Apple has been marketing products with Retina display as a selling point for quite some time. Retina display is basically a trademark used by Apple for its displays on various devices. Apple claims that “retina displays” have pixel density high enough that a naked human eye cannot notice pixilation from a typical viewing distance. Retina displays can be found on several Apple products, including iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and MacBook Pro. The pixel density of retina display on iPhone and iPod Touch is 326ppi, whereas the mid sized Apple iPad device has a pixel density of 264ppi. Recently, Apple launched MacBook Pro with retina display which has a pixel density that is relatively less at 220ppi. Cupertino based technology giant has always said that its retina display is better than AMOLED display which Samsung uses on its device. Ironically, iPad’s retina display is supplied by Samsung.
With advancement in display technology, Samsung claims to have developed AMOLED displays with pixel densities as high as 350ppi. Up till now, Fine Metal Mask production method has only allowed relatively low pixel densities, which is why Samsung made use of PenTile matrix pixel arrangement in order to attain Super AMOLED HD screens in the Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note or the Galaxy Nexus. The PenTile matrix in its AMOLED practice makes use of green subpixels as its base as a human eye is most sensitive to green color when it comes to high resolution bright images, and then the pixels alternate between blue and red ones, which is why it is also called as RG-BG arrangement.
Samsung has been testing Laser Induced Thermal Imaging (LTI) method for producing AMOLED display panels as the LTI process allows the display panel to have very high pixel density due to greater precision in pixel laying process. Laser Induced Thermal Imaging process is apparently cheaper than Fine Metal Mask process, however, LTI cannot be upscaled for mass production without facing any issues. Samsung has finally cracked the code and is able to manufacture scalable displays featuring pixel densities more than Apple’s Retina technology, thanks to advancement in the existing FMM technology.
At 350ppi, this new breed of AMOLED displays easily exceeds Apple retina display’s resolutions of the iPad (264ppi), iPhone 4, iPod Touch, and iPhone 4S (each 326ppi) by a good margin. Since the product is a result of advancements in the FMM production technology, Samsung can produce these very high resolution displays on the manufacturing infrastructure which it already has. As of now, production of these display panels is restricted to lab environment, and it is not known as to when Samsung will commercialize this technology.
Samsung disappointed fans this year by using improved PenTile screen on its flagship device, Samsung Galaxy S III, instead of S-AMOLED HD+. At 350ppi, we can just imagine how bright the AMOLED screen would be. Nevertheless, the news sounds to be very promising. There’s no word on when the fruit of this technology will make its way to the mass market of phones and tablets, but we are sure Samsung will make use of it in its next flagship device. What’s your opinion on this technology? Let us know using the comment form below.
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