What is Retina Display and is it Worth the Money?

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Have you ever herd of Retina Display and wondered exactly what it exactly it meant and if it’s worth the extra money that Apple might charge you? I’ll be honest, until today, I had an idea of what Retina Display was, but I didn’t fully understand. However, now I’ve got the details to share with you.

Essentially, Retina Display, according to MacWorld,  “refers to a device screen with a high enough pixel density that the human eye can’t make out individual pixels – or a general ‘pixellation’ effect – at all. In other words, the human eye is scientifically incapable of telling the difference between a photo of a painting shown on a Retina display, and the painting itself – in theory, anyway.”

In layman’s terms, Retina Display is the highest quality screen that you’ll be able to find out on the market today, with 326ppi (pixels per inch) for smartphones, 264ppi for tablets, and 220ppi for laptops. Also, Retina Display is an Apple only feature. Some company may be able to create a screen that has the same specs as Retina Display, but since it wouldn’t come from Apple, it would not be called that.

Now when it comes to the price of Retina Display, this isn’t really an issue when it comes to smartphones. All iPhones, from the iPhone 4 on, have had and do have Retina Display. The difference really comes into play when you are deciding between a laptop that has Retina Display and one that doesn’t. Macbooks with Retina screens typically cost $100-$200 more than non-Retina Macbooks.

So is Retina Display really worth the money? I would argue that it is, especially when it comes to Macbooks. If you are willing to spend $1,200 on a non-Retina Macbook, a pretty sizable amount of money already, why wouldn’t you spend the extra hundred to two hundred dollars more for a better display?

This is especially true in today’s world, where so many people find themselves watching movies and television on their laptops more than on their actual TVs. If you were willing to pay more for the best brand of high definite television when you purchased your last TV, I would recommend to pay the little bit extra for Retina Display. It’s definitely worth it.

photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Written by Chris King

Chris has been writing for TVOvermind, Uncoached, and Worthly for two years and has written about numerous different television shows, news events, and pop culture topics. He is a graduate of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, where he majored in English and Film. Contact him through Twitter (@ckinger13).