LG announces 5.7-inch QHD+ display w/ 18:9 aspect ratio for its ‘next flagship smartphone’

With LG in decline due to its mobile division, the company is attempting a turnaround with its upcoming G6. In an interesting move, LG Displays has announced a 5.7-inch QHD+ LCD panel that will be supplied "to LG Electronics for its next flagship smartphone this year."

With regular QHD being 1,440×2,560, QHD+ is 1,440×2,880 at a unique 18:9 ratio and 564 PPI at 5.7-inches. For comparison, the G5's display was 5.3-inch with a 554 PPI. Outdoor visibility has been improved by increasing transmittance (effectiveness in transmitting radiant energy) by 10% while reducing power consumption by 30%.

Other specs include better touch response due to inTOUCH technology that removes the Touch Cover Glass. The display is less than 1mm thick, with top bezels reduced by 20% (.2mm) and the sides by 10% (.54mm) when compared to conventional QHD LCDs.

With last year's flagship, LG shrunk the display down from 5.5-inch on the G4. Judging from how many times the press release cites "consumer demands for bigger screens," it's likely that LG saw the smaller screen as a contributing factor to why consumers didn't buy the G5 in droves.

The 18:9 ratio — but really 2:1 — is suppose to provide "more immersive viewing experiences." Landscape videos might be slightly cut, but the real benefit of a taller display is when using two apps side-by-side. Presumably launching with Nougat, the G6 will be taking advantage of Android's new native multi-window mode.

Of course, the display is not the first feature that LG has announced about its upcoming flagship. In the midst of CES, the company revealed that its experiment with modular devices was a failure and that its upcoming phone would not feature it.

LG Display Develops World's First QHD+ LCD with 18:9 Aspect Ratio for Smartphones

Seoul, Korea (Jan. 10, 2017) – LG Display, the world's leading innovator of display technologies, announced today that it will introduce the world's first 5.7-inch QHD+ LCD panel with a 18:9 aspect ratio, responding to growing consumer demand for bigger, better screens on smartphones.

The company will supply the panel to LG Electronics for its next flagship smartphone this year. The most notable feature of the new mobile display is its "18:9 aspect ratio." Displays, which take up the largest area of smartphones, have evolved from an aspect ratio of 4:3, to 3:2, 5:3 and 16:9; lately, a 17:9 ratio display has been introduced. Due to increasing consumer demands for bigger screens, LG Display developed the 18:9 aspect ratio display to provide more immersive viewing experiences.

The new 18:9 aspect ratio represents LG Display's direction on how displays should evolve, while meeting the rising trend for watching videos on smartphones. The 18:9 aspect ratio is also optimized for multi-tasking, using dual-screen functions.

QHD refers to a resolution of 1,440×2,560 – four times the number of pixels on a standard HD display (720×1,280), which employs 538 Pixel per Inch (PPI), based on a 5.5-inch panel. LG Display's new 5.7-inch panel called QHD+, has a resolution of 1,440×2,880 with 564 PPI, which is higher than conventional QHD LCDs.

The new product not only provides excellent touch responses, thanks to the company's exclusive inTOUCH technology, but also helps achieve a thinner and lighter smartphone due to the absence of Touch Cover Glass. The module (excluding the cover glass) is super slim, being less than 1mm thick, and has reduced bezel width by 0.2mm (20 percent) on top, and by 0.54mm (10 percent) on the left and right sides, compared to conventional QHD LCDs.

LG Display has also improved the outdoor visibility of the panel by increasing transmittance by 10 percent, while reducing power consumption by 30 percent. Outdoor visibility and low-power consumption are major criteria for consumer choices for smartphones.

"We expect to maximize user experience and customer value through the super high-quality display with its new 18:9 aspect ratio, which sets it apart from conventional displays for smartphones," said Dr. Byeong-koo Kim, Senior Vice President and Head of Mobile Development Group 1 at LG Display. "LG Display will continue to set new standards in premium mobile displays, based on its differentiated technology."

Source: LG announces 5.7-inch QHD+ display w/ 18:9 aspect ratio for its 'next flagship smartphone'