HD quad resolution. Quad HD screen resolution in smartphones: is it necessary? What smartphone has quad h resolution

Are there many terms for mobile device screen characteristics? and sometimes it's hard to tell them apart. For example, the abbreviated terms "qHD" and "Quad HD" are very similar, although they mean completely different screen resolutions. What is "Quad HD" and why is "qHD" a completely different term? Quad HD is a less complicated shorthand for WQHD, meaning 2560 x 1440 pixels, four times the resolution of a 720p HD screen. But this is not. Such a resolution may not be necessary for a smartphone, but it is in any case higher than Quad HD.

To understand the intricacies of screen terminology, Thomas Newton helped readers of Recombu with his note “Quad HD vs qHD vs 4K Ultra HD: What does it all mean?” Published on the pages of this resource.

[W]QHD. About the "disappearing" letter

A WQHD display has a 16:9 aspect ratio, so widescreen looks great on such a screen ( W idescreen) content. That's where the "W" comes from. The same resolution is sometimes called "1440p" or "QHD", leaving one to guess about this letter. For example, the LG G3, according to Thomas Newton, the most impressive phone presented by LG in its history to date, has such a resolution, in which the qualities inherent in a modern premium phone are earlier than others.

What is qHD resolution?

qHD - The spelling of this term is similar to [W]QHD - and in some cases completely the same - but the difference is huge. qHD means only Quarter High Definition, or 960 x 540 pixels, which is one fourth of Full HD. Phones such as the HTC Desire 601, Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and Sony Xperia M2, as well as the budget Lollipop-smartphone Micromax Canvas Spark, are characterized by a similar resolution.

What does 4K resolution mean?

4K, or 4K Ultra HD to use the full term, means that the screen resolution is 3840 x 2160 pixels. That is four times more than Full HD (1080p, 1920 x 1080 pixels). It would seem that there should be no differences from "Quad HD" and it is very easy for users to confuse these terms.

The term 4K Ultra HD often appears in the news in connection with the topic of HD TV, television with 4K resolution. Although there is not much video content in this quality, this does not stop electronics manufacturers from announcing TVs that support such high quality playback.

Speaking of phones, not only the latest flagships, but also the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Sony Xperia Z2, Acer Liquid S2 and are capable of shooting 4K video at around 30fps. This feature is becoming a common feature of premium smartphones. There are no phones with such screens yet, but the Sharp 4K display is the right size.

Thomas Newton also gave a table explaining what some of the terms that characterize screen resolution mean.

Please note that in the table "QHD" (all capital letters) is indicated in two qualities - an additional term corresponding to WQHD, and Quarter High Definition (qHD). Therefore, sometimes, in cases where all letters are written in capitals, it can be difficult to understand which of the two “QHD” is meant - in the meaning of “qHD” (960 x 540 pixels) or “WQHD” (2560 x 1440 pixels). We can only guess from the context.

Did this explanation help you figure out which term means which screen resolution? Is this clarification of terminology useful for experienced smartphone users? Or is it useful only to those who have only recently acquired a “smart” phone, and the rest have long known what and in what cases each term means?

The acronyms referring to smartphone displays seem a little unusual, but if you want to know what all those numbers and abbreviations mean for smartphone displays, we'll give you that opportunity. Do you want to understand what is best suited for a particular type of display, and what do the differences in screen resolutions mean? Read our article!

Permission

When we start talking about smartphone displays, it is imperative to take into account such an aspect as screen resolution. This category includes three dimensions: display size (in inches), total screen pixel count, and display pixel density (pixels per square inch, ppi). If you know the screen size, you can determine how many pixels are in a square inch. You can easily find out the ppi of your phone using the Pixel Density Calculator.

Below we publish the main characteristics of the displays, and they will start with HD resolution or higher, since most modern smartphones are equipped with such screens. You can also pay attention to the declared "nits", which serve as an indicator of the brightness of the displays.

HD

The abbreviation HD in English means "high resolution". HD is defined for a pixel value of 1280 x 720 pixels. No matter how big the display is, as long as the above values ​​remain, this is an HD display. It can be concluded that the smaller the HD screen, the higher the pixel density, and, theoretically, the better the image. So, just having an HD display doesn't mean much, because on a 5-inch screen the picture quality will be different from that on a 10-inch panel (recall: display dimensions are measured diagonally to take into account different aspect ratios).

For example, on a 4.3-inch screen, the pixel density will be 342 ppi. The 4.7-inch screen will have a lower density at 312 ppi, although both of these displays are still HD. According to Apple, 300 ppi is optimal when the human eye can no longer distinguish between individual pixels at a certain viewing distance (and on a display of a certain size).

Full HD

Full HD is the next step and is currently the standard for smartphone screen resolution, although 2K (QHD) is gaining popularity on high-end devices as the Oppo Find 7 and LG G3, the first commercially available devices, have QHD screens.

Full HD is 1920 x 1080 pixels. Again, the pixel density will depend on how big the display is overall. Smartphones with a 5-inch screen have a pixel density of about 440 ppi, and a 5.5-inch display will have a maximum of 400 pixels per inch.

QHD, Quad HD or 2K

QHD is equivalent to the definition of Quad HD and is 4 times the HD format. This means that you can fit the same number of pixels as 4 HD displays into one QHD display of the same size. The number of pixels for the QHD format is set at 2560x1440. A 5.5-inch screen of this format has a pixel density of 538 ppi. By comparison, a 5.5-inch Full HD display contains 400 pixels per square inch.

The definitions also often refer to a smaller number of pixels, which is why HD is sometimes referred to as 720p, Full HD, respectively, 1080p, and so on. In terms of QHD, the name 2K comes from the fact that the higher number of pixels is over 2000, and this situation can look a little confusing (in fact, such a format should be called 2.5K for more accuracy).

Many modern phones from major manufacturers (Samsung, Motorola, Huawei) are equipped with 2K displays as standard.

4K or Ultra HD

Similar to the 2K format, the name 4K also comes from the larger number of pixels. In technical terms, this means 4096 pixels for 4K and only 3840 pixels for Ultra HD. Although the two terms are often used interchangeably, they are actually quite different.

The screen format Ultra HD has parameters of 3860 x 2160 pixels, and 4K - 4096 x 2160 pixels. Both definitions of the above formats are often shortened to 2160p, and the pixel difference is relatively small (but it is still there).

One of the first phones to feature a 4K display was Sony's Xperia Z5 Premium, which features a 5.5-inch Ultra HD screen. This manufacturer characterizes the format of this display as 4K, but in fact, the term Ultra HD is more appropriate here, and not "true" 4K. However, the Z5 Premium has a screen density of 806 ppi - far more than many top smartphones can offer, and even more than what human eyes really need.

Screen Resolution Trends

While smartphone screens continue to grow in size, the race between phone manufacturers for 4K displays that we expected a year ago has not happened. To date, there are only two models with screens of this format, and both from Sony - Z5 Premium and Xperia XZ Premium. Instead, a 2K-level display has become the norm in high-end smartphones, rather than a higher resolution option. This has a lot to do with power issues, among other reasons, as larger displays with higher resolutions require more power. With battery life a hot topic of discussion these days, phone makers don't seem to be in too much of a rush to take a step forward. However, 2017 could very well be the year we see more smartphones with Ultra HD displays.

Display types

Smartphones use various types of displays: LCD, OLED, AMOLED, Super AMOLED, TFT, IPS and a number of other less common ones, such as TFT-LCD. One of the most commonly used smartphone screens is IPS-LCD. But what does this mean?

LCD

The abbreviation LCD stands for "liquid crystal display", and this name refers to an array of liquid crystals illuminated by a backlight. The ubiquity and relatively low cost of LCD panels make them a popular choice for smartphones and many other electronic devices. LCDs also look good in bright sunlight, as the entire display is additionally illuminated from below, but it doesn't boast accurate color reproduction like other displays that don't require a backlight.

Smartphones today use both TFT and IPS displays. TFT stands for Thin Film Transistor, an advanced version of LCD that uses an active matrix (like AM in AMOLED). The term "active matrix" means that each screen pixel is connected to a transistor and a capacitor separately.

The main advantage of TFT is relatively low cost and increased contrast level compared to conventional LCD displays. The disadvantages of the TFT LCD screen are higher power consumption, less wide viewing angles, and poorer color reproduction. For these reasons and the declining cost of alternatives, TFT displays are now less and less used in smartphones.

The letters IPS literally stand for "in-plane switching" and this technology is an improvement on conventional TFT displays, providing better color reproduction and better viewing angles. This is achieved by using two transistors for each pixel, combined with a more powerful backlight than other types of non-LCD displays. Typically, IPS panels use less power than a standard TFT display.

By the way, there are other acronyms that can be seen along with the letters IPS, such as IPS-NEO. In this case, it is the patented name for a technology created by the Japanese company JDI that can prevent backlight scattering. Displays with this technology function in the same way as any other IPS-LCD screens.

AMOLED

AMOLED stands for Organic Active Matrix Light Emitting Diode. All this may seem complicated, but in reality it is not. We've already seen active matrix in TFT LCD technology, and OLED is just a term for another thin film display technology.

OLED is an organic material that, as the name suggests, emits light when electricity is passed through it. Unlike backlit LCD panels, OLED displays are always "off" until individual pixels are charged with electricity. This means that the above displays have richer blacks and use less power when black or dark colors are displayed on the screen. However, light themes on AMOLED panels use more power than LCDs with similar themes. Note that OLED screens are significantly more expensive than conventional LCD displays.

Since the black pixels are "off" on OLED displays, the level of contrast is higher than on LCD panels. AMOLED screens, among other things, also have a very high refresh rate, but their disadvantage is that they are not clearly visible in direct sunlight, unlike backlit LCDs. Other factors to take into account are screen burn-in and diode degradation (since they are organic). On the plus side, AMOLED displays are thinner than LCD panels and can still be flexible.

What's the difference between OLED, AMOLED and Super AMOLED?

OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode, and an OLED display consists of a thin sheet of electroluminescent material whose main advantage is its own emission. In view of this, any illumination is no longer required, and this circumstance helps to reduce energy consumption. OLED screens are most commonly referred to as AMOLED screens when used in smartphones or TVs.

As we mentioned above, the letters AM of the acronym AMOLED stands for "active matrix", which is different from passive matrix OLED (P-OLED), the latter not very common in smartphone displays.

Super AMOLED is Samsung's name for its displays, which used to be exclusive to top-of-the-line devices but are now found in cheaper devices as well. Similar to IPS LCD, Super AMOLED improves upon the basic foundation of AMOLED by embedding the touch layer directly into the screen itself rather than on top of it. As a result, Super AMOLED panels have better readability in bright light than AMOLED displays, plus they consume less power. As the name suggests, Super AMOLED is simply an improved version of AMOLED. We add that this is not some kind of publicity stunt - Samsung panels are periodically recognized as one of the best in the world.

retina

Retina is another marketing term coined within the walls of Apple. A Retina display does not have one specific attribute, other than being of sufficient resolution that the human eye cannot distinguish pixels at a normal viewing distance, and having a pixel density of at least 300 ppi. As we already know, Apple doesn't measure ppi values ​​in the same way as other phone manufacturers. Measurement features are likely to vary depending on the size and resolution of the display. Apple popularized the concept of Retina with the release of the model
The iPhone 4, which had a 3.5-inch IPS LCD screen, had a resolution of 960 x 640, which equaled 330 pixels per square inch.

Given that a 5.5-inch QHD display is fairly common among high-end Android phones these days, and devices like the S7 Edge have 534 ppi panels, Apple has finally abandoned its belief that 300 ppi is more than enough. As a result, this led to the fact that the iPhone 6 Plus received a Full HD display with a pixel density of 401 ppi. iPhone 7 and 7 Plus have 326 ppi and 401 ppi, respectively.

What type of display is best?

As we have seen, each term is not limited to a single manufacturer: AMOLED is not always associated with Samsung, and Retina is not necessarily associated with Apple. The IPS LCD displays found in the iPhone are now manufactured by LG. Samsung has developed panels for the iPad, and not all devices from this manufacturer are equipped with AMOLED screens. This is not exactly the case when it is appropriate to ask which display is better - this is a kind of compromise between pluses and minuses.

The gist of it all is this: the numbers and technical specs are worth considering when comparing the displays on two smartphones, although the actual performance of those displays is more important. It is impossible to measure the display on paper - that is, you need to see it in reality to understand whether it is cold for you or too warm, you like its saturation, brightness, contrast, viewing angles, etc. Finally, you need to pay attention to your usage habits and choose the appropriate screen accordingly: if you work all day at your desk and are chained to the couch at night, then the benefits of a daylight LCD display are probably not too important to you. If you spend a lot of time outdoors, then the above type of display will suit you. Whether you're looking to squeeze every last drop of power out of your battery or you're just crazy about vibrant colors and rich contrast, then take a look at AMOLED panels.

What is your favorite display type? Have you noticed the difference between different types of displays? Tell us about it in the comments.

Recently, display resolution has become almost one of the key factors when choosing a smartphone. But how worth it is to buy a mobile with Quad HD or 4K resolution? What role does pixel density play here? And was Steve Jobs right when he said that 300 ppi is this the most acceptable pixel density? We will try to understand all this further.

HD(from English high definition) - high resolution, which is equal to 1280x720 pixels. In this case, the pixel density depends on the size of the screen. With a diagonal of 4.3 inches and HD resolution, the pixel density is 342 per square inch, with a 4.7-inch display - 312 ppi. At one time, Steve Jobs said that 300 ppi is the most optimal pixel density, since a higher value is simply not perceived by the human eye, and at a lower value, image quality deteriorates. To some extent, he was right, but it all depends on the size of the screen and the distance from which the user is looking at it.

Full HD is the next stage in the development of smartphone displays. Full HD resolution is 1920x1280. For smartphones with 5-inch screens, pixel density at resolution Full HD is 441 ppi. At the same time, smartphones are increasingly appearing, the display resolution of which is 2k. QHD, Quad HD or simply 2K is 2560x1440 pixels. 5.5 inch QHD has a pixel density of 538 ppi. Below you can see a visual difference between these two standards.

In turn Ultra HD displays have a resolution of 3860x2160, and 4K- 4096x2160. The latest resolution is unlikely to reach smartphones anytime soon, since such a pixel density would simply be meaningless on a tiny display, but as a marketing ploy, this is quite justified, because many buyers are willing to pay money for a device that is bigger, better, faster, even it's only visible on paper. It is more appropriate to use 4K displays on tablets (quite realistically in the near future) and, of course, TVs, which, in fact, is happening.

When it comes to using high-resolution displays on smartphones, there are two main problems. Firstly, it is the optimization of applications and all other content to the new standard. If the screen resolution of the smartphone is QHD and applications are optimized for Full HD, then some of the pixels do not play a special role in the display. Secondly, more pixels require more resources. As a result, the processor works harder and the battery drains faster. If we compare these two factors, it turns out that at this stage, too high a resolution for smartphones is absolutely meaningless - you get a device that needs to be charged more often, while its advantage is visible only in the technical documentation.

Permission QHD, also known as Quad High Definition. It represents a screen resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. On PC monitors, this resolution is also called 2K. The "resolution" parameter explains how many pixels are on the display in width and height (the more, the better when choosing a PC monitor). QHD displays have a resolution of 2560 x 1440. The resolution gets its name from its size, which is 4 times larger than standard definition HD (High Definition) 720p or 1280x720.

You may also notice that the resolution QHD already called WQHD. That is, Wide Quad High Definition. These two abbreviations are basically the same thing. WQHD is a marketing ploy that emphasizes widescreen resolution.

The QHD screen is noticeably better than the models Full HD (FHD)(1920 x 1080), which are much more common. However, on laptops, a QHD screen will consume much more power.

What is qHD resolution?

Many people confuse QHD and qHD resolution. What is their difference or are they the same? Let's figure it out.

Some of you have already noticed in the table that these are really two different extensions, with a different number of pixels on the display. And it turns out to be pretty simple once you know it. qHD quarter or 1/4 Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080).

What is 4K?

Another format that causes confusion for everyone. 4K or 4K Ultra HD has a resolution of 3840×2160. That's four times as many pixels as 1080p Full HD (1920x1080).

That's why many people think "Quad HD" is 4K. But do you understand why this is an erroneous opinion? 4 times more than Full HD, not just HD.

Today, 4K Ultra HD screens are all over the news. All flagship smartphones, tablets, TVs get this permission.

A couple of years ago, we saw the release of the Samsung Galaxy S7, Sony Xperia Z5, Apple iPhone 6 and LG G5, which are capable of recording 4K video at around 30fps. This is a fairly common feature of premium phones to this day. Only increased the speed to 60 frames per second.

And again, a lot of confusion, which requires a specially written article on this subject. As you can see from the table above 4K Ultra HD has the same number of pixels as Ultra HD (UHD), namely 3840 x 2160. And here you need to specifically understand. Interesting? Then let's go to the article - or read further about 5K and 8K. At the end there will be a reminder about 4K.

Screen resolution

What is 5K?

So what is this? Is it time to write off 4K as obsolete technology? Permission 5K gives us 5120 x 2880 pixels on the screen.

Today, few monitors have this resolution. For example, Apple's 27-inch iMac and LG's 27-inch Ultrafine 5K monitor also display 5120 x 2880. Several games benefit from this high resolution. If you're not a graphics pro, then you'll probably be satisfied with a lower resolution screen. Relax! The time has not yet come for widespread use of 5K. But there is one "BUT" - permission 8K 🙂

What is 8K?

One might immediately think that the resolution 8K has twice as many pixels as 4K. But no, you are wrong. The new standard can fit all the pixels from four 4K screens, or as many as 16 Full HD TVs. Permission 8K has 7680x4320. And now you think - if the time 5K did not come , then and 8K Yes sir. And here you are wrong again :). New TVs with this resolution are already being produced at full speed. Digital technologies are developing so rapidly that we simply do not have enough money to upgrade our equipment and be on the crest of the digital wave. Today it is almost impossible, but what will happen tomorrow?

Have you forgotten about the problem yet?

Increasingly gaining popularity at the beginning of 2020, concave screens. Today it is the standard of the present.

Every user knows that the larger the screen resolution, the better. However, this is not always the case. Today we will look at the resolution and find out if it is different from Full HD and whether it is worth paying extra for it.

What is Quad HD resolution?

The display resolution is 2560 x 1440 pixels. This resolution appeared quite recently, but has already managed to conquer the flagship smartphone market.

Is Quad HD different from Full HD?

On paper, the two resolutions are different. However, for the human eye, the differences between them are almost imperceptible, especially with a small screen diagonal. But Quad HD resolution necessary for VR, and this is its main purpose.

Cons of Quad HD

Despite the fact that Quad HD resolution is much larger than Full HD, it is not always reasonable to pay extra for it. Firstly, the human eye is unlikely to catch the difference between Full HD and Quad HD on a smartphone screen. Secondly, a large resolution requires more resources. Because of this, the battery of the device will drain quickly.