Advertisement

Samsung announces 2560 x 1600 display, could pave the way for iPad 3

Chris Rawson
Updated ·5 min read

Samsung will demonstrate an all-new 10.1-inch display at the SID Display Week 2011 International Symposium next week. Samsung's new display will have a 2560 x 1600 resolution, far in excess of anything on the tablet market today. At 300 dpi, the display also compares favorably with the Retina Display resolution of Apple's iPhone 4; meanwhile, Samsung claims the PenTile technology used in the display allows it to operate while drawing 40 percent less power.

It's unlikely for a number of reasons that Apple will employ this exact display in the iPad 3. The 10.1-inch form factor exceeds the 9.7-inch size of the current iPad's design, and the display resolution is also in excess of the pixel-doubled resolution of the iPad's current 1024 x 768 display. The PenTile technology that's made its way into displays for smartphones like Google's Nexus One is also something Apple has shied away from thus far, preferring to stick with tech like in-plane switching (IPS) for its iPhones and iPads.

That having been said, Samsung's new display does prove that high-res, tablet-sized displays are indeed possible without giving up power efficiency, which makes it all the more likely that we'll see a Retina Display quality touchscreen in the iPad 3. It's previously been rumored that Apple wanted to include such technology in the iPad 2, but was unable to do so because of high costs and manufacturing constraints. Although it's looking less likely that rumors of a fall introduction of the iPad 3 will pan out, Samsung's newest display does raise the chances of us seeing a vastly improved iPad display in 2012.

There's no indication yet when this new display will find its way into Samsung's Galaxy tablets; the company just announced the new display and won't be demonstrating it until next week. However, if Samsung can find a way to mass-produce these displays and shoehorn them into the Galaxy Tab before Apple includes similar technology in the iPad, Samsung will finally have a major hardware advantage that it can hold over Apple's more popular tablet line.

Show full PR text

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At the SID Display Week 2011 International Symposium (LA Convention Center, Booth 707) May 17-19, Samsung Electronics is demonstrating the industry's first 10.1-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) format PenTile™ RGBW tablet display, an ultra-high resolution, liquid crystal display (LCD). The prototype demonstration marks the first time this resolution has been available for the tablet market in the popular - 10.1-inch - format, rivaling the highest resolution smartphone displays now on the market. Samsung expects to have commercial availability of this technology for tablet applications later this year.

Because tablets are regularly used for viewing rich-colored images, the 10.1-inch 300 dpi display is ideal for applications that require extraordinary image and text clarity such as browsing the web and viewing high-definition movies, or reading books and spreadsheets.

"In order to develop tablets with the form and function that consumers demand, a design engineer ultimately has to determine how to get the highest resolution display possible, while still fitting within the overall power budget for their design," said Joel Pollack, executive vice president of Nouvoyance, Samsung's affiliate company that developed the PenTile RGBW technology.

Lightness and power efficiency of the display are critical factors since higher resolution displays typically draw more power.

"Samsung's PenTile display technology is the only display technology that operates at 40 percent less power yet provides twice that of Full HD-viewing performance for consumers compared to legacy RGB stripe LCDs. There is no other commercial display technology on the market today that offers this high of a resolution and pixel density in a 10.1-inch size display," said Dr. Sungtae Shin, Senior VP of Samsung Electronics.

PenTile RGBW WQXGA Technology Highlights

  • This 10.1-inch tablet panel is capable of 300 cd/m2 of luminance, yet uses 40 percent less power than that used by legacy RGB stripe LCDs in power-saving modes.

  • An outdoor brightness mode of as much as 600 cd/m2 luminance enables viewing in bright ambient lighting.

  • The display's color gamut is 72 percent., allowing greater color realism than legacy RGB stripe tablet displays that have a typical color gamut of 55 percent NTSC.

  • PenTile technology achieves 300 dpi resolution with two-thirds the number of subpixels, maintaining the VESA/ICDM display resolution standard.

For more information about the technology behind this WQXGA ultra high-resolution display prototype, go to www.pentileblog.com

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2010 consolidated sales of US$135.8 billion. Employing approximately 190,500 people in 206 offices across 68 countries, the company consists of eight independently operated business units: Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging, Semiconductor and LCD. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, semiconductor chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

About Nouvoyance

Nouvoyance is a technology development company that develops PenTile® technology, in partnership with Samsung Electronics, for flat-panel display manufacturers and their IC suppliers to improve the brightness, resolution, contrast, and power consumption of flat-panel displays. For more information about Nouvoyance, visit www.nouvoyance.com or call 408.200.7399

For related information, please refer to the Samsung release titled, "Samsung Demonstrates PenTile RGBCW Multiprimary LCD with 2D RGB Local Dimming Backlight for Ultra-Low Power Next-Gen HDTVs."

Nouvoyance
Joel M. Pollack, 408-701-1399
jpollack@nouvoyance.com
or
Samsung Semiconductor
John Lucas, APR, 408-544-4363
j.lucas@ssi.samsung.com