Sony doesn't see the need for higher resolution phones

[elfensky]

TLDR:
A Sony Mobile exec says that while they have a lot of discussion about it, they have reached a general consensus that displays of higher resolution than 1080p are unneeded on phones below 5.5" form factor.
The battery life and image processing suffers without seemingly any benefits.
They will, however offer a higher resolution display on their 10.1" tablet.
 

Taipei, May 27 (CNA) Japan-based Sony Mobile said Wednesday that it still has no plans to launch smartphones using an ultra-HD 2K screen in the near future because it remains difficult to convince consumers of the benefits of such an upgrade.

Jonathan Lin (林志遠), general manager of Sony Mobile's Taiwan branch, said his company has held a lot of internal discussions about adding a 2K screen with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels to a phone.

Such a technical progression from a full-HD screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels will need to wait until Sony Mobile can make significant improvements in display quality and digital image processing technology, he said.

"At the moment, making the move to 2K technology on 5- to 5.5-inch screens does not seem able to achieve market segmentation, so we have no plans to launch 2K phones," Lin told the press at the Taiwan launch of the Xperia Z3+ flagship phone, which sports the same-resolution 5.2-inch full-HD 1080p display as its predecessor.

Lin confirmed that Sony Mobile will use a 2K screen only on its tablet lineup, such as the new 10.1-inch Xperia Z4 Tablet, which he said has resulted in significantly better performance than the company's previous models.

2K screens have been used by a number of other Android phone makers, including Taiwan-based HTC Corp. (宏達電), South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., and China's Xiaomi Inc., Oppo Electronics Corp. and Vivo Electronics Corp.

While a 2K screen allows more details on the same size of display, battery life of mobile devices remains a major concern for this technology because it consumes more power than lower-resolution screens.

 

Personal Opinion: FINALLY SOME COMMON SENSE FROM THE SMARTPHONE INDUSTRY, THANK GOD IT WAS LONG OVERDUE.

 

source
 

[MegaDave91]

Good

 

This PPI race is ridiculous at such small form-factors. My Nexus 7 2013 is 1200p and looks amazing. I can't understand for the life of me why manufacturers think higher pixel density is necessary. Looks nice on paper for the average consumer who thinks higher number = better, I suppose.

[shirokado]

Good

 

This PPI race is ridiculous at such small form-factors. My Nexus 7 2013 is 1200p and looks amazing. I can't understand for the life of me why manufacturers think higher pixel density is necessary. Looks nice on paper for the average consumer who thinks higher number = better, I suppose.

The difference between the screen of a galaxy s5 and a galaxy s6 is noticable if you're about 6 inches from the phone screen. The galaxy s5 doesn't look as crisp. It's hard to notice, not unnoticeable.

[LancerBG]

I am not a fan of Sony but they are right on this one. They aren't getting caught up in the marketing nonsense however I think this is going to cost them tons of cash. Consumers in general aren't all that bright and fall for the marketing nonsense. 

[Anthony10]

Yes! A company that understands!

[flibberdipper]

I have to agree with them on this one.

[Deli]

Average consumers don't know the fact. They think higher number must be better. Higher resolution, more pixel, more cores, more this and that. Easier for marketing people too. 

 

I forget how many times someone came up and said his phone has a 13 megapixel camera. The quality of the photo is so much better than his old phone with 10 megapixel. Yeah....

[elfensky]

EDIT: removed message, deemed myself needlessly nitpicking at comments. 

[XTankSlayerX]

Samsung has a reason, they have Gear VR.

[Godlygamer23]

Good

 

This PPI race is ridiculous at such small form-factors. My Nexus 7 2013 is 1200p and looks amazing. I can't understand for the life of me why manufacturers think higher pixel density is necessary. Looks nice on paper for the average consumer who thinks higher number = better, I suppose.

From a technical aspect, increasing the pixel density does allow for the potential for greater detail in a smaller area. However, it only works if you actually perceive that increased detail - humans cannot.

[Linkolinx]

This is exactly what i was thinking when the g3 came out and i had my xperia z. It's just plain not that practical to have anything higher than 1080p on screens 6'' and smaller

[Vozella]

I would love the extra battery life.

[Nowak]

My Nokia has a 5" 1080p display. I've no complaints about the resolution or pixel density.

[ThE_MarD]

Heyyo,

The only time meow that PPI matters is virtual reality... besides, for a VR device? You might as well get the Galaxy Note 4. It's a bigger screen to boot than the Galaxy S6... they only chose that 1440 resolution to please the crowd for the S6 to make up for the Galaxy S5.

 

The difference between the screen of a galaxy s5 and a galaxy s6 is noticable if you're about 6 inches from the phone screen. The galaxy s5 doesn't look as crisp. It's hard to notice, not unnoticeable.

That's also because the Galaxy S5 has a pretty piss poor rating for color temperature and accuracy where-as the Galaxy S6 has one of the best color temperature and accuracy of all smartphones around.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Galaxy-S5s-screen-is-far-from-the-best-heres-why_id56255

Compare the Galaxy S5 for the Nexus 5 and you can see how it gets spanked in that category... has nothing to do with pixels per inch dude.

As you can see? Galaxy S6 amazing screen, Nexus 5 another great screen... Galaxy S5 nowhere near as amazing... heck the budget OnePlus One has a better screen lol w00t!

[Vozella]

This is what HTC is doing. Too bad I don't like their phones.

[Trik'Stari]

Why do we even need 1080p on phones when most porn streaming websites only run at 720p, and even then only if you're a premium member. 480p if you aren't paying or signing in....

[spartaman64]

Samsung has a reason, they have Gear VR.

i didnt even consider this and this is a good point 

[niofalpha]

Didn't Apple Say this exact same thing and get hated on for being cheap and overpriced?

[RagnarokDel]

TLDR:

A Sony Mobile exec says that while they have a lot of discussion about it, they have reached a general consensus that displays of higher resolution than 1080p are unneeded on phones below 5.5" form factor.

The battery life and image processing suffers without seemingly any benefits.

They will, however offer a higher resolution display on their 10.1" tablet.

 

 

Personal Opinion: FINALLY SOME COMMON SENSE FROM THE SMARTPHONE INDUSTRY, THANK GOD IT WAS LONG OVERDUE.

 

source

 

They're not wrong. 4k or 1440p makes sense on a 27+ inch display not a 5 inch display.

[___]

Average consumers don't know the fact. They think higher number must be better. Higher resolution, more pixel, more cores, more this and that. Easier for marketing people too. 

 

I forget how many times someone came up and said his phone has a 13 megapixel camera. The quality of the photo is so much better than his old phone with 10 megapixel. Yeah....

I can't tell you how many times my parents or relatives have bought something, technology wise, that I've seen as a complete waste of money or not the best choice for the price bracket. It's been more times than I can count on my two hands.

[GrimNeo]

Didn't Apple Say this exact same thing and get hated on for being cheap and overpriced?

But if it has an Apple logo on it must be great right?

[Entropy]

Since when is Sony the company with common sense.

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

Well someone gets it :B

[GoldSrc]

Well someone gets it :B

Sony mobile gets it.

This thing on the other hand was dumb

[AHaskin14]

Agreed. If I can't see the pixels already then what's the point.