Apple to unveil new iPads, Macs on October 15

We aren’t even a week removed from Apple’s iPhone 5S, 5C media event yet we’re already hearing rumors concerning Cupertino’s next major product announcement. Early indications suggest Apple is preparing to showcase the next wave of iPads at a special press event on October 15.

Most believe Apple will debut the next generation full-sized iPad as well as a new iPad mini a month from now. The larger iPad 5 is expected to have a slight redesign that will see it more resemble the iPad mini while the latter device will almost certainly receive a Retina display.

The second part of Tim Cook’s “busy fall” is likely to include new Haswell-powered Macs and the launch of OS X Mavericks. The updated operating system is said to be pretty much finished. As such, a gold master could arrive any day now unless Apple decides to seed one final beta to developers.

The rumored date originated from MacGeneration, a French blog with a track record that’s described as mixed at best so take the news with a grain of salt. Apple did launch the fourth generation iPad and iPad mini last October which means we could very well see the same thing for 2013.

Apple’s new iPhone 5S and 5C will begin shipping this Friday, September 20. Current iOS users can pick up a free copy of iOS 7 starting on Wednesday, September 18.

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Google optimizes Chrome for Retina display, adds new API support

Google’s latest stable release of Chrome now supports Apple’s new high resolution screen on the MacBook Pro with Retina display. In addition to supporting the 2,880 x 1,800 resolution (220 pixels per inch) panel, Google has added a few other features to Chrome to bolster their browser offering.

If you recall from our recent review of the MacBook Pro with Retina display, Apple had to employ some pretty impressive software tricks to make the display perform in a practical manner. Having the screen show content at a 1:1 scale for things like text just isn’t practical because the text would be too small to comfortably view.

Instead, Apple uses four pixels to create a single “viewable” pixel. This allows them to keep the same visual appearance of a 1,440 x 900 resolution display with a much sharper image. The problem with this, at least early on in the MacBook Pro’s life, is that apps must support the Retina resolution. If they don’t, you end up with a pretty blurry and pixilated image like we saw in Firefox during our review.

Google noted in a blog post in June that they were committed to polishing Chrome (no pun intended) until it performed flawlessly on Apple’s new flagship portable. That time has come and now Chrome looks just as nice as Safari. We suspect it’s only a matter of time before Mozilla and others update their browsers with Retina support.

Google also added support for the getUserMedia API which lets you grant web apps access to your webcam and microphone without the need for a plug-in. There’s also deeper Cloud Print integration and expanded support for gamepads.

Samsung filings reveal 11.8" 'retina' tablet, two new WP8 smartphones

Court documents published as part of the Apple and Samsung trial that got underway on Monday have revealed the South Korean firm plans to release a 11.8-inch tablet some time this year with a retina-like display, as well as two new smartphone's destined to run Microsoft's upcoming Windows Phone 8.

The Verge spotted the tablet, codenamed P10 in the paperwork, and noted it will be fitted with a 2560 x 1600 pixel 11.8-inch touchscreen panel, trumping the iPad's 2048 x 1536 resolution with a slightly lower but still 'Retina'-like pixel density of 256 ppi. For reference, the iPad's 9.7-inch display has a pixel density of 264 ppi.

The tablet is listed as a 2012 device, but other than that nothing else is known. Samsung recently sent out invites for the launch of its next Galaxy device in San Francisco on August 15, so it's entirely possible they will announce this new tablet at the event, possibly alongside other new “Galaxy” branded products.

Samsung is also planning two new smartphone's, codenamed 'Odyssey' and 'Marco' ahead of Windows Phone 8's launch later this year. While its unclear exactly how many devices the firm plans to release running the new OS, the court documents gave an insight into what will likely be two of its flagship phones for WP8.

First up, the 'Odyssey' will feature a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED display with a HD resolution, combined with a 8-megapixel rear camera and NFC support. The 'Marco' uses a slightly smaller 4.0-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display presumably running at 800x480 pixels, and a 8-megapixel rear camera. The exact storage and memory specifications of both devices were not revealed in the filings. 

It's also unclear if these handsets are destined solely for the US market or a worldwide release, but both feature 4G LTE connectivity and are powered by a Qualcomm MSM8960 SoC, offering a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor. There is no question that both devices will run Redmond's next mobile OS however, as WP 7.5 is limited to single-core CPUs.

Rumor: New iMac in October with "Retina" display

Will the next generation iMac hit shelves in October? Even more intriguingly, will it sport a Retina display? This is what Digitimes, purveyor of rumors peddled by global supply chain factories, is suggesting. Digitimes' sources -- mostly Chinese companies involved in Apple's upstream supply chain -- are claiming they will begin production of the company's next iMac offering this month, making an October-ish launch seem most likely.

More interesting than just news of an upcoming iMac though, are claims that a Retina screen could find its way to some of these iMacs.

"Retina" is the label used by Apple to identify its ultra high-resolution screens sporting at least double the pixels per inch of standard panel offerings -- a pixel density where human eyes have difficulty discerning individual pixels. Currently, the iPhone 4, 4S, iPad (third generation) and Macbook Pro with Retina Display are the only products offered by Apple which house such screens.

There have been many rumors of high pixel density displays from others companies too, including Acer and Asus, but we've yet to see those rumors materialize. One reason for this may be the prohibitively high cost of displays with enormous pixel densities. 

iSuppli, an industry analyst who performs product teardowns in order to determine their total BOM (bill of materials) cost, has said Apple spends around $68 per LCD panel on its Macbooks -- the non-Retina kind, that is. A senior analyst from NPD DisplaySearch believes Apple is spending about a $100 more per unit for Retina-quality panels. That's a substantial bump in price for PC makers who often operate on thin margins but remains hardly an issue for Apple consumers expect a price premium.

With Apple taking the plunge on high PPI panels, it is likely we'll see prices on these screens tumble as other companies follow suit.