Samsung’s future smartphones are likely to feature ultra-high resolution WQHD (widescreen Quad High Definition) displays and 64-bit processors, while the company remains reluctant to list in the US, according to reports.
A WQHD screen has a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels in a 16:9 aspect ratio.
This is significantly higher than the 1920 x 1080 pixel Full HD display currently found on Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone.
It is also significantly higher than the 1136 x 640 resolution used on Apple’s iPhone 5s.
According to DigiTimes, both Samsung and Japan Display (formed through a merger of Sony, Hitachi, and Toshiba) are set to put WQHD displays into volume production.
The additional production volumes will most likely see WQHD displays become commonplace on smartphones within the next year.
Meanwhile, following in the footsteps of Apple’s A7 processor, used in the iPhone 5S, Samsung and rival chipmaker Qualcomm are both set to roll out 64-bit quadcore and octocore processors in 2014.
News of the higher resolution displays and more powerful CPUs comes amidst reports Samsung is considering listing on the US stock exchange over the medium- to long-term.
However, according to the Korea Times, Samsung remains reluctant to directly list on a US exchange or issue American Depository Receipts (ADR) in the short term, as it believes these would cause greater regulatory scrutiny and volatility to its share price.
“Samsung is a global company and we’ve acknowledged investors’ wish and needs for the US listing. But we should maintain our decades-long conservative cash-management style. Samsung is changing. But any dramatic decisions are unlikely,” a Samsung spokesperson says.
However, analysts say a foreign listing would be beneficial to the tech giant’s share price.
“Samsung currently represents 18% of the KOSPI index and needs to appeal more to global investors through an ADR. We show that the stock return is highly correlated to buying by foreigners,” Mark Newman, a senior analyst at Bernstein Research, says.
“Not having an ADR or foreign market listing in a larger market significantly limits Samsung’s volume, which we believe holds back the stock.”
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
