Air Display update turns the new iPad into a ‘Retina’ Mac display
![Air Display on the new iPad](/postpics/air-display-update-new-ipad.jpg)
Just as Avatron promised last month, an updated version of their popular Air Display app has now been released which takes advantage of the new iPad’s Retina screen and OS X Lion’s HiDPI mode – effectively turning the third-generation iPad into a Retina quality Mac display.
Here’s Avatron’s explanation of how it works:
“If you have Mac OS X Lion and a Retina iOS device, now you can turn on “HiDPI mode.” HiDPI is a built-in Mac OS X feature that makes UI elements render at double resolution. It’s absolutely stunning on a Retina display. By default, Mac OS X disables HiDPI because until now, there has been no Mac display with high enough resolution. Air Display on a new iPad, with its 2048×1536 264-dpi Retina display, finally brings HiDPI to life.”
I gave the app a try this morning, and took the following screenshots:
![Air Display running on third-generation iPad](/postpics/air-display-new-ipad.jpg)
Air Display running on the new iPad in 1024×768 (HiDPI) mode. View full size
![Air Display running on third-generation iPad at 2048x1536](/postpics/new-ipad-safari-pref.jpg)
You can also run Air Display at the new iPad’s native resolution of 2048×1536, and see more of the desktop, but text becomes too small to read comfortably. View full size
![Air Display running on first-generation iPad](/postpics/air-display-old-ipad.jpg)
Air Display running on a first-generation iPad – only 1024×768 is available. View full size
Not all Lion apps support HiDPI at the moment, and it’s unlikely you’ll see it supported in third-party apps, so don’t expect everything to look fantastic. You will also probably notice some image degradation, and a little lag when you move windows around, but aside from that the app does seem to work surprisingly well.
The only issue I encountered that left me a little concerned was that at one point the colours on the iPad went a little funky looking, which I have reported to Avatron:
![funky colours on the new iPad](/postpics/funky-colours-ipad.jpg)
The latest version of Air Display is priced at £6.99 ($9.99) from the App Store.
![Air Display - Avatron Software, Inc.](http://r.mzstatic.com/images/web/linkmaker/badge_appstore-lrg.gif)