Table of Contents
What Is Screen Resolution?
Screen resolution, or display resolution, refers to the number of pixels a screen can display vertically and horizontally.
Displays, like those on smartphones, tablets, digital televisions, and computer monitors, are made of thousands of pixels (px). The more pixels the screen has, the more information users can view with higher quality and less scrolling.
Most Common Screen Resolutions in 2024
- 1920x1080 (8.52%)
- 360x800 (7.28%)
- 1366x768 (4.9%)
- 1536x864 (4.3%)
- 390x844 (3.95%)
- 414x896 (3.46%)
Mr. Hariom Tiwari, Project Manager at Promatics Technologies Private Limited, provides a comprehensive overview of the most common screen resolutions:
- Desktop:1920x1080, 1366x768, 1440x900, 1280 x 800
- Mobile: 360x800, 390x844, 414x896, 393x873, 412x915
- Ultrawide desktop resolutions: 2560x1080, 3440x1440, 5120x1440
- High-resolution mobile resolutions: 1080x1920, 1280x2772, 1440x3040
- Retina displays: 1334x750, 1638x960, 2048x1536
Ron Geertsma, Partner at Upside, agrees and adds the most common tablet resolutions:
- Tablet: 768x1024 (tablet portrait), 1024x768 (tablet landscape)
Hassen Houssein, Managing Director at EXIT99 DESIGN STUDIO, explains his approach to determining the ideal website screen resolution:
"During the ideation process, our web design and development team talks to the client and agrees on the required resolutions. Most of the time we go with 1920x1080 resolution, which is the most common, and to make the website responsive we go down to mobile screen size by re-aligning the website contents to meet the website visitor device display."
What Are Pixels?
Pixels, or "picture elements," are the smallest units of a digital image or display that form the building blocks of visual content.
Each pixel represents a single point in the image that conveys color and brightness information. Images and videos are made by arranging and combining pixels in a grid. The quality and clarity of an image depend on the number and density of pixels per unit area.
Pixels enable the visual representation of data on screens, cameras, or other digital devices.
What Is the Display Aspect Ratio?
Display aspect ratio (DAR) is the proportional relationship between a display's width and height. Expressed as a ratio (e.g., 16:9), DAR determines how content appears on the screen. Common ratios include 4:3 for traditional TVs and 16:9 for widescreen HD displays.
DAR impacts how videos and images are presented, as they may be letterboxed (with black bars) or cropped to fit the screen. Choosing the right DAR is crucial for viewing content, ensuring accurate portrayal, and preventing distortion.
What Is My Phone Screen Resolution?
To know your phone’s screen resolution, you can either take an online screen resolution test or manually check it on your device.
To check manually, follow the steps below to determine your screen resolution on Android and iPhone.
Android Phone Resolution
1. Click Settings.
2. Then, click Display.
3. Next, click screen resolution.
Here, you can see what screen resolution your Android smartphone has. You can choose between:
- Low resolution
- High resolution
- Smart resolution
The size will be different for different screens. According to Slam Sarymamedov, CEO & Founder at Ubunzo, the most common mobile screen resolutions are:
- 320 px for mobile phones to ensure accessibility on even the smallest screens
- 480 px to accommodate larger phones
- 768 px for tablets to capture mid-range devices.
iPhone Screen Resolution
Unlike other mobile devices, you cannot manually check your iPhone screen resolution or set it to low, high, or recommended settings. However, iPhone users can set it to larger text. Here are the steps:
1. Open your Settings and click Accessibility.
2. Then, click Display & Text Size.
3. Click Larger Text.
4. Finally, enable Larger Accessibility Sizes.
What Is Desktop Screen Resolution?
Desktop screen resolution refers to the number of pixels displayed from side to side and top to bottom on your computer screen. It determines how clear and detailed everything looks on your screen.
Let's look at the steps to manually check your PC and Mac screen resolutions below.
PC Screen Resolution
1. Use the right-click on your mouse and click Display settings
2. Under Display settings, find Display Resolution. This is usually set to recommended.
3. Simply change the resolution by clicking the drop-down bar.
Mac Screen Resolution
1. Click on the Apple icon on your desktop. Then, click System Settings and choose Displays.
2. Next, click Display and select Scaled. Here, you can see your screen’s resolution. Change it according to your preferences.
Why Does Screen Resolution Matter?
There are several reasons why screen resolution is important.
- Increases productivity. Higher screen resolution allows for more detailed and higher-quality images and videos. High-quality visuals are particularly important for professionals such as graphic designers or web developers who must see details clearly to produce high-quality work.
- Reduces eye strain. With more pixels on the screen, text and images appear sharper and easier to read, reducing eye strain and making it easier to work for extended periods.
- Enhances entertainment activities. Screen resolution is important for gaming and entertainment purposes. It enhances the gaming and viewing experience by providing clearer and more detailed graphics, making games or movies more enjoyable.
Screen Resolution FAQs
1. What is native screen resolution?
Native screen resolution refers to the number of horizontal and vertical dots or pixels within the physical screen. For example, if the native screen resolution is 1440x900, the screen is 1440 dots wide and 900 dots high.
2. Does a lower screen resolution consume less power?
Screen resolution highly impacts power consumption. Lower screen resolution consumes less power because it contains fewer pixels that need to be lit.
3. What is the highest screen resolution?
The highest screen resolution is 8K Ultra High Definition (UHD) — 7680 x 4320 pixels.
4. What Is DPI / PPI?
Dots per inch (DPI) and pixels per inch (PPI) are measurements used to describe the resolution or image quality of digital images, displays, and printers.