It's official: the Retina display covers 100% of new iOS products.
With Apple no longer selling the original iPad Mini, the tech giant has officially covered every new Apple iOS device currently available to consumers. The Retina display made its debut in 2012, when the first generation iPad Mini was introduced, and with the discontinuation of that first pioneering device, the company has gone officially full-circle, extending the Retina display to all iOS devices.
The official word from an Apple spokesperson is that “...Now all models of iPad mini and iPad Air have 64-bit Apple-designed CPUs and high-resolution Retina displays...”.
This is a strong indication that Apple is going full throttle, towards a completely new class of products for 2016, where the focus will be, not only on Retina display, but also 64 bit CPU architecture, across all iOS products, a trend that began with the iPad post A5, quickly replaced by the A7 and A8X in future iterations. The first iPad Mini has seen at least two price decreases, once in 2013, when Apple announced a price drop, down to $299, and again in 2014, when the price of the aging iPad dropped once more, down to $249.
The same trend is also visible in all Mac product lines, as all latest MacBook and MacBook Pro devices now feature Retina display, and are expected to continue to do so, until all remaining non-Retina products are discontinued.
iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan, explained
This news provides at least a glimpse into what is happening with iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan, as Apple seems to be more concerned with backwards compatibility and support of legacy products, than it ever has in the past.
By supporting legacy products, like older Macs and iOS devices, Apple is, on one hand, “throwing a bone” to existing customers, by strengthening user retention within the brand, but the most important reason is to extend the time available to develop the next level of Apple devices and products.
More specifically, it’s becoming clear that MacBook products will see an increase focus in wireless connectivity, and the simplification of physical ports. Recent rumors are also hinting the the possibility that Apple will rid MacBooks of the trackpad altogether, by integrating Force Touch functionality in the keyboard itself.
On the iOS 9 front, legacy devices like the iPhone 4 and the first generation iPad Mini, will be supported and perhaps even get a performance gain from the major update, however, this benefit could be temporary, as all evidence points to a major shift in 2016, where the successor to El Capitan, as well as iOS 10, are expected to cater to next level devices, in a world where the iPhone 4 and the first iPad could begin to be regarded as vintage.