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vivo officially unveils the Xplay 3S, the world’s first ‘2K’ smartphone

vivo has now officially taken the wraps off of the Xplay 3S, the world's first handset with a resolution of 2560x1440 -- or what is known in marketing-speak as 2K.
By
December 18, 2013
Vivo-xplay-3s-official

It was about a year ago that smartphone makers first starting introducing us to the first handsets with gorgeous 1080p displays. At the time there were many folks that felt such a jump from 720p was unnecessary, and yet there were others that warmly embraced the resolution increase.

It’s amazing what can change in a year. No longer is 1080p a rarity on smartphones, instead it has essentially become the standard resolution for most flagship devices.

So what’s next in the world of smartphone displays? Today in Beijing, vivo introduced the world’s very first smartphone with an impressive resolution of 2560×1440 and 490ppi pixel density — or in marketing-speak, the first 2K phone.

There’s no denying that the vivo Xplay 3S is a beast, though it’s too bad that we will probably never see it launch outside of select Asian markets.

We’ve known for a while now that vivo intended to push display resolutions to the next level with the Xplay 3S, and for those that are passionate about display resolution, the Xplay 3S’ 6-inch display certainly won’t disappoint.

Aside from the display, the vivo Xplay 3S also packs quite a few other high-end specs including a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 CPU, Adreno 330 GPU, 3GB RAM, stereo speakers, DTS sound, 32GB storage, 3200 mAh battery and LTE connectivity. There’s also a 13MP rear cam with f/1.8 aperture and even a fingerprint sensor on the back.

There’s no denying that the vivo Xplay 3S is a beast, though it’s too bad that we will probably never see it launch outside of select Asian markets. Still, we’re seeing more Chinese-based brands make there way outside of their home country, so anything is possible.

Even if the vivo Xplay 3S doesn’t make it to Europe or North America, it’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll still get a chance to pick up one of the first 2K handsets in due course. Not only is the Galaxy S5 rumored to have such a display, OPPO recently confirmed their upcoming Find 7 will in fact feature a resolution of 2560×1440.

Would you consider the vivo Xplay 3S if it were to launch internationally? Conversely, do you feel that so-called 2K displays are pretty much overkill on a smartphone?