So, will the iPad 2 boast a double-resolution, "retina"-type display, or not? The debate has been raging for weeks now, but an enterprising Mac blog may have the answer—in the form of what it claims is an actual next-gen iPad display, straight from the factory.
9 to 5 Mac has snapshots of the disembodied display right here, which it says it got its hands on with assistance from a third-party iPhone repair center.
The panel itself doesn't look too exciting, but 9 to 5 Mac writes that it is "definitely higher quality" than the original iPad screen: both "lighter" and "over a mm thinner," making for "what looks to be a significantly lighter iPad 2."
The 9 to 5 Mac bloggers were initially unsure about the most pressing issue—the resolution of the display. But an inquisitive reader looked up the ID number of the panel and dug up an answer: 1024 by 768, same as the original iPad.
That's bound to be disappointing news for those hoping that the iPad 2 would come with an ultra-tight 2,048 by 1,536 display, good for a pixel density approaching (if not quite equalling) that of the iPhone 4's "retina" display.
But the news—assuming it's true, of course—lines up with the latest rumors that a 2,048 by 1,536 screen might have to wait for the iPad 3, given that display manufacturers aren't ready to crank out the volume that Apple would surely require.
Apple hasn't commented on 9 to 5 Mac's (unverified) scoop—and indeed, it hasn't even announced a second-generation iPad yet.
