iOS 10.3 beta hints at more fluid Apple Pencil with next-gen iPad Pro models
iOS 10.3 beta hints at more fluid Apple Pencil with next-gen iPad Pro models By Neil Hughes Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 06:04 am PT (09:04 am ET) Code discovered within Apple's latest iOS 10.3 beta shows tools that will allow developers to run their apps at variable framerates, suggesting that higher-fidelity Apple Pencil support could be coming to the company's soon-to-arrive iPad Pro refresh. With new iPad Pro models expected to arrive in the coming weeks, developer Steven Troughton-Smith revealed on Twitter the changes found in pre-release iOS 10.3 betas. As a result, he said on Wednesday that he is "reasonably convinced" that Apple could introduce new devices with screen refresh rates higher than 60Hz. As for why Apple would be pursuing these capabilities— particularly in iOS 10.3, which is set to launch any day now —a likely explanation would be better better Apple Pencil support for new iPad Pro models. I remain reasonably convinced that an iOS device screen refresh rate higher than 60Hz is possible this year pic.twitter.com/k9W4q8rxcm —Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) March 22, 2017 Current iPad Pro units feature a unique display with a variable refresh rate, which is cut from 60 frames per second to 30 when content is displayed static. Increasing the refresh rate beyond 60 frames per second, on the other hand, would be less power efficient, but could allow for a greater response time when writing and drawing with the Apple Pencil. Framerates beyond 60Hz would be impossible with current hardware, so the iOS 10.3 code discovered by Troughton-Smith would suggest new devices are needed to take advantage of a refresh rate higher than 60Hz. The Apple Pencil polls input at an extremely high 240Hz for precision— much higher than the screen refresh capabilities of the current iPad Pro. It's highly unlikely that Apple would introduce a display with a 240Hz refresh rate, considering how taxing it would be on graphics processing and battery life. But a bump up i... Read more
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