iPad 2 Retina Display Pictured: a 2048×1536 Pixels Monster

The internet has been buzzing with rumors of an iPad 2 high-resolution Retina display based on the IPS technology – the same that powers the iPhone 4 display. True or not? A reliable source told us that this is indeed true. The new 9.7″ 264 pixel per inch (ppi) display will be coming from LG, the supplier of the current iPad display. iPad 2 will keep the same 9.7-inch size, however, the pixel density will climb up to 264 ppi, from 132 pixels per inch in the original iPad. That’s about 2048×1536 pixels (or two times 1024×768), which an unheard of, for a mobile device. This display would be the single most expensive piece of technology in the iPad 2.The IPS technology can handle that many pixels in a power envelope that is still usable (try that with AMOLED…), and given the empty space inside the iPad, there’s room to improve the (already huge) iPad battery size. The iPad-2 new graphics accelerator (rumored to be the PowerVR SGX543 or PowerVR SGX543MP2 dual GPU) should be fast enough to handle the extra number of pixels, and 1080p video decode.

Can LG handle the production of this new display? We think they can, and it actually makes sense that they would agree to ramp up the production with a single large-volume client that can move millions of units. We also speculate that Apple will keep the original iPad around (maybe in a cost-reduced form), and sell it at a lower price.

Although we are practically sure that iPad 2 will have a “Retina” ultra-high resolution, it is only when it launches that we’ll know for sure. Who wants to bet that the iPad 2 will get a Retina Display? Drop a comment to tell us.

Updated: Unfortunately, the 9.7″ Retina Display did not make it into the iPad 2. We’ve published the complete iPad 2 Review on 3/14/2011

Link: our iPad 2 unofficial homepage, iPad 2 icons reveal high-res display?