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This isn't how it works. Apple has exclusive deals in place with many of its suppliers. Many of the parts Apple buy are either not available for anyone else, or

by latch 14y ago

This isn't how it works. Apple has exclusive deals in place with many of its suppliers. Many of the parts Apple buy are either not available for anyone else, or not available at the same price. One way Apple has done this is to provide some of the initial capital needed for new plants/technologies. For example, if retooling a plant for new LCD production costs $1 billion, Apple might front 1/2 the money in exchange for 6-18month exclusivity on those panels. Also, Apple has scale in its favor. They can negotiate better terms and ensure that their quota gets filled first.

Someone 14y ago
On the other hand, there is nothing that prevents the likes of HP, Acer, Dell and Samsung to do the same. All of them could have the economics of scale Apple enjoys, but they choose to have a more diverse product line instead. Your argument would carry more weight if Apple had a much larger chunk of the market than all others.
- 2muchcoffeeman 14y ago
  I don't buy it. The traditional cycle, if Apple had a new technology first, is Apple releases it, wait a year and everybody else can do it just as well and probably cheaper. You can get Android handsets whose specs are better than the iPhone 4 in every way except the screen. If a manufacturer could out do the iPhone 4, iPad or MBP screen, they would have. Especially since they are traditionally spec driven.
  - mikeash 14y ago
    There are Android phones with screen resolutions equal or superior to that of the iPhone. They may not do as well in less concrete terms like overall quality, but when it comes to common specs with numbers on them, you can do better on Android.
    - spullara 14y ago
      You cannot get an Android phone with the DPI of an iPhone 4 retina display. I'm sure you know that but you clouded the issue by referencing screen resolution.
      - gareim 14y ago
        HTC Rezound and Sony Xperia S? Does this change your point?
      - danboarder 14y ago
        You're mistaken. There are several Android phones with comparable DPI, as well as others with higher DPI. Edit: For example, while the iPhone4 is 329 DPI, one LG display for thi years phones is 440 DPI.
        spullara 14y ago
        The LG phone was a prototype, not a shipping phone. http://www.macmyth.com/2012/06/touch-screens-5-440-dpi-at-lg-and-new.html http://www.macmyth.com/2012/06/touch-screens-5-440-dpi-at-lg... But as others noted there are some with comparable displays, I was just unfamiliar with them.
      - mikeash 14y ago
        Resolution is a vague word that can mean DPI, and it's how I was using it there. As other replies to you point out, Android phones with higher DPIs do exist. Can I expect an apology now?
    - 2muchcoffeeman 14y ago
      gareim suggested the HTC Rezound and Xperia S below. You're right.
  - Someone 14y ago
    "If a manufacturer could out do the iPhone 4, iPad or MBP screen, they would have. Especially since they are traditionally spec driven." I think a major reason other manufacturers haven't done this may be that they ship Windows boxes. My logic for that is as follows: - There are manufacturers that ship numbers of their high-end laptops that are in the same order as the number of MacBook Pro's that Apple ships. - Apple, by supplying only one form factor, reaps economies of scale. - That form factor may be suboptimal for some, but it is what they will have to buy if they want to run Mac OS. - If other manufacturers tried the same, they would lose sales to other parties that do provide machines with different feature sets that also run Windows. On the other hand, I do not know whether it is that more expensive to have a single high-DPI line crank out multiple sizes of display. If it is not, it all boils down to balls. Other manufacturers may be spec driven, but they do that by buying the best the market has to offer. Apple, on the other hand, is willing (and able) to tell the market what it wants, and put money on the table up-front for it.
- CamperBob2 14y ago
  Your argument would carry more weight if Apple had a much larger chunk of the market than all others. For "Retina"-class displays, they absolutely do. It was easy to see this coming years ago, and it was indeed inexcusable for everyone else to be caught flat-footed. Any fool should have been able to see exactly what was going to happen the minute they laid eyes on a non-Retina iPad.

by latch 14y ago

Someone 14y ago

On the other hand, there is nothing that prevents the likes of HP, Acer, Dell and Samsung to do the same. All of them could have the economics of scale Apple enjoys, but they choose to have a more diverse product line instead. Your argument would carry more weight if Apple had a much larger chunk of the market than all others.

2muchcoffeeman 14y ago
I don't buy it. The traditional cycle, if Apple had a new technology first, is Apple releases it, wait a year and everybody else can do it just as well and probably cheaper. You can get Android handsets whose specs are better than the iPhone 4 in every way except the screen. If a manufacturer could out do the iPhone 4, iPad or MBP screen, they would have. Especially since they are traditionally spec driven.
- mikeash 14y ago
  There are Android phones with screen resolutions equal or superior to that of the iPhone. They may not do as well in less concrete terms like overall quality, but when it comes to common specs with numbers on them, you can do better on Android.
  - spullara 14y ago
    You cannot get an Android phone with the DPI of an iPhone 4 retina display. I'm sure you know that but you clouded the issue by referencing screen resolution.
    - gareim 14y ago
      HTC Rezound and Sony Xperia S? Does this change your point?
    - danboarder 14y ago
      You're mistaken. There are several Android phones with comparable DPI, as well as others with higher DPI. Edit: For example, while the iPhone4 is 329 DPI, one LG display for thi years phones is 440 DPI.
      - spullara 14y ago
        The LG phone was a prototype, not a shipping phone. http://www.macmyth.com/2012/06/touch-screens-5-440-dpi-at-lg-and-new.html http://www.macmyth.com/2012/06/touch-screens-5-440-dpi-at-lg... But as others noted there are some with comparable displays, I was just unfamiliar with them.
    - mikeash 14y ago
      Resolution is a vague word that can mean DPI, and it's how I was using it there. As other replies to you point out, Android phones with higher DPIs do exist. Can I expect an apology now?
  - 2muchcoffeeman 14y ago
    gareim suggested the HTC Rezound and Xperia S below. You're right.
- Someone 14y ago
  "If a manufacturer could out do the iPhone 4, iPad or MBP screen, they would have. Especially since they are traditionally spec driven." I think a major reason other manufacturers haven't done this may be that they ship Windows boxes. My logic for that is as follows: - There are manufacturers that ship numbers of their high-end laptops that are in the same order as the number of MacBook Pro's that Apple ships. - Apple, by supplying only one form factor, reaps economies of scale. - That form factor may be suboptimal for some, but it is what they will have to buy if they want to run Mac OS. - If other manufacturers tried the same, they would lose sales to other parties that do provide machines with different feature sets that also run Windows. On the other hand, I do not know whether it is that more expensive to have a single high-DPI line crank out multiple sizes of display. If it is not, it all boils down to balls. Other manufacturers may be spec driven, but they do that by buying the best the market has to offer. Apple, on the other hand, is willing (and able) to tell the market what it wants, and put money on the table up-front for it.
CamperBob2 14y ago
Your argument would carry more weight if Apple had a much larger chunk of the market than all others. For "Retina"-class displays, they absolutely do. It was easy to see this coming years ago, and it was indeed inexcusable for everyone else to be caught flat-footed. Any fool should have been able to see exactly what was going to happen the minute they laid eyes on a non-Retina iPad.