LG Working on 5-inch Smartphone Display Better than Apple’s Retina

LG Display has introduced a 5-inch full HD LCD panel for smartphone displays -- the highest resolution mobile panel to date, the company said on Monday.

The widescreen panel is based on AH-IPS (Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching) technology and has a 1920-by-1080 pixel resolution or 440 pixels per inch (ppi), according to LG. 

That compares to Apple's Retina display, which has 264 ppi on the new iPad and 326 ppi on the iPhone 4S.

With the 16-by-9 aspect ratio, the panel is also 0.5 inches larger, and 2.2 times denser in pixels compared to the preceding 4.5-inch panel at 329 ppi and a 1280-by-720 pixel resolution, according to LG Display.

The latter resolution has become a standard on current high-end smartphones like the HTC One X, Samsung's Galaxy S III and the LG Optimus 4X HD.

The panel is expected to be released during the second half of this year, according to LG Display, which didn't elaborate on when devices that use the product will start shipping.

The panel will be on exhibit for the first time at SID 2012 Display Week in Boston starting on June 4. 

That LG Display has decided to go with a 5-inch panel size is a clear indication that it thinks big screens on smartphones aren't going away, and it is something consumers will continue to want.

Earlier this year, LG Electronics launched the Optimus Vu, which also has a 5-inch display. However, the panel has a 4-by-3 aspect ratio and a 1024-by-768 pixel resolution.

Samsung Electronics has also had some success with the Galaxy Note, which has a 5.3-inch Super AMOLED display with a 1280-by-800 pixel resolution 

LG Display and LG Electronics are both subsidiaries of LG Group.