Sharp reveals 4K IGZO smartphone screen with 806 pixels per inch

Don’t you dare tell Sharp‘s employees that something’s ludicrous, because sure enough, they will go ahead and do it anyway. What on earth am I talking about? Try a 5.5-inch 4K screen with a pixel density of over 800ppi.

Right, still not over 9000, sure, but it absolutely destroys the current pixel density leader — the Samsung Galaxy S6 — with a measly 500-odd pixels per inch.

The IZGO technology is also claimed to increase contrast ration and colour quality while drawing less power overall.

It’s the “world’s first” 4K (2160×3840) display and will likely see the light of production day sometime in 2016, which is rather perfect for some next-gen flagship devices. We all know that Sharp can make some brilliant television screens (above), but this really does open a new can of worms for smartphone manufacturers and their prospective flagships. To be frank, the world doesn’t actually need 4K smartphone screens.

The Huawei Ascend Mate 7, with its 6.0-inch 1080p screen is testament to this, but this has never stopped manufacturers before. The LG G3 currently boasts a brilliant 2K screen too, and that in all honesty should be more than enough pixels for any consumer.

But technology doesn’t exactly go on holiday. This move will also ensure that Sharp becomes a player in the lucrative smartphone screen market in the future, both fitting the tech on their handhelds, and selling the screen to others.

The report, from Sharp itself, suggests that Chinese companies will be first to benefit from the screen technology, so does that mean Huawei, OnePlus and Xiaomi are front runners in the pixel war?

Feature image: Maurizio Pesce via Flickr