If 640x960 is the most the naked eye can see, why are phones being equiped with 1280x720 resolution screens. I've looked at one, the LG Spectrum, and I can't see ANY difference in screen quality. In fact, the iPhone looked slighty better! Can someone offer an explanation?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
If 640x960 is the most the naked eye can see....
- Thread starter 0000757
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
That's not right at all. You're confusing resolution with PPI.
EDIT: Further explanation: According to Apple, you cannot tell pixels apart on a resolution of 960x640 on a 3.5" screen (accounting for the distance you would hold the screen away from your face and its PPI). Putting the same resolution a 6" screen would have less pixel density and would be able to see individual pixels. Therefore, the larger the screen, the higher the resolution it needs to maintain an acceptable PPI that would be hard for people to see individual pixels.
Last edited:
It also seems to me that most of the android phones are using some variation of amoled screens, which, to me, always look more pixelated than LCD screens.
Read this:
http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/03/01/the-brain-science-behind-the-ipad-3s-retina-display/
--
You've heard of "print quality", right? 300 dpi? Similar kind of thing. At 12" away, a "normal" person cannot see the ink dots.
It's all about how much angle that a visual change takes up. So, for example, if you put your eyes 1" away from a screen, a "retina" screen would need over 3500 ppi since each pixel set is bigger to your eye at that short distance.
On the other hand, at a football field length away, pixels could be 1" square and be close to "retina", because they also subtend the same small visual angle. (Imagine a big screen TV at a ball game)
It's like a cone that gets bigger the further away your eye is.
http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/03/01/the-brain-science-behind-the-ipad-3s-retina-display/
--
You've heard of "print quality", right? 300 dpi? Similar kind of thing. At 12" away, a "normal" person cannot see the ink dots.
It's all about how much angle that a visual change takes up. So, for example, if you put your eyes 1" away from a screen, a "retina" screen would need over 3500 ppi since each pixel set is bigger to your eye at that short distance.
On the other hand, at a football field length away, pixels could be 1" square and be close to "retina", because they also subtend the same small visual angle. (Imagine a big screen TV at a ball game)
It's like a cone that gets bigger the further away your eye is.
That's true for the Pixels Per Inch, but the "retina" term involves distance as well:
At 10", you need 357 PPI to be called "retina".
At 12", you need 300 PPI.
At 24", you need 148 PPI.
At 100 yards, you only need 1 PPI.