Being an incredibly knowledgeable chap, DisplayMate’s CEO, Dr Raymond Soneira, is worth paying attention to. Previously he’s explained in great detail why the new iPad might get incredibly hot before revealing that his iPad was, er, not in fact particularly hot.
Now Soneira is saying that 1080p displays on smartphones are wasted on the average user.
The comments come from an interview with Ars Technica, which ultimately asks Soneria if there’s any point in 1080p smartphone displays. The answer, in a nutshell, is “not really”.
Soneira points out, for starters, that 1080p is wasted on pictures and video. In the former case, images are inherently fuzzy as the image detail is never perfectly aligned with pixel structure. As for videos, well, they’re even worse; like fuzzy photographs in motion.
One area that will potentially benefit from 1080p is the user interface, where buttons and text are concerned. However, it’s all ultimately outweighed by the increased drain on the CPU and battery.
Still, while apparently sound, Soneira’s logic is unlikely to deter manufacturers from steaming ahead with super-skinny colossal smartphones featuring 1080p displays. Because that’s what we all want, right?
