In perhaps not a surprising move, Microsoft is expected to add 1080P resolution support for Windows Phone 8 displays later this year with the General Distribution Release (GDR3) software release to OEMs. Currently, Windows Phone can only support up to 768 and 720 resolutions, which while a marked improvement over its predecessor is still far behind Android.

The resolution will reportedly only be for displays 5 inches and greater, allowing OEMs to expand their Windows Phone offerings into the new “phablet” designs like the Samsung Galaxy Note I, II.  That’s also presumably done because supply constraints on manufacturing will also limit initial 1080P displays to certain sizes, though that will change in the future.

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HTC was supposed to release a ‘Zenith’ Windows Phone with a 4.7” display but has cancelled that phone, at least for now, due to it being lower resolution than its popular selling Android devices. Pressure from Microsoft’s OEM partners may have played a role in the Windows Phone team pushing this feature to the GDR3 release, expected within the coming months.

No word on what this will mean in the long term for developers, who will now have to start to think about new graphics for their apps and games later in 2013.

Source: The Verge