Which approach to high-resolution screens on the MBP 13 would you rather see

Rumors are growing of a 2560x1600 screen on a rMBP 13. If the rMBP 15 if any indication, it will display at effectively 1280x800, but with much sharper text and pictures. Is this the sort of solution you'd like to see for the MBP 13 screen, or would you forgo some dpi in order to display 1440x900 or 1680x1050 at native resolution?

 

I voted other...
I'd rather have 2560x1600, but run it at a full 2560x1600 with no scaling... which will be possible to do if they release it as a 2560x1600 screen, just like you can run the 15" at a full 2880x1800 without scaling.

 

Chances are it will take the 15" Model's choices of 1280x800, 1440x900, 1680x1050, and 1920x1200. That would be the most optimal way.

 

Can you do that without modifying OSX or installing third-party software? I thought the rMBP 15 out-of-the-box could only display the same screen area as a normal 1440x900 MBP 15, just with text and images four times as sharp.

 

you don't modify the OS... yes, if you aren't a programmer, you'll need 3rd party software to do so, but its not like its a hack or something weird. I use one I wrote myself, and it uses the set APIs Apple provides for adjusting the resolution... no weird hacks or tricks involved.

By default they only give you 2880x1800 with scaling options... there are 5 options, not just the 1440x900 look, and the 13" will probably be the same... a "looks like" scaling options 1024x640, 1280x800, 1440x900, 1680x1050, and 1920x1200... the 13" will have similar options.

 

I want the full res, thus voted other

 

There's no such thing as no scaling. Apple has been working for years to make iOS and Mac OS resolution independent, so everything is scaled. Running a rMBP at a "desktop resolution" setting of 2880x1800 just means that text, icons, and other UI elements are scaled to one half the size they would be at the default scaling. The main reason for making the retina screen with exactly double the DPI (4x the pixels) of the standard screen is to accommodate 3rd party software which isn't designed to be resolution independent. Once the 3rd party developers catch up, Apple will be free to make retina displays at any arbitrary resolution, provided it's high enough that users with good vision can't perceive pixels at normal viewing distance. Ideally, this will make the current concept of display resolution obsolete and we'll control the size of the UI with a zoom slider just as we control the zoom on document in a word processor.

I voted for other because I'm hoping for 2880x1800.

 

Would a mbp13 be able to support the very high resolutions though?

I don't have the rmbp but read reviews about how scrolling + other things are a big buggy at the max resolution...

You'd need to see a major revision of all the internal components to support it... and maybe thats what they are doing. Initial figures price the possible rmbp 13 pretty high, suggestive of an entire makeover. And sadly pulling it out of my budget.

 

I am just hoping the performance is smooth as glass. I was playing with the Retina demo unit (15") at BestBuy this weekend and they still had Lion on it. With the display set at scaled 1920x1200, dragging the scroll bar in Safari on Apple - MacBook Pro with Retina display - Features results in poor display performance. It felt like the display was interlacing. I'm sure the while environment was contributing but it was still apparent that on that machine the OS, video drivers, and application weren't tuned.

I hope the new Mac it tuned out the waazoo.

I am most curious to see what GPU(s) are in the new Mac, and how it differs from my 2012 MacBook Air.

 

There wont be a gpu in the rmbp 13, they are using the hd4000. if the pics from the pcb and the cooling system is to be believed

 

by scaling, most people are referring to the HiDPI mode. There is always some type of scaling going on somewhere in all software in some part or another if your trying to get technical. When someone says to run it without scaling, they are meaning to run it at a full 2880x1800 without HiDPI enabled. Everything is drawn pixel for pixel like if it was any other normal resolution on any other display. There no change to UI elements or anything, they just get really really tiny because its just a normal hi res. And yes... you can do that even though Apple doesn't make it an option in System Preferences. If they ever make software resolution independent, it will be great, but we are far from that, and the current Retina method being used does not let that happen.

nah... it works fine. Its quicker and less buggy than my 17" MBP is at 1920x1200. People somehow expect everything to be super smooth in all situations, then complain when its not... when there is not a single computer that exists that is like that. Running at 2880x1800 on my rMBP and the machine is basically idle... then everything is super smooth... if the machine is taking care of other things, yes occasionally you'll notice something that isn't smooth... but this phenomena happens on all my other Macbook Pros as well.

 

Lol, I expect problems then. Wonder if they just stuck with the Nvidia 320 from the white macbooks.

 

for one.. that is not possible, as the 320m was part of the chipset, and that chipset cannot run the Core i series CPUs at all.

for two... the Intel HD 4000 is much faster than the nvidia 320m is.

 

I'll take a good old fashioned matte panel of decent resolution over the glossy, gimmicky Retina display.

 

I agree, I hope they address the performance woes...we'll see soon!

 

Glossy, i'm ok with, but on 13", i'd rather see a better quality 1680x1050 lcd.

I do believe however, that the 13" retina would have made a better match with upcoming Haswell.

 

thats my opinion as well, when the leaks showed the guts of the rmbp13 and how it wouldnt pack a dgpu all things went downhill, with the vaio z level price, coupled with low storage, and if the lack of a dgpu wasnt enough, they didnt put a quad in there

 

On the other hand, we can hope that with this being the first iteration, the Haswell version will pack a better display and maybe a quad.

 

thats my hope as well. I have yet to see how good that display is, and surely it will only be available in brazil around late next month.

Those retina equipped mbp are in dare need of cooler chips, and seriously apple could have put a 120w psu for the 15 model and a 85w for the 13 one

 

wow, 2560-by-1600 that settles it...but the other hardware specs are lacking.

 

The resolution is indeed impressive, but i'd like to know how good the other aspects of the display are. It will still end up being decent of course, we're not talking about the 1366x768 cheapo panels some other manufacturers use, but given the probable price, i'd say customers are entitled to better. however, like i said, this will be the first 13" retina display and you have to start somewhere if you want to offer something better eventually.