Gather round, gather round! It's time we take a peek into a certain piece of technology that, for good or bad, is very likely here to stay: QHD displays (or pixel resolution of 1440x2560). We've been anxiously expecting those for a while now, and yet, as of right now, there are only two devices on our list that have been officially confirmed to sport one, courtesy of either LG or JDI. Because of this, this pick will list devices in a descending manner – those at the top are confirmed to sport one of those new panels, while those at the very end represent nothing more than rumors. Of course, if you have been paying close attention to the Android world, you'll be likely aware that the current status-quo reminds of an arms race. So, even a singular manufacturer can start a new trend, and we have all reasons to believe this to be the case with QHD displays, at least as far as flagships go. So, in a nutshell, while we have no official confirmation for all devices on the list, we don't quite see this as a futile exercise in prophesying – these are more like educated guesses.Now, before we even get into details, we'd like to point out that we're not blissfully unaware of the potential overkill that QHD displays in panels no bigger than 6-inches could end up representing. Of course, there was time when 1080p displays were viewed in much the same manner, and yet here we are, a year or so later. Would you settle for a 720p display on your next flagship purchase? Unlikely. Sensible or not, those are now seen as a cons. In any case, we'd prefer to wait it out and actually hold one of those bad boys in our own hands before dismissing them as yet another gimmick for the specs nerds out there.
So, ready to take a look?
Smartphones with a 1440x2560 resolution display
1. Vivo Xplay 3S
Chinese Vivo, a daughter company to the same BBK that owns Oppo, has managed to snatch a first in the display wars with its Xplay 3S phablet, touting a 6-inch 1440x2560 (490) panel. The rest of the specs of the Vivo Xplay 3S are equally as impressive, including the most powerful version of the quad-core Snapdragon 800 -- MSM8974AB -- 3GB of RAM, a fingerprint sensor, a 13MP camera and 4G LTE connectivity. Best of all, there's talk that this time around, Vivo will extend the festivities to countries outside of China, meaning that at least some lucky countries may get to witness what is arguably the most hardware-packed device there is right now.
2. Oppo Find 7
While originally hailing from China, Oppo's smartphone arm has developed a liking for the international and US market, in particular, meaning that news of its upcoming Find 7 flagship phone should prove worthy of your attention. Best of all, the company has confirmed that their new phone will sport a 5.5-inch 1440x2560 display, or an astounding pixel density of 538ppi. Being at the forefront of display tech is nothing new for Oppo, as the predecessor of the Find 7 -- the Find 5 -- was one of the very first devices on the planet to pack a now 'lowly' 1080p panel.
3. LG G3
A lot of information has been leaking out about the expected successor of the current LG flagship -- the G2. While an excellent device in its own right, the G2 doesn't quite boast as pixel dense a display, though if rumors have it right, this will change with the G3, or whatever the next-in-line launches as. While this is strictly unconfirmed information, we find it very likely that LG will take a part in the race, seeing as its own display manufacturing arm was the very first to release a QHD display.
4. Samsung Galaxy S5
None of you really thought that the mighty Samsung will allow its competitors to out-do it? Not a chance. Besides, a flurry of internal documentation, benchmarks and rumors all point to the same -- the next Galaxy S smartphone will pack a pixel resolution of 1440x2560, and that's that.
5. Sony Xperia 2014
Another likely adopter of the new display tech is Sony, of course. Seeing as Japan Display Inc. (JDI) is a collaboration between Sony, Hitachi, Toshiba and the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, it seems like the Tokyo-based corporation won't be having too much of a hard time procuring the new tech. Whether this panel will end in an upcoming refresh to the Xperia Z1 flagship, or an altogether new phone, however, is obviously up in the air.
6. Who's next?
As to who the next manufacturer would be, we can't quite tell. We'd usually say "HTC!", but seeing as the One refresh (the M8) has already gone through its Wi-Fi certification, packing nothing more than it's good ol' 1080p screen, we wouldn't count on the Taiwanese company to arrive at the finish line quite so soon.
Nokia? Unlikely, unless its new owner, Microsoft, manages to pull a restructuring much faster than, say, Google did with Motorola.
And Apple? After all, a new iPhone is pretty much guaranteed to be released in September next year! Unfortunately, the uniformity of Cupertino's usual approach makes it hard to believe that Apple would venture into such extremes, especially since it appears perfectly happy with its 'Retina' display on the iPhone 5s.
Nokia? Unlikely, unless its new owner, Microsoft, manages to pull a restructuring much faster than, say, Google did with Motorola.
And Apple? After all, a new iPhone is pretty much guaranteed to be released in September next year! Unfortunately, the uniformity of Cupertino's usual approach makes it hard to believe that Apple would venture into such extremes, especially since it appears perfectly happy with its 'Retina' display on the iPhone 5s.
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