Jul 13, 2015 10:36 PM EDT
The human eye can only appreciate clarity up to 300 pixels per inch (ppi). In short, displays with ppi density higher than 300 ppi will be meaningless for its end-users.
And yet, Samsung is gearing to give us an 11K display for mobiles with a 2250 ppi density.
This seems to be a highly redundant tech spec. So much so, that Gizmodo has a discussion on that, and pegged higher-density screens as “Tech's new most meaningless spec.” And yet, the Korean Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning has forked over $26.5 Million to Samsung’s research and development efforts into this next innovation. Thirteen other tech companies have thrown in their lot with this project, as well.
This R&D effort, labeled the “Project EnDK,” is South Korea’s bid to create rich, clear screens in time for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. It’s only 3 years away, as this event will be held in 2018. Given Samsung’s track record, there’s no doubt that they would be able to deliver not just conclusive reports for the technology, but also the actual rollout of the products in time for the Olympics.
The 11K display will not only have a 2250 ppi density, it will also be able to deliver 11,264 х 6,336 pixels in display clarity. No pixilation, indeed!
Aside from its potential use in public LED displays, these high-density mobile displays may also have potential use in the outdoor digital advertising industry. More than that, there’s also talk of these displays potentially improving the quality of virtual reality media. So if you ever want to watch a future installation of your favorite Marvel-based action movie, you may have the chance to watch it on an 11K, hyper-real screen.
Samsung also unveiled an old experiment, the “Safety Truck,” where a hefty truck can show the motorist behind it a live video feed of the road in front of the truck. A video camera would be rigged to the front of the truck, and display panels, much like the 11K screens, would be mounted on the back of the truck. Whether it would be truly safe to drive behind such a truck remains to be seen in real life cases, however.
On a slightly ironic note, Samsung Display’s Base Technology Department’s Executive Director Chu Hye Yong was quoted as saying that the 11K display is, admittedly, “overkill,” or “over-specification,” but who cares? The world might need it anyway.
As for the end-user, it’s still debatable whether anyone would want an Asus ZenPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, or even the Amazon Kindle on a 2250 ppi screen.