Sharp is setting the bar pretty high for next generation smartphone displays. The Japanese multinational corporation announced today that mass production of 5-inch 1080p displays began late last month with plans to increase production through October.
The new display features a true-to-form 1,080 x 1,920 resolution at an astounding 443 pixels per inch. For comparison, Nokia’s upcoming Lumia 920 uses a 4.5-inch display with a PPI of 332 while the 4-inch screen on the recently released iPhone 5 (which Sharp helped create) has 326 pixels per inch. The company says a new pixel design and reworked manufacturing process typically used for large LCD television screens made the display a reality. The panels are described as being 1.3 times better than the industry standard and among the best in the world.
"By providing ultra-detailed LCD panels to support the growing worldwide demand for smartphones, Sharp will contribute to smartphones with increasingly higher quality images," according to a statement released by the company.
Earlier this year LG announced a similar feat with their 5-inch 1080p smartphone display. Their LCD panel is based on AH-IPS (Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching) technology but has a slightly lower PPI rating of 440. We’re still waiting to see this panel hit the market which is expected sometime before the end of the year.
No word yet on which handset manufacturer will be the first to ship a device using this high-res display. Sharp will be showcasing the new 5-inch display at this year’s CEATEC trade show in Japan. That event kicks off on October 2 and runs through the 6th.
