Sharp will have a 4K smartphone display ready in 2016

[Ockie]

If you think QHD screen resolution (that's 2,560x1,440) on smartphones is rather ridiculous, you'll surely be even more flabbergasted in 2016. That's because at some point during that year, Sharp is set to have finalized its first 4K smartphone display.
It's still unclear which exact resolution the Japanese company will go with, as both 3,840x2,160 and 4,096x2,160 can be called 4K. But given the prevalence of the 16:9 aspect ratio in phone screens today, we assume it's going to be the former.

The sources that have launched this rumor say Sharp is already hard at work developing these screens, that will be between 5" and 6" in size - nothing more specific is known yet.
The reason why the display maker is going so high-res apparently has to do with great demand from Chinese smartphone makers. These companies reportedly want panels with bigger and bigger pixel densities.
Sharp is the world's second biggest LCD panel maker, the first being JDI, the partnership between Sony, Hitachi, and Toshiba. The company will also improve the quality of its LTPS (low temperature poly-silicon) screens in the near future.

http://www.gsmarena.com/sharp_will_have_a_4k_smartphone_display_ready_in_2016-news-10069.php

 

[koeksGHT]

Why... like the previous iPhone the pixels are already below human eyesight.

 

[Zyzzyva]

Why... like the previous iPhone the pixels are already below human eyesight.

It's needed for VR.

 

[cerebus]

It's needed for VR.

VR is really the only area where 4k on a smartphone is needed, and you still require it to be somehow tethered to a PC GPU to drive those pixels effectively. There's some amount of benefit going to 2560, but I'd be surprised if anyone can discern an improvement on a 4k screen. I could be wrong however as I'd need to see it in person to decide if it was worthwhile. But there is a real trade-off with brightness and power consumption that makes this a questionable improvement.

 

[Zyzzyva]

VR is really the only area where 4k on a smartphone is needed, and you still require it to be somehow tethered to a PC GPU to drive those pixels effectively. There's some amount of benefit going to 2560, but I'd be surprised if anyone can discern an improvement on a 4k screen. I could be wrong however as I'd need to see it in person to decide if it was worthwhile. But there is a real trade-off with brightness and power consumption that makes this a questionable improvement.

I doubt it'll make any difference to perceptible screen clarity directly, but the hurdles it forces manufacturers to overcome will generate tech advancements elsewhere on phones. Better GPU's, better backlights with lower power consumption, cheaper 2560 panels, etc.

On a side note, unless phone manufactures push the tech forward i doubt we will get it for VR anytime soon given the costs involved in development.

 

[cerebus]

I doubt it'll make any difference to perceptible screen clarity directly, but the hurdles it forces manufacturers to overcome will generate tech advancements elsewhere on phones. Better GPU's, better backlights with lower power consumption, cheaper 2560 panels, etc.

All that stuff is already happening. You can't just 'force' manufacturers to create a better GPU, it's all part of the natural cycle of Moore's Law as long as it works.

On a side note, unless phone manufactures push the tech forward i doubt we will get it for VR anytime soon given the costs involved in development.

It's already available on the Note4.
http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/gearvr/gearvr_features.html