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Mobile Technology

LG develops Quad HD smartphone panel

By Paul Ridden
August 21, 2013
LG develops Quad HD smartphone panel
LG Display's new Quad HD smartphone display panel
LG Display's new Quad HD smartphone display panel
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LG Display says that currently-available smartphone screens can't touch its new panel for color reproduction or contrast ratio
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LG Display says that currently-available smartphone screens can't touch its new panel for color reproduction or contrast ratio
The 5.5-inch Quad HD display panel has a 2560 x 1440 resolution at 538 pixels per inch, and is just 1.21 mm thin
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The 5.5-inch Quad HD display panel has a 2560 x 1440 resolution at 538 pixels per inch, and is just 1.21 mm thin
LG Display's new Quad HD smartphone display panel
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LG Display's new Quad HD smartphone display panel
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Only last month, LG Display gave us a glimpse of a possible future filled with super-thin smartphones by unveiling the "world's thinnest" Full HD display panel. Now the company has pulled back the curtain on an even slimmer LTPS-based LCD display called the Quad HD that also stakes a claim for the title of highest resolution mobile display produced so far.

The Quad HD AH-IPS panel is so named because it packs in four times more pixels than 720p displays. That translates to a 5.5-inch display panel with a 2560 x 1440 resolution at 538 pixels per inch (ppi). At 430-nit, it's not as bright as last month's 5.2-inch panel from LG Display, but it is a good deal slimmer at 1.21 mm (with a bezel of just 1.2 mm).

A quick comparison with Gizmag favorites already on the market shows the new panel to be a clear winner. The iPhone 5 has a resolution of 1136 x 640 at 326 ppi, Samsung's Galaxy S4 comes in much higher at 1920 x 1080/441 ppi, and the HTC One beats both with a stunning 1920 x 1080 resolution at 468 ppi.

LG Display says that currently-available smartphone screens can't touch its new panel for color reproduction or contrast ratio either, which should make mobile movie viewing more of a pleasure, as well as offering crisper text and more vibrant images.

Unfortunately, there's currently no official word on how long we'll have to wait before this technology makes its way to the consumer space.

Source: LG Display

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Mobile TechnologyLCDSmartphonesHigh DefinitionDisplay
5 comments
Paul Ridden
Paul Ridden
While Paul is loath to reveal his age, he will admit to cutting his IT teeth on a TRS-80 (although he won't say which version). An obsessive fascination with computer technology blossomed from hobby into career before hopping over to France for 10 years, where he started work for New Atlas in 2009. Now back in his native Blighty, he serves as Managing Editor in Europe.

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5 comments
exodous
This just boggles my mind. I can not see any real difference between a 720p 5 inch display over a 1080p 5 inch display. I look closely at the text and I'm sorry, I can't tell the difference. Everyone says 'see how much crisper it is?!? This is getting to be a religion for some people and I think they're seeing sharper text and clearer images where there are none. 99% of the people who claim this you could say a 720p display is 3840 × 2160 and they would be floored and claim that they're seeing the Virgin Mary's face and then show them a real 3840 × 2160 display and say it is 720p and they say that it was painful on their eyes. I'd rather have an ok display and experience a smoother experience than a display with so many pixels it chokes my CPU.
Daishi
@exodus It reminds me of how some expensive sushi places substitute in the cheap stuff and nobody notices.
It makes sense to go slightly beyond 326 ppi (which Apple calls Retina) so if you have a larger screen than the iPhone 5 the jump from native 720p to native 1080p makes some sense. The result is the ppi of the current 1080p screens is probably already more than people need.
The next major standard after 1080p will be UHD (4K) at 3840×2160 so even though the quad HD (2560 x 1440 ) panel above is only ~15% higher PPI than the HTC One there isn't a good reason to use it outside of marketing.
Roland Delhomme
Currently enjoying the LG Optimus G Pro at 1080X1920, (401 ppi at 5.5") and can't rave enough about the display, especially since it allows freakishly precise note taking and hyper sharp drawing and notes either as overlay or as docs written on a variety of backgrounds. Exquisite input experience even with a meatball type stylus, which I generally despise. You simply cannot outrun the digitizer; there's absolutely no latency issues whatsoever, even on days when I've managed to fill the memory. A remarkable leap, this one. HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 users enjoy even higher pixel density.
Power consumption has been very good; extremely intense use on web and with camera has earned this one a trusted place, and the ability to swap batteries has been the icing on the cake, even if only used once. In one year, I went through 27 different wireless devices with AT&T, and swore I'd never be their customer again. Incredibly, with this, I have no complaints, but still sometimes lose it in pants pockets despite its mighty proportions. Very well executed ergonomically; thin, light, comfortable and tough. Now, we seem to finally have a selection of phones and tablets that deliver on the potential we've long sought. Best use so far: quickly animating weather satellite and radar images for storm spotting and pilot weather briefs and educating fellow aviators on unseen hazards-this has been a transformational device, LG. Job well done.
Readout Noise
"Samsung's Galaxy S4 comes in much higher at 1920 x 1080/441 ppi, and the HTC One beats both with a stunning 1920 x 1080 resolution at 468 ppi."
How does the same resolution, at an even more overcrowded density (too fine for the eye to resolve), make the HTC "beat" the Samsung? I would reverse that conclusion.
DonGateley
VR such as the Oculus Rift is what will significantly benefit from these high density technologies. It needs to increase by another factor of 2 in each dimension to make that experience even begin to approach the fine grain we are used to with TV's, displays and phones.