Japan Display launches 1058ppi 2.1-inch screens for smaller VR glasses

Two of this year’s most important evolutions of VR glasses involve increasing their display resolution and reducing their size — changes that Japan Display (JDI) is making possible. The company backed by Sony, Hitachi, and Toshiba announced today that it’s now mass-producing a pair of high-pixel-density screens designed for smaller, lighter VR glasses, including at least one unnamed model.

Today’s announcement covers twin 1,600 by 1,600 LTPS TFT-LCD screens that measure 2.1 inches on the diagonal, resulting in a display density of 1,058ppi. The company announced work on similar technology back in May 2018, albeit in a larger form factor — a higher-end 1,001ppi screen that was 3.25 inches on the diagonal, with a 2.2-millisecond “worst case” gray-to-gray response time for reduced motion blur, and a lower-end 803ppi screen 3.6 inches on the diagonal, with a 4.5-millisecond response time. Today’s screens are both smaller and lower in total resolution, while matching the lower-end model’s 4.5-millisecond gray-to-gray worst case responsiveness.