Lower resolutions on iPhones. Does it matter?

[mikegg]

Because I honestly can't see any single pixel on my iPhone 5s. Why would I need a higher resolution phone? Wouldn't that just be a waste of battery life if I can't actually see anything better?

I get that increasing screen size is a completely different argument.

 

[gmaster456]

Technology always progresses. I didn't see a ton of people wanting high resolution phone displays until they got them and now they can't go back.

 

[Chapbass]

Because I honestly can't see any single pixel on my iPhone 5s. Why would I need a higher resolution phone? Wouldn't that just be a waste of battery life if I can't actually see anything better?

I get that increasing screen size is a completely different argument.

No, increasing screen size isn't a separate argument. The issue is that if you take the iphone resolution and put it at a 5.5" screen like the note series, then noticing individual pixels is much easier. Thats why you would need a higher resolution phone. At 3.7" or whatever the iphone is, you don't need a higher resolution screen, but when you start to get bigger, thats when its needed.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Because I honestly can't see any single pixel on my iPhone 5s. Why would I need a higher resolution phone?

You might not want to, but some people speak languages where the written word is basically pictures.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

No, increasing screen size isn't a separate argument. The issue is that if you take the iphone resolution and put it at a 5.5" screen like the note series, then noticing individual pixels is much easier. Thats why you would need a higher resolution phone. At 3.7" or whatever the iphone is, you don't need a higher resolution screen, but when you start to get bigger, thats when its needed.

Right so it's a ppi issue. This is where 1080p seems to be the realistic limit for 4-5" phones. Any higher and you don't get any benefits.

 

[openwheel]

Because I honestly can't see any single pixel on my iPhone 5s. Why would I need a higher resolution phone? Wouldn't that just be a waste of battery life if I can't actually see anything better?

I get that increasing screen size is a completely different argument.

you will when Apple makes a newer iPhone with higher PPI.

 

[Ravynmagi]

iPhone 5S has 325 PPI and that's pretty good. My Nexus 5 has 450 PPI and it's great. And I can see a small difference in the smoothness of fonts between the two. But it's not much.

Supposedly there are phones with almost 600 PPI coming out this year. Ummm... I'll be really curious if I'll be able to see a difference between 450 and 600. I think now we are starting to get into the realm of pointlessness. We'll see.

 

[Oyeve]

Im wating for a 4K display phone/tablet.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Im wating for a 4K display phone/tablet.

Well it's 20 inches, so not really what I'd call a tablet, but Panasonic is calling it a 4K tablet.
http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughpad/us/4k-tablet.asp

 

[SlitheryDee]

In your case, you would only need a higher resolution if you had a larger screen. Since pretty much all new phones of note going forward are going to have larger screens, you're going to need higher resolution to maintain the same quality level. Because there are likely to be people out there with greater visual acuity than your own, even higher resolution phones than you need probably need to exist.

 

[ChronoReverse]

iPhones are already pretty close to what's necessary even for Asian fonts. I daresay that the 1080p screens in 4.8" sizes like the Htc One are already beyond the limit and are the most ideal.

 

[mikegg]

Ok, seems like the consensus is that you don't need anything higher than what Apple is providing in a 4" screen. This is my thoughts as well because I honestly cannot see any individual pixel unless I bring the phone an inch off my face and squint really hard.

So why do people keep saying Apple is behind by having a lower resolution screen if the benefits to a higher resolution aren't there? Just another thing to complain about?

 

[Ravynmagi]

I think Chapbass answered this correctly earlier. It's not that people want a higher resolution 4 inch phone. It's that people want a larger screen like 4.7 to 5 inch iPhone. If an iPhone with a 5 inch screen and the same 325 PPI as the iPhone 4 came out, that would be awesome (though a 450 PPI 5 inch screen would be awesome-er).

 

[Bateluer]

On the iPhone, it doesn't matter because Apple says it doesn't matter. Right now. When they finally release an iPhone sku with a HD resolution, it'll suddenly become the killer feature that every other phone must have. It'll be amusing to watch the slow realization on the hardcore Apple elite as they learn they're 720p display is still a fraction of the 2560x1600 resolution on the lasted generation Android devices.

 

[bearxor]

500ppi is the max, I think. That will make character languages really sharp. The pip should scale with screen size. I think I'd like a pixel doubled iPhone, but that would be 650ppi which is pretty crazy. 400-500 sweet spot right now.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

On the iPhone, it doesn't matter because Apple says it doesn't matter. Right now. When they finally release an iPhone sku with a HD resolution, it'll suddenly become the killer feature that every other phone must have. It'll be amusing to watch the slow realization on the hardcore Apple elite as they learn they're 720p display is still a fraction of the 2560x1600 resolution on the lasted generation Android devices.

It doesn't matter because it doesn't make a difference in viewing on a 4" screen. Stop injecting your biased comments regarding Apple everywhere. 2560x1600 is overkill for phones anyway.

500ppi is the max, I think. That will make character languages really sharp. The pip should scale with screen size. I think I'd like a pixel doubled iPhone, but that would be 650ppi which is pretty crazy. 400-500 sweet spot right now.

There's obvious differences when you're this zoomed in, but does going beyond 400 ppi really help? It's like the people who say they can spot 720p versus 1080p. It's like the same when people talk about pentile. They're staring at the phone at like 1 inch away to find the differences. When you're actually using the phone, does it really change anything?

PPI is PPI. Whether you're looking at Asian script or alphabetical text, there's a certain point where it stops mattering.

 

[Commodus]

I can see an advantage to going beyond 400ppi. It's just not the dramatic gain we saw when we first saw high-resolution mobile displays; you're perfecting the display, eliminating the few problems that are left.

As for Apple, I'm mostly hoping that it doesn't simply catch up in resolution if it goes with a bigger screen. I'd like to see greater than 1080p. Not necessarily 2560x1440, but 4X the iPhone 5 resolution (2272x1280) would certainly do the trick.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I can see an advantage to going beyond 400ppi. It's just not the dramatic gain we saw when we first saw high-resolution mobile displays; you're perfecting the display, eliminating the few problems that are left.

But what problems are left? Do you really need to go beyond 1080p? I get it if there's nothing left to improve that you throw in higher resolution displays, but when we're fighting battery life even on 720p models, I don't see this as a primary concern. While marketing makes us think 1080p is great, is the Moto X really that bad? It might not look good on paper in terms of specs, but it does just fine.

It's just like 4k and 1080p. There's no reason to go 4K now unless you can snag one for cheap. You're not going to see a difference in visuals between the top 4k and top 1080p display. The distances that we watch don't require that kind of ppi. It's the same argument back when 720p vs 1080p came out. It didn't affect your viewing. It's just that 1080p is now cheap enough that you would be stupid to buy 720p still.

Throwing in 2560x1600 displays for the sake of doing so would kill your battery life today. I'd rather see them sit on 1080p for a generation or even two while focusing on other improvements.

The issue with Apple today isn't that they're still at 1136x640 or whatever. The complaints are about screen size. Even if Apple went to a higher PPI and doubled their display, would that make an iPhone more attractive? No. Maybe the marketing machine can spin it to make it more attractive, but for at tech conscious shopper, I doubt much has changed.

 

[Ravynmagi]

It seems like Apple's apps are hardcoded or something for certain resolutions. When the wider iPhone 5 came out apps would leave blank space on the edges of the screen until they were updated. The iPads couldn't go retina until they could make a panel that doubled the existing 1024x768 resolution.

So I'm guessing with the bigger iPhone, Apple will again need to play the doubling of resolution game like Commodus mentioned.

So if a 5 inch iPhone 6 with 2272x1280 arrives, it's not being Apple is trying to go pixel crazy, but it may just be a necessity so all their apps can just be told to double their resolution to make use of the screen space without developers having to update all the apps.

With talk of 2540x1440 Android phones in 2014 it must mean the technology is finally ready for Apple to deliver a larger iPhone with double the resolution to retain legacy app support.

 

[ponyo]

It seems like Apple's apps are hardcoded or something for certain resolutions. When the wider iPhone 5 came out apps would leave blank space on the edges of the screen until they were updated. The iPads couldn't go retina until they could make a panel that doubled the existing 1024x768 resolution.

So I'm guessing with the bigger iPhone, Apple will again need to play the doubling of resolution game like Commodus mentioned.

So if a 5 inch iPhone 6 with 2272x1280 arrives, it's not being Apple is trying to go pixel crazy, but it may just be a necessity so all their apps can just be told to double their resolution to make use of the screen space without developers having to update all the apps.

With talk of 2540x1440 Android phones in 2014 it must mean the technology is finally ready for Apple to deliver a larger iPhone with double the resolution to retain legacy app support.

Yes, I fully expect Apple to increase the size and double the resolution on the next iPhone.

 

[tsupersonic]

Apple is semi smart with sticking with smaller resolutions. First, it's great for application developers and only having to support 2 resolutions both 326ppi. I say 2 because Apple currently only sells 3 iPhones - 4S, 5C, and 5S. The 5C and 5S are 1136x640, and 4S being 960x640. Second, performance is much better when you don't have more pixels to power.

I personally prefer 1080p displays on cell phones. I'll add that the HTC One is my ideal size for a display size (and phone size), and it is absolutely my most favorite smartphone display. I just low how vibrant it is, and everything looks sharp.

 

[Zaap]

Technology always progresses. I didn't see a ton of people wanting high resolution phone displays until they got them and now they can't go back.

This is definitely my case.

I wasn't sure of a need for higher resolutions- but after owning a Note 3, I certainly wouldn't want to go back to any lesser screen.

 

[bearxor]

There's obvious differences when you're this zoomed in, but does going beyond 400 ppi really help?

No, not right now. That's why I said 400-500 is the sweet spot. I think 400 is plenty, but you don't make the screen size fit the ppi. You choose a screen size and then select a resolution that works that puts you somewhere in to this range. I think as long as it's over 400ppi on a 4.5"+ screen, then you're fine.

But I can totally tell the difference between Pentile and LCD on a 720p screen. I think the issue is that a Pentile screen isn't REALLY 1080p or 720p. It's just kind of emulating that resolution. An LCD will have almost 2X as many subpixels as a Pentile display. But I certainly can't see the Pentile matrix on a 5" 1080p device. It's got "enough" subpixels at that point.

Yes, I fully expect Apple to increase the size and double the resolution on the next iPhone.

Yes, said it for a year now. When an iPhone with a larger screen hits, somewhere in the range of 4.3-4.6", it will most certainly have a 2272*1280 screen.

 

[Eug]

2560x1600 is absolutely pointless on phones with screens the size that Apple ships. In fact, 2560x1600 is pointless for the sizes of any smartphone in existence. For someone to claim otherwise suggests that person has a fundamental lack of understanding of the technology. That resolution only makes sense for stuff like 8" tablets. A 2560x1600 8" tablet is 377 ppi. Interestingly, the 7.9" iPad mini is 2048x1536, which is 326 ppi, which is also more than fine for a tablet actually. Going above that doesn't really help, esp. for a non-pentile screen.

As mentioned, some people do want BIGGER screens, but the pixel density doesn't have to change.

While 400 ppi wouldn't hurt on a phone, 325+ is sufficient (if not pentile that is) at any mobile screen size IMO, and 500 is just stupid specsmanship. On a tablet, the ppi can be significant lower and still look great. In fact, that 2560x1600 resolution is fine on a 10" tablet.

Personally I think if Apple were to release a 4.5" phone, 720p would be just fine. It would be the same 326 ppi. I would prefer something like a 1221x688 4.3" iPhone though. Or to make it simple, just make that 4.3" phone 720p as well, or 342 ppi.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

This is definitely my case.

I wasn't sure of a need for higher resolutions- but after owning a Note 3, I certainly wouldn't want to go back to any lesser screen.

But the difference between a Note 2 and Note 3 is obvious because a Note 2 doesn't offer enough ppi yet to be considered retina.

What we're arguing about is whether it makes sense to go above what the human eye can perceive. Once can argue whether that's the 300ppi Apple says, or maybe slightly above for handhelds, but there still exists a point where you don't get any useful returns.

I'm not against increasing resolution if technology progresses, but after you pass the retina point, I'd rather them focus on battery first. If today we had 50ghz CPUs and 48 day screen on times, then by all means, push for that 1600p screen.

No, not right now. That's why I said 400-500 is the sweet spot. I think 400 is plenty, but you don't make the screen size fit the ppi. You choose a screen size and then select a resolution that works that puts you somewhere in to this range. I think as long as it's over 400ppi on a 4.5"+ screen, then you're fine.

But I can totally tell the difference between Pentile and LCD on a 720p screen. I think the issue is that a Pentile screen isn't REALLY 1080p or 720p. It's just kind of emulating that resolution. An LCD will have almost 2X as many subpixels as a Pentile display. But I certainly can't see the Pentile matrix on a 5" 1080p device. It's got "enough" subpixels at that point.

Ok, 720p pentile is definitely discernable because it's like telling apart lower resolution versus 720p, but 720p versus 1080p on a 4.7" screen like the HTC One vs HTC One X is really only noticeable if you stick your face into the screen. Using it at normal distances, it's not noticeable. But beyond 1080p? It's not even really an issue, and you'd have to be at like 5 inches away to tell that difference. At that point you could argue 1600p versus 4k is a huge difference because you have a magnifying glass or a microscope.

My issue with the Asian text that you posted was that it's so blown up of course there's a difference. I could show you the difference between 500 ppi and 1000 ppi with a microscope and it'd look alarming, but what about real world use? You're arguing for 400 or 500 ppi, but isnt retina ~320ppi or so? I guess what I'm trying to understand is if you're saying Apple's "retina" isn't true retina--that is the human eye can perceive more detail than Jobs claims.