Sharp Unveils 5.5-Inch 4K Smartphone Display With Record 806ppi Pixel Density

The Ultra-HD (4K) Sharp IGZO screen with 2160x3840 pixels resolution is scheduled for mass production in 2016 and may first ship in the smartphones manufactured by Chinese manufactures, reported Techblog (via Phonearena) on Monday.

While it has become relatively common amongst flagship smartphones to sport QHD (2K, or 1440x2560 pixel) displays, 4K displays are the next step. To remind you, Samsung may also start mass-producing 5.9-inch Ultra-HD (4K) Super AMOLED display boasting of a pixel density of 700ppi in August this year. In November, a report had indicated the South Korean giant was planning a 5.9-inch UHD (2160x3840 pixels) display for the Galaxy Note 4 successor.

In early 2014, Samsung's Semiconductor and Display Technology Roadmap workshop had hinted that it was working on a QHD (Quad-HD, i.e. 2K) Super AMOLED mobile display panel with a massive 560ppi pixel density and have an even better display under works, to be specific, a UHD (Ultra-HD, i.e. 4K) display, with a 2160x3480 pixel (4K) resolution, along with a crazy 860ppi pixel count that would be stuffed in a sub 5-inch display size.

Earlier this year, reports had come out noting that LG Chemical and LG Display are set to start mass-producing new all-plastic flexible OLED display panels by July. The firms are said to have given details on the new flexible display technology, and have made the first samples available for manufacturers.

The flexible plastic-OLED (P-OLED) displays made by LG until now (LG G Flex and G Flex2) still feature some glass in them, limiting the bending radius to a maximum of 75mm while also preventing them from being shatter-proof. However, the upcoming all-plastic OLED display panels from LG now feature a bending radius at a much sharper 30mm, and are virtually shatter-proof.

The new flexible display by LG is said to have an efficiency of 60 lumens/Watt, feature 807 nits peak brightness output, a 3000K colour temperature and a CRI (Colour Rendering Index) of 85. So while the display might not be the best in the market as compared to other glass-based displays, it comes close.