One of the technical specifications that is often mentioned when analyzing a smartphone is the pixel density of its screen. Pixel density is a unit that is measured in pixels per inch (it can be abbreviated as PPP or as PPI (in English, pixels per inch )), and it is one of the most important data when analyzing quality of a screen (as important as the resolution, for example). But really, what are pixels per inch ? Is it a fact that can be seen at first glance? Is it important when buying a smartphone?
The pixel density on the screen is a piece of information that allows us to know the number of pixels that a smartphone is capable of displaying in one inch (using a square surface). This data is calculated based on the resolution and the size of the screen; ie a smartphone with a resolution of 1,280 x 720 pixels and a screen size of 5.3 inches has a pixel density of 277 ppi. To give us an even better idea of this data, a smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy Star 2 has a pixel density set at 165 ppi, while the new Samsung Galaxy S6it has an on-screen pixel density set at 577 ppi.
Looking at these two examples, the most obvious thing is to think that, the higher the pixel density on the screen a smartphone has, the better the image quality that will be displayed on its screen. The truth is that this statement is true on the one hand, but false on the other. The higher the pixel density of a screen, the less noticeable at first glance the pixels will be, which means that the image will be displayed in a sharper and more detailed way. And for the pixel density to be higher, it is necessary that the resolution of the screen is also higher (depending on the size of the screen).
But, at the same time, the human eye is not able to distinguish the density of pixels on the screen when it exceeds a figure of between 250 and 300 ppi, so any density that exceeds this figure will be practically impossible to detect. differentiate by human eye. Although, of course, this does not mean that there are no differences between the highest-end mobiles (with densities of up to 400 or 500 ppi) and the simplest mobiles: the difference exists -and it is not exactly small-, and although the The human eye is not able to see the pixels in these density ranges, where this difference is best appreciated is in the sharpness of the images.
To better understand this concept of pixel density, we have made a comparison between two smartphones that start from a screen with good image quality as far as official figures are concerned: the HTC One M9, with a five-inch screen reaching the 1,920 x 1,080 pixels resolution (441 ppi), and Acer Liquid Jade S, also with a display of five inches which reaches 1,280 x 720 pixels resolution (294 ppi). The difference in pixel density on the screen is obvious, but can this same difference be appreciated in any way?
And for the pixel density on the screen to be high, it is not enough only to have a good screen resolution, but it is also necessary that the same resolution is in accordance with the size of the screen (for example, a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels on a 3.5-inch mobile phone gives rise to a not inconsiderable density of 266 ppi, while this same resolution on a five-inch mobile makes the pixel density drop to 186 ppi).
In summary, taking into account the use that is given to mobile phones today, if what we are looking for is a relatively acceptable sharpness to be able to display content on the screen with good quality, the pixel density that our smartphone should reach it should be above 200 ppi (and if it is above 250 ppi, so much the better). And this, translated into screen sizes, looks like this:
- In a phone with a screen of four inches, the minimum recommended resolution is 800 x 480 pixels.
- In a mobile with a screen of 4.5 inches, the recommended minimum resolution is 960 x 540 pixels.
- In a phone with a screen five inches, the minimum recommended resolution is 1,280 x 720 pixels.
- From 5.5 inch, the minimum recommended resolution is 1,920 x 1,080 pixels.
- On-screen pixel density calculator based on size and resolution: https://www.sven.de/dpi /.
First image originally posted by resetweb .
