When Apple first began marketing the display resolution of the iPhone 4 using terms like “Retina display,” a race began to produce smartphones with the highest resolutions and pixel densities. Android devices had been ahead for quite a while with 800 x 480 displays when the iPhone was still at 480 x 320, and quickly eclipsed the iPhone again by moving on to 720p panels. While they may not all be “Retina” displays thanks to varying screen sizes, the higher resolution displays on all high end smartphones look quite good, especially compared to just a year or two ago.
However, that apparently isn’t good enough for Samsung. According to a Korean source, Samsung is planning to upgrade its smartphones to 1080p displays, which will have pixel densities of over 400ppi. They are said to be coming sometime next year, presumably to compete with the HTC DLX’s rumored 1080p display.
While this kind of advancement is certainly nice, I’m not sure that it is entirely necessary. I have certainly found a difference between my 720p Galaxy Nexus and other qHD and WVGA devices, but even that difference is slight. The pixel density, even on the 4.65-inch display, is high enough already that I don’t think more pixels will make a difference. In fact, if Apple’s claims about the “Retina display” having pixels indistinguishable to the naked eye, then increasing the resolution of devices from 720p to 1080p won’t make any sort of difference.
It is possible that Samsung may be planning to market an absolutely massive phone (5.5-inch display) that would benefit at least some from a 1080p panel, but in my opinion even then the benefits are negligible. Personally, I’d rather have better colors, dark blacks, and bright whites, as well as better battery life and brightness, than a resolution that only looks good on paper. Also, I’m not sure if I’ll be ready to upgrade to a 1080p phone until I upgrade my HDTV to at least that same resolution.
Agree…the same for me too.
I welcome this. I miss the clarity and pixel density of the HTC Rezound screen (whose ppi is higher than that of iPhone’s retina display). After the Rezound, the SGS3 screen looked really coarse. It took me several months toget used to it.
Samsung should also focus on pushing the camera quality. Not saying the current ones are bad but there’s still room for improvement.
So this is the new race after phones and tablets have got as thing and light as possible.
I agree, surely battery life and other such things are more important
I’m at the point already where I can not see the difference in 720p and 1080p.
Agreed. I’d rather have a battery that can last days if it has to than a few more pixels. I tech has changed A LOT since then but I remember not having to charge my starTAC for like 5-6 days at a time.
Samsung needs to first focus on making the colors in their display more life like and not so over saturated and cartoonish.
Nail on the head…. work on the battery life and the colors first…
I say quality over quantity
Anything over 300ppi is good enough for everyone, work on the quality of the display, higher efficiency, deeper blacks and better contrast
Manufactures keep competing, 1080p looks good on paper and works more as a marketing schem.