iPhone XR How much sharper is the XS display compared to the XR?

[kre62]

Resolution will effect the sharpness/clarity of images. Also why would you view every screen at the same distance regardless of the size. Also I made reference to the resolution and the size of the Xr display. Your comment is basically saying that resolution doesn’t matter as the Xr and the 8 have the same ppi and should be the same. However both ppi and resolution matter. 326 ppi is ok, could have been higher but imo the resolution should have been higher. I said sub 1080p on a 6.1 inch display is nasty, I did not make reference to the ppi. I think most who are complaining about the Xr screen are mostly complaining about the resolution, not necessarily the ppi. However the Xr screen defenders keep going on about the ppi being the only important metric.

You clearly dont understand the concepts of resolution or PPI.

The only point of resolution is to calculate the PPI. If the PPI is exactly the same, the screen clarity will be exactly the same, regardless of resolution.

The iPad Pro has worse PPI than the XR. Therefore, clarity is worse on the iPad pro than the XR when held at the same distance from the face. It doesnt matter if the resolution was 8k on the ipad, if the PPI is less than the XR, the iPad is less clear, end of story. Of course, to get to 326PPI on an ipad with 8k resolution, we'd be talking about one giant ipad.
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To you that matters, and if you got the screen you want...awesome. I have 2 Samsung 4k SUHD (LCD) TV's at home, and I still sometimes prefer viewing content on the Max. The OLED color is that good to me not present on those televisions, even though they are stellar.

A family member told me he views all his internet and Youtube content on his iPhone, he doesn't have a computer. He is viewing content constantly on his iPhone.

I guess you weren't aware of the days where Steve Jobs was surprised even that many people were viewing lots of content on their iPod Videos with a 2.5" 320×240 QVGA screen.

People view LOTS of content on their mobile devices.

Yeah so what? I view a ton of content on my device too. The point is people are making it out to be a bigger deal than it is. In the scheme of things, its not really making an actual difference on their lives. It's still a small screen, and still a worse experience than a big TV. So stop trying to claim that "infinite blacks" is suuuuper important to your overall happiness in life. It's meaningless.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I think we still have a disconnect here.

OK, let me phrase the question this way: if sub 1080p on a 6.1” display is “nasty” - why do you find that same pixel density (326 ppi) acceptable on a 4.7” display?

Those screens will look exactly the same from equal distances. In this case, the resolution will be higher on the 6.1” screen (it has to be, in order to maintain the same pixel density). But the detail/text/images on each display will look the same.

I feel like there’s a good analogy on the tip of my tongue that would better illustrate the relationship between pixel density & resolution, but it’s eluding me. Hopefully it will hit me shortly.

Because resolution and ppi are not the same thing. I also have not complained about the ppi on the Xr.

 

[kre62]

Because resolution and ppi are not the same thing. I also have not complained about the ppi on the Xr.

You probably should give up on this. You don't understand resolution. You should definitely not be making any purchase decisions over something you don't understand.

You actually believe that something with higher resolution, but lower PPI, will have greater clarity in text at the same distance. Completely false.

 

[Shanghaichica]

You clearly dont understand the concepts of resolution or PPI.

The only point of resolution is to calculate the PPI. If the PPI is exactly the same, the screen clarity will be exactly the same, regardless of resolution.

The iPad Pro has worse PPI than the XR. Therefore, clarity is worse on the iPad pro than the XR when held at the same distance from the face. It doesnt matter if the resolution was 8k on the ipad, if the PPI is less than the XR, the iPad is less clear, end of story. Of course, to get to 326PPI on an ipad with 8k resolution, we'd be talking about one giant ipad.
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Yeah so what? I view a ton of content on my device too. The point is people are making it out to be a bigger deal than it is. In the scheme of things, its not really making an actual difference on their lives. It's still a small screen, and still a worse experience than a big TV. So stop trying to claim that "infinite blacks" is suuuuper important to your overall happiness in life. It's meaningless.

Well ok, nothing matters but ppi and because the ppi on the Xr is the magical 326 ppi then that’s all that maters. Of course I would view my iPad from the same distance as a phone and of course resolution doesn’t matter at all. Not sure why manufacturers even bother making any displays with high resolutions because resolution doesn’t matter.

 

[davedvdy]

Yeah so what? I view a ton of content on my device too. The point is people are making it out to be a bigger deal than it is. In the scheme of things, its not really making an actual difference on their lives. It's still a small screen, and still a worse experience than a big TV. So stop trying to claim that "infinite blacks" is suuuuper important to your overall happiness in life. It's meaningless.

Your logic is inherently flawed.

You can say: "big deal my Kia gets me from point a to point b, so your Lexus is meaningless since it does the same thing". That's YOUR opinion in tastes. Why is there a market for luxury cars when they do the same thing? similar experiences? NO. Not to everyone.

It's meaningless to YOU is the point. Again... some of us, including Nilay (the one you used as YOUR evidence), it matters to.

 

[Shanghaichica]

You probably should give up on this. You don't understand resolution. You should definitely not be making any purchase decisions over something you don't understand.

You actually believe that something with higher resolution, but lower PPI, will have greater clarity in text at the same distance. Completely false.

But why would I view an iPad at the same distance as a phone. I also didn’t say that something with a higher resolution but lower ppi was like be clearer. You’ve just made that up.

Also I don’t think you should be telling people what they should and shouldn’t be buying and what they find beneficial and don’t find beneficial.

 

[kre62]

Your logic is inherently flawed.

You can say: "big deal my Kia gets me from point a to point b, so your Lexus is meaningless since it does the same thing". That's YOUR opinion in tastes. Why is there a market for luxury cars when they do the same thing? similar experiences? NO. Not to everyone.

It's meaningless to YOU is the point. Again... some of us, including Nilay (the one you used as YOUR evidence), it matters to.

You're lying to yourself if you think darker blacks are improving your life on your 6" display. You are also lying to yourself if you think darker blacks cancels out color shift, PWM flickering, diamond pentile (missing subpixels), and burn in.

 

[Shanghaichica]

You're lying to yourself if you think darker blacks are improving your life on your 6" display. You are also lying to yourself if you think darker blacks cancels out color shift, PWM flickering, diamond pentile (missing subpixels), and burn in.

I’m expecting PWM flickering but I’m lying to myself and saying that I’m not. Satisfied.

 

[davedvdy]

You're lying to yourself if you think darker blacks are improving your life on your 6" display. You are also lying to yourself if you think darker blacks cancels out color shift, PWM flickering, diamond pentile (missing subpixels), and burn in.

It's the overall color saturation difference. Not just darker blacks. More vibrant colors. You clearly don't understand OLED displays.
They are undeniably the best displays, that's why they are on all the best smartphones.

I already went over the burn in issue with proof. 510 continuous hours of viewing the same image.
People have already reported here zero issues with that. You keep spreading misinformation.

 

[PBz]

You're lying to yourself if you think darker blacks are improving your life on your 6" display. You are also lying to yourself if you think darker blacks cancels out color shift, PWM flickering, diamond pentile (missing subpixels), and burn in.

You had me at color-shift.

 

[arforbes]

I switched from an iPhone X to the XR on release day due to eye issues, migraines, etc.

This phone's screen is like every other Apple iPhone LCD released before. People weren't quick to complain about it when Samsungs five years ago were using AMOLEDs. Not sure why it's now a bash session against the XR's screen quality. You can only realistically get a screen this small so crisp. It doesn't matter after a certain point.

It doesn't have indefinitely deep blacks like the iPhone X had. Colors may be able to achieve brighter colors (in individual pixels), but to me this is worse because of the contrast difference and eye issues. The XR doesn't have ANY of the terrible color shifting when tilting the screen, it doesn't give me headaches, and the brightness at low levels looks a lot better. It also doesn't have that ugly pee yellow hue over every white backsplash that I had on the iPhone X (with true tone off). A 720p to 1080p YouTube video doesn't make a difference (to me). I can still select the 1080p option, but I'm sure it's probably just wasting data. A 6.1" is still a small screen and you can only fit in so much "quality".

I guess I'm personally not a fan of Apple's OLEDs. The price difference to the XS and XS Max was a nonfactor for me. I'm willing to pay what I want in tech.

Overall super loving this device. The screen size between the two is absolutely perfect too for my man hands. Just my 2¢ after owning the iPhone X with the OLED and now an XR.

 

[NJHitmen]

Because resolution and ppi are not the same thing. I also have not complained about the ppi on the Xr.

That’s true, they aren’t the same. But here, we’re only discussing sharpness of these displays (per the thread’s title) - and by that measure, resolution actually isn’t relevant. Pixel density/ppi will be the yard stick we need to measure against.

I’ll try this from another direction: the resolution of the XR’s 6.1” screen is 1792x828 (hence the 828p figure you’ve probably seen). The resolution of the iPhone 8’s 4.7” screen is 1334x750 (same as the 7 & 6). So, if you multiply those two sets of numbers, you can clearly see that the resolution of the XR is considerably higher than that of the 8/7/6 - there are many more pixels on that 6.1” screen. But despite the higher resolution, the XR won’t look any sharper than the 8/7/6 because it displays exactly the same number of pixels per inch. XR has higher resolution, but equal pixel density.

By comparison: the 8+ displays a resolution of 1920x1080 (in other words, 1080p). Pack those pixels into a 5.5” screen, and the pixel density works out to be 401 ppi. Because that number is higher than the XR/8/7/6’s 326 ppi, images/text will look sharper on the + displays. The Plus phones have higher resolution AND higher pixel density.

So, yes, both resolution and pixel density are important. But only one of those figures addresses the questions raised on this thread.

Does that make sense?

 

[Shanghaichica]

That’s true, they aren’t the same. But here, we’re only discussing sharpness of these displays (per the thread’s title) - and by that measure, resolution actually isn’t relevant. Pixel density/ppi will be the yard stick we need to measure against.

I’ll try this from another direction: the resolution of the XR’s 6.1” screen is 1792x828 (hence the 828p figure you’ve probably seen). The resolution of the iPhone 8’s 4.7” screen is 1334x750 (same as the 7 & 6). So, if you multiply those two sets of numbers, you can clearly see that the resolution of the XR is considerably higher than that of the 8/7/6 - there are many more pixels on that 6.1” screen. But despite the higher resolution, the XR won’t look any sharper than the 8/7/6 because it displays exactly the same number of pixels per inch. XR has higher resolution, but equal pixel density.

By comparison: the 8+ displays a resolution of 1920x1080 (in other words, 1080p). Pack those pixels into a 5.5” screen, and the pixel density works out to be 401 ppi. Because that number is higher than the XR/8/7/6’s 326 ppi, images/text will look sharper on the + displays. The Plus phones have higher resolution AND higher pixel density.

So, yes, both resolution and pixel density are important. But only one of those figures addresses the questions raised on this thread.

Does that make sense?

Resolution is important because the ppi is determined by the screen resolution and size.

Now if Apple had put a 1080p display in the Xr the ppi would have been higher and the images/ text would have been sharper and crisper.

 

[Micky 32]

This thread is actually hilarious. What is it about XR owners that are trying to justify their purchase's against the flagship Max. Be happy with whatever phone you own but here's my osbverations about OLED..

Firstly after owning OLED phones for nearly 2 years not a chance would i go back to a LCD screen. I have owned every iphone since day one. When i got to the iphone 7 i was getting jealous and fed up of friends Samsungs phones with their OLEDS. The difference was quite noticable when i would use a friends Samsung after using my iphone 7. It got to the stage where i sold the iphone after 4 months and bought a S8, S9+ and then a Note 9. I only went back to Apple when they released the iphone X

Someone on here mentioned about Apple getting grade B panels, what a load of BS. To date the best screen i have seen on a phone is the iPhone max and that's compared to the flagship Note 9. The whites on the max OLED are very good and bright and very white and just pops whereas on the Note 9 is kinda dull and grey but still better than any LCD i have seen. I have a black wall paper on my Max app screen and it looks stunning the total black screen around the apps..

The XR isn't the worst screen i have seen and it's ok, for normal content but when you view a high resolution photo or watch a HDR 1080P60FPS video on Youtube ( side by side with a XR) the LCD doesn't compare PERIOD.. you can see more detail....

Burn in is a load of BS too. My S8 had heavy use and the screen never had any burn in issues.

If anyone is buying an XR because they think they are getting as good as screen as the iPhone max you're buying the wrong phone

 

[NJHitmen]

Resolution is important because the ppi is determined by the screen resolution and size.

Now if Apple had put a 1080p display in the Xr the ppi would have been higher and the images/ text would have been sharper and crisper.

Yes, exactly! Everything you said here is correct. Sounds like you’ve got a handle on this.

But I’m still having trouble with the premise that the XR looks worse than an 8/7/6. I’m not sure why 326 ppi on a 6.1” screen (XR) would look “nasty” while the same 326 ppi on a 4.7” screen (8/7/6) looks ok.

 

[OTACORB]

This thread is actually hilarious. What is it about XR owners that are trying to justify their purchase's against the flagship Max. Be happy with whatever phone you own but here's my osbverations about OLED..

If anyone is buying an XR because they think they are getting as good as screen as the iPhone max you're buying the wrong phone

I have participated in this thread for awhile now and I have YET to see a single solitary person say that the LCD on the Xr is better than the OLED on the Xs and Xs Max. What I have seen is there are many that have said they find it easier on their eyes and that it is acceptable to them. So, I agree with you, what is the point of continuing to brag about the Xs Max or Xs having the best display.. You purchased what you wanted.. Just enjoy it! You don't need to convince me or anyone else that you made the right choice do you? I know I sure don't need to convince anyone, but I have bragged a little bit about saving $450 and I am happy with the purchase. I really don't understand, it's like folks on this forum like to get into these who has the bigger d**k contest. Just enjoy what you have! LOL

 

[Shanghaichica]

Yes, exactly! Everything you said here is correct. Sounds like you’ve got a handle on this.

But I’m still having trouble with the premise that the XR looks worse than an 8/7/6. I’m not sure why 326 ppi on a 6.1” screen (XR) would look “nasty” while the same 326 ppi on a 4.7” screen (8/7/6) looks ok.

it’s more about what I’d use the phone for.
I wouldn’t watch videos and look at images on a small screen like the 7/8. I would use it for things like web browsing, email, online banking but not for consumption. For those things it would be fine. I’d want to use the Xr for content consumption which is when I’d have an issue with the screen.

I give the SE and 6/7/8 a pass because they are small and I wouldn’t use them in the same way as I would use a larger phone.

My iPad is viewed much further away as is my TV. So even though they have a lower ppi than my phone the viewing distance negates it.

 

[NJHitmen]

it’s more about what I’d use the phone for.
I wouldn’t watch videos and look at images on a small screen like the 7/8. I would use it for things like web browsing, email, online banking but not for consumption. For those things it would be fine. I’d want to use the Xr for content consumption which is when I’d have an issue with the screen.

I give the SE and 6/7/8 a pass because they are small and I wouldn’t use them in the same way as I would use a larger phone.

My iPad is viewed much further away as is my TV. So even though they have a lower ppi than my phone the viewing distance negates it.

OK, got it. Sounds like I may have fundamentally misunderstood your original comments. So you do agree that in terms of sharpness, the XR is equivalent to the 8/7/6. I was confused by statements like this:

The iPhone 8 looks sharper because it's smaller.

...or:

Because the iPhone 8 looks fine and it has 326 ppi then any other screen that has 326 ppi, regardless of anything else will be just as good as the 8.

...which is true, but sounded sarcastic to me.

Anyway, I do agree that screen size has an impact on the type of content consumption a user might engage in. That's a good point, which I didn't realize you were making.

Carry on...

 

[Kmart9419]

The display on my 8+ was way sharper than my current XR.

The display is good but not good enough for my needs and I want to return it ASAP for the XS. How much of a difference will i notice especially with like black text and stuff?

8plus is about equivalent to 1080p and Xr is equivalent to 720p. 8plus is 2x sharper than Xr, so your eyes are correct. I think Apple took a step backwards.

 

[kre62]

8plus is about equivalent to 1080p and Xr is equivalent to 720p. 8plus is 2x sharper than Xr, so your eyes are correct. I think Apple took a step backwards.

Lol no. XR is not 720p. Not even close.
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OK, got it. Sounds like I may have fundamentally misunderstood your original comments. So you do agree that in terms of sharpness, the XR is equivalent to the 8/7/6. I was confused by statements like this:



...or:



...which is true, but sounded sarcastic to me.

Anyway, I do agree that screen size has an impact on the type of content consumption a user might engage in. That's a good point, which I didn't realize you were making.

Carry on...

She got schooled and is trying to backtrack.

 

[C DM]

it’s more about what I’d use the phone for.
I wouldn’t watch videos and look at images on a small screen like the 7/8. I would use it for things like web browsing, email, online banking but not for consumption. For those things it would be fine. I’d want to use the Xr for content consumption which is when I’d have an issue with the screen.

I give the SE and 6/7/8 a pass because they are small and I wouldn’t use them in the same way as I would use a larger phone.

My iPad is viewed much further away as is my TV. So even though they have a lower ppi than my phone the viewing distance negates it.

That might certainly be your experience and that of various others. At the same time plenty of people watch video content on even the SE, let alone 6/7/8 without much of an issue. And given that XR has the same PPI it should be fairly similar in that respect.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I think if Apple had put a 1080p display on the Xr the only thing people would have been debating was OLED vs LCD. It would have been much more straight forward.

 

[davedvdy]

I have participated in this thread for awhile now and I have YET to see a single solitary person say that the LCD on the Xr is better than the OLED on the Xs and Xs Max.

Then you missed Kre62's posts...

 

[Shanghaichica]

That might certainly be your experience and that of various others. At the same time plenty of people watch video content on even the SE, let alone 6/7/8 without much of an issue.

Of course. My mum has an SE and it looks like a Tiny toy to me but she and many others use it just fine.

So yes it all comes down to individual choice and preferences. I found the X too small for watching videos because of the narrow aspect ratio and felt like it was the same as 6/7/8 in terms of screen real estate when watching videos.

 

[OTACORB]

Then you missed Kre62's posts...

Yep that is very possible! However, I stand by what I said... certainly overall those that purchase the Xr are under no delusion that the OLED is better in terms of clarity and vivid colors.. deeper blacks etc. However, not everyone feels it's worth it and also OLED creates vision problems for some. It all boils down to each individuals sense of value vs cost. Which I do think for some has been a struggle to decide. OLED displays are fantastic absolutely no doubt about it. LCD is very nice (better than expected by most accounts). I would call it a tad bit better than acceptable for some and unacceptable for others.