JDI(Japan Display Inc.) today announced a new smartwatch display which primarily aims to provide some well needed longevity to modern day smartwatches. While demand for smartwatches may not be at their best at the moment, it is definitely deemed as a category that will be booming by the end of 2015 and JDI does not want to miss the heat.
We are just around the corner to witness the launch of the Apple Watch, while many new OEMs also bring out their devices in the Android space. Manufacturers are still willing to experiment with this category to the point where the market matures in itself and creates a substantial amount of demand. JDI recently announced that a new type of smartwatch display that promises to extend the battery life of the device it sits on. The screen comes in at a resolution of 320*300 pixels over a diameter of 1.34-inches. JDI claims that their new display technology consumes less than 0.5% of what conventional LCD displays do – that is indeed a very interesting claim. What this display would do to achieve this is rather obvious – it would not be using any backlight to power the pixels and would rely on ambient light to reflect onto the display to light it up.
JDI has been a name that is synonymous to high-quality display technology and they have rightly addressed the issue of smartwatch battery life with their solution. It is definitely disappointing to charge a smartwatch everyday, knowing that a smart extension is able to deliver longer serviceable hours would surely add more value to this technology. JDI says that this technology would be ready for shipping by March 2015, so at this point it would be safe to expect smartwatches with better battery life by the second half of 2015. Is battery life a prime factor that drives your decision in investing in a smartwatch? Please let us know in the comments section below!