 59.94Hz, 60.00Hz

faeriechangling4y ago

120hz is slow technology but those MBP displays are around the best you can get when you look the whole picture, notch aside.

1 more reply

alanbernstein4y ago

Is there any evidence that such high refresh rates provide any value, or are even detectable by human eyes?

2 more replies

dijit4y ago· 2 in thread

That was an extreme outlier, the r-series is an uncommonly deployed thinkpad line.

Check the t- or x- series which are many many orders of magnitude wider deployed.

diffeomorphism4y ago

Which also had higher resolution than macbooks.

Random cheapo laptop: 1366x.. One better: apple Even better: higher priced laptop had 1920x.... Oh, and those had IPS displays unlike apple with (halfway decent) TN panels.

So everybody else pushed, then apple not only caught up but jumped ahead. And now they are again behind with 3k vs 4k and 5k vs 8k and miniled vs oled with the same order: cheap < apple < expensive.

Same for the macbook air/ultrabook form factor: Invented by Sony but only got popular once apple jumped on the train years later.

Apple is really good at "sherlocking" and getting out a polished/well-integrated version of something that has been around for years and making it popular.

goosedragonsOP4y ago

You could get a 1600x1200 T60p too...

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse