Smartphone and tablet displays expected to improve hugely in 2014 with 'Quantum Dot' LCD tech

2014 is expected to bring us not only higher-resolution displays like the Quad HD 2560 x 1440-pixel screen rumored to come with phones like theSamsung Galaxy S5, but also dramatically improved colors. The culprit? A nascent ‘quantum dots’ LCD technology that we first saw in the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch tablet last year. While the technology appeared on just one tablet last year, quantum dot displays are expected to become much more common in 2014, bringing a much needed improvement in smartphones and tablets, according to DisplayMate screen expert Raymond Soneira.

The problem with current LCD technology is that it uses white LED’s with yellow phosphorus that produce broad light spectrum, which makes it hard to achieve nicely saturated colors. Quantum dots, in contrast, are capable of converting light from blue LEDs directly to produce highly saturated colors, similar to the ones in AMOLED displays. Even better, quantum dots allow precise tuning and calibration during the manufacturing process, which should increase the color accuracy.

The staggering difference can be best seen in a spectrum chart comparing a traditional LCD display (used in the iPad mini) to a ‘quantum dot’ one (used in the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7).








Notice the advantage of the quantum dot LCD display of the Kindle over the iPad mini

The new technology would also be instrumental in overcoming the narrow color gamut of devices like the iPad mini with Retina and the Microsoft Surface 2.

All in all, we can expect to see not just sharper screens on mobile devices in 2014, but more accurate and colorful ones. What’s not to love about this? Feel free to also check out the slideshow right below showing other upcoming technologies that will improve our mobile screens soon.



All eyes on 2014: what's next for mobile displaysFullscreen

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1. The new resolution: 2560 x 1440, QHD

First, let’s speak about the elephant in the room - QHD. Often referred to as 2K or WQHD, we have decided to use the QHD name that most display makers use for the 2560 x 1440-pixel screens that we’ll see on smartphones in 2014. Cramming even more pixels in our smartphones displays will make everything our screens look sharper, but the change will be most noticeable when looking at fine elements - for instance when reading text that will look very crisp and paper-like. We’re smitten by the quick advances in display resolutions. In a push driven by Apple with its “Retina” screen, the boom started happening around 2010 with the iPhone 4’s 640 x 960 pixel screen. 720p followed quickly after in devices like the Samsung Galaxy S III in 2012, and everyone moved to 1080p in 2013
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