It looks like ‘affordable’ flagship phone maker OnePlus is taking a leaf from Xiaomi’s playbook and not going the way of higher and higher resolution displays.
According to the latest Antutu benchmarking details of OnePlus 3 leaked by a Weibo user, the phone will have a full-HD display just like its predecessor OnePlus 2.
Many brands are moving to QHD displays for their flagships to ensure that users won’t be able to distinguish the individual dots on the screen. The so-called ‘retina proof’ displays tend to look more life-like compared to ordinary ones.
However, manufacturers like Xiaomi have preferred to keep their display resolution at 2 mln (full HD) instead of 4 mln (QHD) to save costs and enhance battery life.
Most people cannot tell the difference between a 5.5-inch FHD display and a QHD display of the same size at a distance of a foot and a half.
Most humans can only distinguish a resolution of 375 dots per inch at a distance of 14 inches — the usual distance at which most of us hold our phones. Xiaomi’s 5.2 inch display has a resolution of 428 pixels per inch, easily crossing the retina barrier at 14 inches.
A 5.5-inch FHD display, such as the one on OnePlus 3, has a resolution of 407 dots per inch and will also cross the ‘retina barrier’ at the same distance. At that distance, a QHD screen simply drains the battery while offering no advantage.
On the other hand, QHD displays will make a difference for six-inch screens or if the user regularly holds the phone closer to his eyes, for example while reading or viewing VR videos.
At present, the only major low-cost Chinese player to offer QHD displays in the affordable flagship category is LeEco. Next month, the company is expected to release in India the Le 2 Pro, which comes with a 5.7-inch QHD display, Snapdragon 820 chipset and 4 GB of RAM.
The OnePlus 3, which too should hit the global market late in April, also comes with Snapdragon 820 and 4 GB of RAM. The base model of the OnePlus 3 will come with 32 GB of storage memory instead of 16 GB as in previous models.
Photography will be via a 16 MP unit at the back supported by an 8 MP shooter at the front.
The Weibo user did not reveal the actual Antutu scores of OnePlus 3.
OnePlus has had a fair bit of success in India due to its extremely sharp focus on a particular type of customer. Unlike brands like Vivo and Gionee, the company focuses only on a specific type of customer and gives all its attention to bringing out its primary model — named in numerical order.