Smartphone Resolution Types Explained: 4K, FullHD Etc With Aspect Ratios Included...

You might have been wondering what those big numbers on the display specification sheet mean, Also how a 720p display is better than a 144p, And how this translates into better viewing angles, better colour reproduction and appealing imagery. Well those terms and definitions could be a bit confusing, But in this post we will explain the various resolution types and give examples of phones, Television and even computer screens sets that use them.So relax and read on, because you read it from techtemplar.

1.0: What is resolution?
The display resolution of any display device(TV, Phone, Computer) is the total number of Pixels that can be shown in each dimension.  This is normally expressed in terms of Horizontal X Vertical, For example 640 X 480 means 640 pixels Horizontaly and 480 pixels Vertically.

Secondly, You must of heard of a term called PPI. This is simply Pixels per inch, which is used to describe how densely packed those Pixels are in an inch of the screen/image. For example, a screen with 400ppi would have 400 Pixels in one square inch of the display. So 400 Pixels is a fairly decent pixel count, which will result to good looking images.... Compared to a 50ppi screen, which has fewer Pixels per inch. On the 50ppi screen you would even notice blocks on the image displayed.

Printers have theirs called DPI, Dots per inch. But let's leave that for now.

Although Resolution types of computers and TV's are many, Smartphone types are actually fixed and few. Theres a 70% chance that the phone you're using has a 1280 X 720p display. Or a 50% chance that it's a 1980 X 1080p if it's a rather recent model. And a 30% bet it's a 2048 X 1080p.

Note: 720p does not mean 720 pixels. It only shows the method of scanning used in piecing the picture on the screen. Details shortly.
Please if you don't need this information skip to 2.0

1.2: 1080p and 1080i; What is it?

As said above, The P and I only shows the scanning method used in painting the image on your screen. "i" stands for interlaced scan, while "P" stands for Progressive Scan.

1.2.1: Interlaced Scan:
 Interlaced scan was used in the Cathode ray tube monitors(CRT) and old television sets. The screen would arrange pixels in horizontal lines. Ever noticed that on your older TV if came really close you would notice the lines on the screen? Nowadays, Modern TV's paint their pixel line, line by line, so you won't notice them. I Scans render the Odd Lines first, then the even lines.

1.2.2: Progressive Scan:
Now, a problem that faced interlaced scans was flickering. Due to the fact that they displayed odd lines first.  The solution was to bring up a term called refresh rate. This would increase the number of times a picture is pieced up. Like 60 times per second or 120 times per second.

Today, the term is called Frame Rate instead. The frame rate is the speed in which monitors separate a frame of information. Windows now set it to a base 60 cycles per second, or just 60 Hertz which is decent, but if you're a gamer 120hz would be ideal.

This is where progressive scan comes in. Here the lines are painted in a regular sequence. Let's use  720p for example, this is used for displays that are characterised by 720p horizontal lines of vertical resolution and a progressive scan.
Before we digress, let's quickly jump on our initial train.

2.0: Resolutions Simplified:

Now there are basic resolution presets that are used in the smartphone display world. These mostly spawn on different types of market devices from Budget to Flagships. We'll start from the bottom to the top.

2.1: HD Display-----1280 X 720p:

HD as you know means High definition. Any phone using this measurement is a HD ready display. A small HD screen would have a higher PPI,  pixel density which means a pretty good image.

Now the PPI would vary due to the size of the screen. A notched 6.2 inch screen would have 283ppi, while a 4.7" screen would have 313ppi. These screens are both HD ready screens.

Netflix and YouTube both support these resolutions.While not the best at least they're for people who want to conserve data a little.

Examples of Phones using this resolution: Tecno Camon 11 Pro, Infinix Hot 6x. Etc

2.2: FullHD Display----1280 X 1080p:

Full HD is the direct upgrade from HD displays. Thankfully these displays are getting more popular, as budget phones now field them properly. Only some companies still employ the former.

Just like in HD displays, the smaller the screen the more pixels per inch. A 6.0 inch screen has 403ppi, while a 5.0 inch screen has 444ppi.

Employed by both LED and LCD panels, these generally tend to have better image reproduction. Useful for gamers and movie lovers.

Examples: Redmi Note 7, Redmi Note 5 Pro, Vivo x21, Oppo F7 etc

2.3: 2K-----2048 X 1080p:

A well known display resolution. The name "2K" comes from the fact that the Horizontal pixel count is over two thousand. This is mostly used in flagship phones, like the ones Samsung and Sony produce.

Although this has a vertical pixel count as the fullHd, it is considered to be a different resolution standard.

Examples: Xiaomi mi 8, Oneplus 6, Lenovo Z5 Pro Etc

2.4:  QHD----2560 X 1440p:
QHD( Quad High Definition), simply means four(4) times the definition of HD(720p).A 5.5-inch QHD display has a pixel density of 538 ppi and alternatively the pixel density of a 5.5-inch FullHD display is 400 ppi. 538ppi is a lot!

This is used In gaming monitors, flashy television sets and really high end mobile phones. This can also be referred to 2K.

Examples: Nokia 9, The Razer Phone, Samsung galaxy S9, Huawei Mate 20 Pro, Google pixel 3XL Etc

2.5:  UHD----3840 X 2160p:
This is called Ultra High Definition. Used in high grade Television sets and gaming monitors.

Here it is four times the vertical pixel count of FullHD this time. Smartphone developers sometimes call this resolution 4k. For example, The sony xperia XZ was the first mobile phone to support both ''4K'' and HDR(High dynamic range).Now,this boasted a nice resolution of about 3840 x 2160p. Remember that 2K simply means above two thousand right? 3840 isnt up to four thousand so isnt a true 4K display. But still, its a fantastic display type. In fact, the Sony Xperia Z5 premium has a pixel density of about 800 PPI on its 5.5'' screen.

Examples: Sony Xperia XZ, Sony Xperia Z5 Premium.

2.6:  4K----4096 X 2160p:
Often 4K is used as a term for UHD. Although the pixel margin is quite little, They are still different. The term 4K comes from the fact that the horizontal pixel count is over four thousand, just like in 2K.

Now, there is no known phone that fields this type of resolution. Unless you count the sony xperia, which has an ultra hd display also called 4k.

The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium

2.7:   8K-----7680 x 4320p:
Although the Horizontal pixel count is less than eighth thousand, this is still referred to as 8K and offers Four times that of 2K. That's about 16 times that of FullHD. This is the ultimate display available on any device on earth right now. It will certainly take a while before it appears on smartphones.

Note: Phones are usually depicted as let's say, 1080 X 2160, because phones are used in portrait mode compared to TV's and Laptops that use landscape mode(rectangle). Although they're the same as the ones explained above, it isn't a good way to express them.

3.0 Display Aspect Ratios:

The aspect ratio of a display describes the proportional relationship between its width and its height.

Aspect ratio is expressed by the symbolic notation: X:Y. Although The values of X and Y are not the actual width and height of the image, but describe the relationship between them. Aspect ratio is also the viewable area and shape of a display. For example,  a display with 4:1 aspect ratio means the width of the display is 4 times that of the height. Think of it like a rectangle.

A smartphone with an 18:9 aspect ratio gives you a taller screen with smaller side bezels as well as the top and bottom. A 19:9 aspect ratio gives you a notch, which eliminates a bit of the top bezel.

Hope you enjoyed the article. Please leave a comment if you have any questions and feel free to discuss with us what resolution you would prefer in your next phone.