iOS 7 Beta 3 Improves Non-Retina iPad "2x" Mode With Retina iPhone Apps

Yesterday, iOS 7 beta 3 was rolled out, and shortly afterwards we saw hints that Apple will be using AirPlay to stream iPad and iPhone content to car infotainment systems via an iOS in the Car menu that was found. Now another change has surfaced, this time concerning the "2x" mode on non-Retina iPads, with it utilizing Retina iPhone apps to increase overall quality.

When using an iPhone-only app on an iPad, the resolution difference between the devices means the quality of the app is lower when displayed on a larger portion of the screen. As such, users were given the choice of viewing it in "1x" mode, which is the iPhone's resolution and results in the app showing up in a small rectangle in the middle of the iPad's display.

For those who want or need to view the app larger, there's also a "2x" mode, which doubles the iPhone app's resolution from 480 x 320 to a larger 960 x 640. By increasing the size, however, the image quality decreases, becoming blurry and jagged. Eventually iPhones with Retina displays were released, however, and Apple used them to help mitigate this issue.

These apps that support Retina iPhones have the larger resolution of 960 x 640, and could be used on the third-generation Retina iPads so that when the content was boosted 2x, the overall quality was better. Now, with iOS 7 beta 3, this same feature has been provided for non-Retina iPads, offering those users the same quality improvement.

Along with the change, however, has also been the eradication of the "1x" and 2x" toggle option on the non-Retina iPads, with the iPhone apps being used as 2x automatically with the Retina support for the app. This means on the iPad's 1024 x 768 resolution display, the iPhone apps show up at 960 x 640. Nothing has changed in this regard for the Retina iPads, however.

SOURCE: MacRumors