The term “retina display” has been tossed about tech blogs ever since Apple’s latest MacBook Pro unveiling. What often fails to be described, however, is what retina display is. More importantly, why do you need a laptop with retina display? It might be that you had no idea anything was wrong with your current laptop display until retina versions came along. Or, it could be that you just want to have some idea what you’re talking about when you use that (already overused) term. Retina display, as it so happens, is really all about the pixels.

The Pixels Have It

Apple describes its new retina display as having a super high pixel density. Just how high is that density? Your naked eye won’t be able to detect one pixel from another when looking at a retina display. But, wait; can your naked eye currently detect pixels when looking at your regular display? Well, that depends on what you’re looking at.

If you’ve ever tried watching a movie or short video clip on your current laptop, you might have noticed some pixilation. You know, those tiny dots that prevent an image from really meshing together? Well, retina display gets rid of all possibility that you might see those tiny dots ever again. Movies will run seamlessly and photographs will look as real as life. This, my friends, is retina display in a nutshell.

Retina Display In Comparison

If you were to place a MacBook Pro without retina display next to the newest version, you would see a major difference in screen quality. This is, no doubt, the way that Apple stores across the lands will contrast the two systems. The older MacBook Pro would like slightly muffled compared to the newer one. Images on the older version aren’t quite as crisp and colors and movies are quite as fluid. These differences are small, but they do make a difference as far as seeing goes – and, possibly, as far as the strain on your eyes goes.

Does retina display mess with battery life? This is a perfectly valid question that a lot of potential retina display users are now asking. It seems logical, after all, that a laptop with a better overall display might use up additional energy, right? Well, those who have been lucky enough to put their hands on a new MacBook Pro have, indeed, found that these laptops have a weaker battery life. How much weaker? Some claim that the new retina display cuts batter life by thirty to forty minutes – not significantly, but shorter all the same.

Do You Need Retina Display?

If you are caught up in the retina display hype and want to rush out right now to buy a new MacBook Pro, consider the type of system user that you currently are. If you watch lots of videos, work with digital images, or use your system for streaming videos of any kind, retina display might be what you’re missing. If you simply surf the internet and use a Word program now and then, you might not see a whole lot of difference when it comes to your daily tasks.