Progress in technology has always been about improving performance, and at the heart of any electronic device are those little bits of silicon that make everything happen from general processing to storage.
Progress in technology has always been about improving performance, and at the heart of any electronic device are those little bits of silicon that make everything happen from general processing to storage. These integrated circuits or microchips are the product of the semiconductor industry and usually hidden away from the public eye.
Sure, you’ve read about how next-generation smartphones have the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon processor; you’ll see acronyms and symbols such as CPU, GPU, ISP and DSP; you’ll instinctively “know” that a 14-bit image processor is better than a 12-bit one, that more cores, more pixels and more hertz is always better, but unless you’re upgrading from a 10-year old Nokia, you’re also more than likely not going to notice any immediate difference.
Similarly, refrigerators today have much more advanced electronics to help it regulate temperatures better, and washing machines can precisely detect the type of load and automatically adjust water, detergent and washing modes. Again, it’s hard to see any of these in action, you’ll just have to trust that it works.
The one category in consumer electronics that’s heating up recently however, is in display technology. Consider this, the iPad Air 2 is 6.1mm thick, and Apple took great lengths to show that it’s actually thinner than a standard pencil. This is a 10-inch personal tablet. LG’s newest Signature line of giant 4K TVs that come in sizes 65-inches and above, feature a glass OLED display that’s just 2.57mm thin. 2.57mm!
Now that’s a difference you can immediately appreciate. They say seeing is believing, so in this issue of HWM, we delve into the world of display technologies. If you’ve been holding off on getting a new TV, we’ve got you covered.
Zachary Chan EDITOR
