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Whether you’re ready for a 4K smartphone display or not, ZTE’s Star 3 might deliver the goods

ZTE Zmax Battery
Image used with permission by copyright holder
With Quad HD displays becoming the norm on flagship Android smartphones, it was only a matter of time until a company was crazy enough to pack an Ultra HD display on one. ZTE looks to be that crazy company, as its upcoming Star 3 smartphone could be the world’s first smartphone with such a display, reports GizmoChina.

According to the report, the Star 3 will have a 5.5-inch 2,160 x 3,840 pixel resolution display, giving the display a pixel density of 808 PPI. Currently, Sharp already created a 5.5-inch display with such a resolution, though it’s not slated to go into mass production until 2016. As such, rumor has it that BOE Technology, a China-based company that manufactures and sells semiconductor display technologies, among other technologies, will be in charge of producing the high-resolution display.

As for the display itself, it’s rumored to be a TFT panel with a special crystal structure, which could help reduce power consumption while being able to withstand a fair bit of punishment. TFT panels have been criticized for offering poor viewing angles when compared to IPS displays commonly found on today’s smartphones, so we will see how the Star 3 will fair.

Regardless of whether the Star 3 will have such a pixel-packed display, Android Authority brings up the question of whether people will actually notice the jump from Quad HD to Ultra HD, or even from 1080p to Ultra HD. It’s certainly easier to notice the difference on a television, but on a smartphone display, the difference could end up being negligible for many.

Even so, display innovations have been pushed forward by Chinese manufacturers, with the Oppo Find 5 and the Find 7 being the first smartphones in the world to offer 1080p and Quad HD displays, respectively. As always, tread carefully with rumors, though only time will tell if ZTE moves forward with an Ultra HD display on its Star 3, which doesn’t yet have a release date.

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