title: Retina vs Regular Image Resolution : 1 high rez for both or 2 images w/ respective rez for each?
body: <p>Any seasoned developer has come to this point in the development cycle: graphics and imaging. Yes, the retina displays are great! But they have certainly caused a lot of commotion among developers (and their designers). Now the question that seems to persist with no good answer is:</p>
  
  <p><em>"When designing for both retina and regular displays, do we need to create one image for each resolution, or can we create one image at Retina that scales to both?"</em></p>
  
  <p>I read many answers that advocate either sides and 2 times out of 3 they advocate for producing an image for both resolutions. <em>I personally believe</em> that you should design one for retina, and use it for both (of course with UD UX testing on lower resolution devices to make sure what was designed for higher rez is suitable on lower). I stand by this because when I design an app with imagery created for retina resolution, is it successfully scaled down to normal rez on devices that don't support retina display? (I did use IB.. I don't know if that has something to do w/it or not..)</p>
  
  <p>But if you are one that advocates for producing an image for both resolutions, take this:</p>
  
  <p>Say for instance you agree that every resolution size needs to have it's own image (with proper file naming convention of course "@2x" "~ipad" etc..) and your app in this instance is a universal app. Wouldn't this mean that for every image, you would need really 4 images? And wouldn't this add significantly to the app bundle size?</p>
  
  <p>Is it possible that providing every image size (w/ proper naming convention) is not a requirement, but merely a possibility?</p>
  
  <p>What is the real answer to this debate?</p>
  
  <p><strong>Can anyone find a link to <em>official</em> apple documentation regarding this issue?</strong></p>