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MacBook Pro Retina and Sharp 4k IGZO Could Join Forces in 2014

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The new MacBook Pro Retina is likely to arrive this month, but we are already getting a look at a possible MacBook Pro Retina 2014 update component.

A new Sharp 4k display would be a perfect partner to put inside the 15.6-inch MacBook Pro with Retina to deliver an even higher-resolution portable screen solution for power users.

The MacBook Pro with Retina currently uses a 2,880 x 1,880 resolution display which is higher than many Windows 8 notebooks and Ultrabooks on the market.

Read: 5 Reasons Buyers Need to Wait for the New MacBook Pro Release

A new Sharp 15.6-inch IGZO display could make the perfect partner for a new MacBook Pro Retina 2013 update, bringing a 4K display to Apple’s high-resolution MacBook Pro model. According to Xbit Labs, this pairing would make sense.

macbook-pro-retina-display

The MacBook Pro Retina Display is the highlight of this model.

Sharp announced the new Sharp 4K2K IGZO with a 3,840 × 2,160 resolution late last week, with a 282 pixel density on a 15.6-inch notebook display. The current MacBook Pro with Retina delivers a 220 pixel per inch rating.

The number of pixels per inch is a rating used to help illustrate how tightly pixels are packed into a display, the tighter the pixels the harder it is to see an individual pixel, which leads to better looking photos, text and videos.

In addition to the higher resolution the IGZO technology uses less electricity, which could translate to longer battery life for the MacBook Pro with Retina. Apple made a big push for battery life with the new MacBook Air 2013 update earlier this year, and we expect a similar push for the new MacBook Pro models this year and going forward.

Sharp doesn’t share exactly how much IGZO could improve battery life, but the company has been talking about IGZO and battery life since CES 2013 earlier this year when we were able to go hands on with Sharp IGZO technology.

At this time Sharp started sample deliveries for the 15.6-inch Sharp IGZO 4k display, but the production quantities needed for a company like Apple to make a MacBook Pro Retina with a 4k display would not be ready until February 2014 according to Sharp.

If the Sharp IGZO 4k display arrives in a MacBook Pro Retina we likely would not see it until 2014, based on this production timeline.

Sharp is also reportedly readying IGZO technology for smartphones and tablet PCs and notes that the IGZO technology is compatible with pen based input.

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Solomon Hwang

    10/01/2013 at 2:46 pm

    wait, so it’s likely that apple will introduce new macbook pros but it’s also likely that it will have 4k display which likely means that it’s coming out in 2014?!?!?

    i can’t wait any longer!

    • Joe

      10/03/2013 at 7:07 am

      No 4k display, the new one will have the new thunderbolt 2 which would make it compatible with 4k monitors. If I had to guess Apple’s working on their own 4k monitors. 4k displays are useless on laptops.

  2. someone with a brain

    10/02/2013 at 1:48 am

    this makes no sense. 3,840 × 2,160 is not 4K, it’s 4X. also, a 16/9 format is a stupid format for a laptop, only a marketoid thinks that’s a good idea. apple is one of the few companies that still has a good screen size ratio. if they go 16/9, all the professionals will go away and buy from a brand that cares about making a good laptop.
    also, 4X or 4K are not easy for a laptop GPU. so, i really hope you’re wrong.

  3. Bob

    10/03/2013 at 6:15 pm

    How can people forget that Apple would need to double the resolution of the current 15 inch first (a staple of their retina displays) so the screen resolution upgrade of a 15 inch Macbook upgrade would HAVE to be 5760 x 3600. It will happen – just not until 2015 at the earliest.

  4. John Rarick

    10/26/2013 at 8:49 am

    A slight mistake in the article, The MacBook Pro does not have a 15.6″ display it has a 15.4″ display. 15.6″ displays are exclusive to windows notebooks.

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