Apple’s Upcoming MacBook Pros, Airs and iMacs To Get High Resolution Retina Displays

Apple’s recent new iPad has rightly been praised for its innovative high resolution 2048×1536 Retina display. With this launch however, it wasn’t hard to see this technology coming to other Apple products. Now, according to some leaked info, this display technology will also make its way into the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops in the near future.

The new MacBook Pro will see major changes in design and functionality, including an ultra thin design and USB 3.0 ports, while the major change in the Air will be the new Retina display, complemented with an Intel Ivy Bridge processor and its improved IGP to drive it. Note that launch of the new Airs are still a little way off, because the power draw from the Retina display combined with the thin and light form factor are posing design challenges for Apple and its manufacturing partners. This isn’t a problem for iMac Retina displays however, where panels have been spotted in the supply chain. No release date has been provided, nor the resolution of these Retina displays in any of Apple’s upcoming products.

Note that that the current Retina display’s resolution is higher than most desktop monitors and way higher than what comes on PC laptops. Of course, PC makers aren’t standing idly by while Apple cleans up the market. Starting late 2012 and gaining momentum in 2013, we will see similar display upgrades appearing on PC laptops and desktops, which is very long overdue. In turn, this should spur sales of new, more powerful graphics cards for gaming to drive these displays and may well significantly invigorate the PC market as a whole.