LG presents the highest resolution smartphone screen. Is there a point?

LG are proudly boasting that they have the best mobile phone display and, looking at the specs, it does appear very impressive.

The 5.5-inch LG display has 538 pixels per square inch and supports up to a 2560 x 1440 video playback. To put that in to perspective, Apple’s Retina displays feature 264 pixels per square inch. Boom!

OK, so that is still a way short of taunting the upcoming 4K Ultra HD standard, but it’s still enough to earn bragging rights, surely?

In addition to sporting the highest resolution screen of its size, it is also thinner than competing screens according to LG. LG says that the new screen will enable “more lifelike and crisp images”.

“The new Quad HD panel will enable users to enjoy a full view of PC-version web pages at a single glance without image distortion,” it said. “Also, even when enlarging the screen, users will be able to enjoy undistorted and sharper text.”

Analysts have questioned the point of such a high resolution screen which is a fair point. Similar to the megapixel race in smartphone cameras.

“There’s only so much detail that a human eye can pick up in a 5.5in screen regardless of how many pixels you manage to cram into it,” Windsor Holden, from Juniper Research told the BBC.

You might recall that the late Steve Jobs announced that Apple’s Retina display was the highest resolution the human eye could naturally see.

“Beyond a certain point there is a distinct law of diminishing returns. There’s also the fact that the more pixels you have, the more work your graphics processor has to do. “That has an impact on battery life, which is already being assaulted by a host of other applications throughout the day.”

So, is this just showing-off or is there real benefit to higher resolutions even though the naked eye might not be able discern them?