LG Display reveals 5.5 inch Quad HD panel with the highest resolution and pixel density on a smartphone display

posted by Alan F. / Aug 21, 2013, 1:23 AM

On Wednesday morning, LG Display announced the first Quad HD AH-IPS LCD display for smartphones. The Korean based company, which brought the first FHD panel for smartphones in 2012, says that the new display offers a 5.5 inch screen with resolution of 1440 x 2560. That would work out to a pixel density of 538ppi and would be 70ppi higher than the industry leading 468ppi experienced by HTC One users.

According to LG Display, the new screen would contain 4 times the pixels used on an HD screen (720 x 1280) and would result in a clearer picture. Colors will be more vivid and viewers will notice an improvement in contrast. The panel will bring "Blu-ray equivalent video" to the smartphone screen. In addition, the screen will allow web browser on a smartphone to view full PC-version web pages without distortion to the image. FHD panels allow viewers to see 3/4 of a PC-version web page. Speaking of no distortion, zooming in on an image will bring distortion-free, sharp text to the smartphone screen.

The new LG Quad HD panel is the slimmest and narrowest panel in the world. It will be only 1.21mm thin with a 1.2mm bezel measured in LCD modules (LCM). It is 12% thinner than LG Display's 5.2 inch FHD screen released last month. The screen is also bright with a reading of 430 nit.

"LG Display, which pioneered the high resolution mobile market with introduction of the world’s first Full HD smartphone panel in 2012, again opens new possibilities with the successful application of QHD technology. With this breakthrough, LG Display will continue to raise new standards for mobile resolution and lead the mobile display market."-Dr. Byeong-koo Kim, Vice President, LG Display’s IT and Mobile Development Group

LG didn't announce when the panels might be ready to ship. At this point in time, they offer the highest resolution and pixel density available for a smartphone screen.

LG Display's new Quad HD smartphone panel

source: LG Display

Seoul, Korea (August 21, 2013) – LG Display [NYSE: LPL, KRX: 034220], a leading innovator of display technologies, announced today that it has developed the world’s first Quad HD AH-IPS LCD panel for smartphones. At 2560X1440 with 538ppi, the new 5.5-inch Quad HD panel is the highest resolution and ppi (pixel per inch) mobile panel to date, and provides a glimpse at what’s next after current Full HD smartphone panels, critical given the growing trend towards larger displays.

“LG Display, which pioneered the high resolution mobile market with introduction of the world’s first Full HD smartphone panel in 2012, again opens new possibilities with the successful application of QHD technology,” said Dr. Byeong-koo Kim, Vice President and Head of LG Display’s IT and Mobile Development Group. “With this breakthrough, LG Display will continue to raise new standards for mobile resolution and lead the mobile display market.”

LG Display’s Quad HD panel for smartphones realizes clearer images with 4 times more pixels than HD at 1,280X720, thereby reproducing more delicate colors as well as improving contrast and vividness when compared to current mobile displays. This advancement will enable consumers to fully enjoy more life-like and crisp images, and even Blu-ray equivalent video, on their smartphones. The panel also features the highest ppi among current mobile device displays.

In addition, the new Quad HD panel will enable users to enjoy a full view of PC-version web pages at a single glance without image distortion; a contrast to current Full HD displays which only realize 3/4th of a full screen. Also, even when enlarging the screen, users will be able to enjoy undistorted and sharper text.

Only 1.21mm thin with a 1.2mm bezel measured in LCD modules (LCM), LG Display’s new Quad HD panel is both the world’s slimmest and narrowest panel, with 12% reduced thickness compared to the company’s 5.2-inch Full HD panel released last month. Based on Low Temperature Poly-Silicon (LTPS) substrate, the panel also realizes superior brightness of 430nit with improved transmittance and larger aperture opening size.

LTPS-based smartphone displays are expected to record 765 million units in shipments next year according to research firm DisplaySearch, as displays with larger screens, higher resolution, and less power consumption prove key to competitiveness in the premium model segment.

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47 Comments

1. bugsbunny00

Posts: 2267; Member since: Jun 07, 2013

aahh! LG is teasing sammy and sony..stop it LG! hahaha.

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 1:29 AM 16

7. CX3NT3_713

Posts: 2363; Member since: Apr 18, 2011

Hahaha i tip phonearena about this.. .. and RIP sammys AMOLED displays haha

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 1:47 AM 7

10. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

Samsung is going to announce something similar to this soon. a 1440x2560 Super AMOLED screen. Then Sony comes along and brings a 1440x2560 Trilum. screen. 2014 should be interesting.

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 1:50 AM 17

11. CX3NT3_713

Posts: 2363; Member since: Apr 18, 2011

Triluminus, should be the winner, imo

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 1:54 AM 11

12. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

I personally love AMOLED. I love watching videos and movies, gaming, and looking at pictures on my phone, and the over saturated colors appeal to me more than IPS.

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 2:01 AM 18

15. james004

Posts: 486; Member since: May 15, 2013

this seems unnecessary. companies need to get rid of the 768p laptops first. 90% of the laptops have this screen. phones have more than enough pixels already. may be companies should pay attention to other technologies as well other than screen like battery life , camera and sound quality

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 2:13 AM 12

21. vincelongman

Posts: 5762; Member since: Feb 10, 2013

Agreed. Also Samsung, please bring the ATIV Book 9's 1800p to the ATIV Book 8. And bring the 8's 1080p display to the 6 (currently 768p). Why does the is 9 (Intel HD 4400) 1800p and the 8 (Radeon HD 8870M) 1080p?

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 4:01 AM 1

37. pkiran1996

Posts: 166; Member since: Oct 22, 2011

While 768p is borderline horrifying, Microsoft need to change the pixel density for Windows 8. The ATIV Q for example is 1080p on a 13.3", but it makes the UI awfully tiny - especially on desktop mode. the Live Tiles alone are almost the szie they should be. Unless i'm wrong and Microsoft have increased it.

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 12:55 PM 0

17. MCrapp

Posts: 318; Member since: Apr 07, 2013

I also love Amoled! And I waiting for Amoled TV (without price from space! )

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 2:37 AM 4

25. Oxygen

Posts: 125; Member since: Mar 29, 2012

I also found myself loving the Superamoled of the S4 more than the display on my HTC One. After owning a Note1 and a S3, I guess I grew a liking to the "color punch" of amoled displays.

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 5:15 AM 7

40. SuperMaoriBro

Posts: 533; Member since: Jun 23, 2012

me too. AMOLED is one of the main drawcards for me when looking for a smartphone. I tried the One X last year because so many reviews said how great the screen was, it was nice, but the black levels were terrible compared to AMOLED, and I really didnt like it. And now with such high pixel densities I don't notice the dithering of the pentile matrix S4 like I did on the S3.

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 5:15 PM 2

35. Larry_ThaGr81

Posts: 593; Member since: May 26, 2011

Yep, by the time I'm ready to retire my Note II, Sammy will already added a display with this resolution to the Note IV.

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 10:31 AM 0

8. istitch

Posts: 181; Member since: Mar 19, 2013

I doubt so, Sony has the technology to produce OLED with 2098 pixel density (1280 x 720 on a 0.7inch screen), though it will be used mainly in medical field. http://www.androidauthority.com/worlds-highest-ppi-display-2098ppi-oled-display-sony-254182/

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 1:48 AM 13

9. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

What if LG were to release a screen with this resolution on the Nexus 5? :o

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 1:49 AM 0

14. james004

Posts: 486; Member since: May 15, 2013

-_- you sound like you were bored a second ago. nexus never breaks any barrier. its just a typical phone, mostly behind the curve. its a developer phone not a flagship phone for any company.

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 2:11 AM 3

36. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

Nexus 10 shipped with the highest screen resolution, and still does in case you didn't know.

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 12:39 PM 2

16. CX3NT3_713

Posts: 2363; Member since: Apr 18, 2011

Ahhh nah.. nexus are made to be plain and boring.. imho..lol spec wise,..well the last nextus, was aight lol

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 2:18 AM 2

42. cezarepc

Posts: 718; Member since: Nov 23, 2012

So I guess you were expecting cortex A15's for a $200+ tab? Nexus devices are made so people with low budget can get good android user-experience and, in turn, Google to make money from them via ads. It is made to attract as many people as possible to the android platform. Also @james. in case you don't know, developers don't develop for phones, they develop for chipsets.

posted on Aug 22, 2013, 1:47 AM 0

13. pwnarena

Posts: 1129; Member since: Feb 15, 2013

sony fans, here's your defense http://www.androidauthority.com/worlds-highest-ppi-display-2098ppi-oled-display-sony-254182/ 2098 PPI OLED display

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 2:04 AM 5

46. chocolaking

Posts: 495; Member since: May 22, 2012

R.I.Peace SAMoLED

posted on Aug 25, 2013, 11:24 PM 0

2. GeekMovement unregistered

wow, i wonder what that would look like on a smartphone screen, but i'd rather have everyone work on longer lasting batteries first..

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 1:32 AM 6

6. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

Equipped with a next-gen Snapdragon SoC and a beefy 3500+ mAh battery, that would be a dream phone no doubt.

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 1:38 AM 4

3. affandi

Posts: 85; Member since: Jan 25, 2013

This is the type of news I like to wake up to! See you in 2014 LG.

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 1:35 AM 3

4. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

Wow. That's all I can really say. I'm mind blown they managed to put that many pixels on a screen. I really want to see this in action ASAP.

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 1:36 AM 1

5. wicpromd

Posts: 266; Member since: Aug 20, 2013

sharp is already comimg up with some IGZO and 2K displays

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 1:36 AM 1

38. a_merryman

Posts: 749; Member since: Dec 14, 2011

I'm really looking forward to the IGZO displays hitting the market, supposedly they are great for battery life..while still having very high ppi's.

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 2:55 PM 0

18. livyatan

Posts: 867; Member since: Jun 19, 2013

Alright now this is the STUPIDEST thing in the field of tech this year. Have you ever seen the fullhd 5.5" display in person? There is absolutely NO reason for it to go any more pixel dense. It is razor sharp and no way in hell you will distinguish individual pixel! So this will only bring more demand on the battery and processor with no tangible benefit.

posted on Aug 21, 2013, 2:39 AM 4

28. juandante

Posts: 679; Member since: Apr 23, 2013

Re-read the news. I am very happy at least untill 5mpx+ screens.. You will have to zoom less on webpages and pictures (1080p is only 2mpx by the way), and scroll less like a ****.