A 10.1-inch 4K tablet that doesn't drain your battery? It could happen

Japan Display 4K tablet
Of course it looks great in a concept shot

Japan Display, ever a source of display tech innovation, has announced a new high-density tablet screens that it promises has no extra drain on a device's battery life.

The 10.1-inch LCD screen has a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160, which the company for some reason refers to as "4K2K."

That gives it a pixel density of 438ppi, which is high for a tablet - almost 200 more pixels per inch than the iPad Air's Retina display.

But Japan Display says the increased density causes no difference in running time battery life compared to other 10.1-inch tablets - great news for anyone who can tell the difference.

Paving the way

In 2013 Japan Display developed a slightly larger 12.1-inch with the same resolution but a slightly lower pixel density of 365ppi. Obviously the newer 10.1-inch display is an improvement.

"As the 4K2K format is increasingly used in displays for televisions and camera devices, related image processing technologies and peripheral devices are evolving," the company said in a press release.

It continued, "The introduction of this product will open the way for high-reality immersive expressions of photos, video content and game content for tablets."

Sample size

But there's an argument to be made that we're hitting a threshold in terms of pixel density, and after a certain point it's hard to note the benefit.

At least with no loss to battery life there doesn't appear to be a downside to Japan Display's latest innovation - at least in terms of running time.

The downside to your wallet is a different story, but that remains to be seen, since currently the company is only shipping out sample units.

Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.


Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.