If you think that the 4K displays set for forthcoming smartphones will be impressive, you might want to consider the type of smartphone display that Samsung has just been reported as working on: an 11K display. Yes, that’s right. Samsung Display is working on the project with the hope that a prototype will be available for showing off at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
The report originates from Korea-based tech news website ETNews, which reports that Samsung Display began work on the 11K display on 1 June and is collaborating with 13 other companies with the aim of completing the display within the next five years. The South Korean government will also be helping, having already contributed $26.5 million to the project.
Intriguingly, the display will additionally supposedly be capable of showing 3D content. The report states: “Because 11K is able to show screen colors in detail, it is able to show 3D-effect”. This suggests that it will be possible to see 3D images on the screen without having to wear the typically necessary 3D glasses. This could certainly make viewing 3D content on a smartphone in crowded public places, like on trains and in parks, more practical and inconspicuous.
Really, though, will be a 11K smartphone display be necessary in the foreseeable future – especially given the huge battery drain it could prove to be? Chu Hye Yong of Samsung Display’s Base Technology Department has addressed such charges by arguing that the 11K display “can work as a basis for Korean display industry [to] take another leap if related materials and parts improve through this”.