This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was filled with Ultra HD TV sets, some even reaching what manufacturers are calling “8K” resolutions. While the ultra HD market will be focused on TV displays for some time, the falling cost of the technology will soon mean ultra HD displays for a variety of mobile devices as well.

Market research firm NPD DisplaySearch this week issued a report predicting that ultra HD display smartphones will begin to appear starting this year. Though sales of such devices will be very low in 2014, the firm predicts that around 23 million smartphones with ultra HD displays will ship during 2015.

Since low-priced, entry-level devices are forecasted to be the major growth segment for the smartphone market in the coming years, ultra HD handsets will likely remain a small portion of the global smartphone market for some time. Even so, DisplaySearch predicts that average screen resolutions for smartphones will continue to increase, with ultra HD displays making up an ever-larger portion of the market. The firm predicts that over half of smartphones shipped this year will have HD or higher-resolution displays.

“Market growth for smartphones with high-definition screens is being fueled by increasingly affordable application processors, which along with increased production of high resolution smartphone displays are enabling brands to provide greater resolution and lower power consumption at lower prices,” said Tina Teng, senior analyst for smartphones at DisplaySearch. “In the maturing smartphone ecosystem consumers can expect far better visual performance and improved gaming experience.”

Image via HTC