diff --git a/core/java/android/util/DisplayMetrics.java b/core/java/android/util/DisplayMetrics.java
index 245148df45256..a0959135bfe30 100644
--- a/core/java/android/util/DisplayMetrics.java
+++ b/core/java/android/util/DisplayMetrics.java
@@ -37,8 +37,7 @@ public class DisplayMetrics {
      * The device's density.
      * @hide
      */
-    public static final int DEVICE_DENSITY = SystemProperties.getInt("ro.sf.lcd_density",
-            DEFAULT_DENSITY);
+    public static final int DEVICE_DENSITY = getDeviceDensity();
 
     /**
      * The absolute width of the display in pixels.
@@ -161,4 +160,13 @@ public class DisplayMetrics {
             ", height=" + heightPixels + ", scaledDensity=" + scaledDensity +
             ", xdpi=" + xdpi + ", ydpi=" + ydpi + "}";
     }
+
+    private static int getDeviceDensity() {
+        // qemu.sf.lcd_density can be used to override ro.sf.lcd_density
+        // when running in the emulator, allowing for dynamic configurations.
+        // The reason for this is that ro.sf.lcd_density is write-once and is
+        // set by the init process when it parses build.prop before anything else.
+        return SystemProperties.getInt("qemu.sf.lcd_density",
+                SystemProperties.getInt("ro.sf.lcd_density", DEFAULT_DENSITY));
+    }
 }
diff --git a/libs/surfaceflinger/DisplayHardware/DisplayHardware.cpp b/libs/surfaceflinger/DisplayHardware/DisplayHardware.cpp
index f14d7e99c2d3b..971189f29f5f7 100644
--- a/libs/surfaceflinger/DisplayHardware/DisplayHardware.cpp
+++ b/libs/surfaceflinger/DisplayHardware/DisplayHardware.cpp
@@ -193,6 +193,14 @@ void DisplayHardware::init(uint32_t dpy)
         LOGW("ro.sf.lcd_density not defined, using 160 dpi by default.");
         strcpy(property, "160");
     }
+
+    /* Override the property value if qemu.sf.lcd_density is defined. */
+    {
+        char  qemu_property[PROPERTY_VALUE_MAX];
+        if (property_get("qemu.sf.lcd_density", qemu_property, NULL) > 0) {
+            strlcpy(property, qemu_property, sizeof property);
+        }
+    }
     mDensity = atoi(property) * (1.0f/160.0f);