All about mobile screen resolutions (guide)

To liven up Sunday we present you a guide on screen resolutions on mobile or smartphone. Where we will discuss the most important resolutions, the phones with the best screens and what your ideal resolution may be. You want to know more? Do not miss our guide, possibly the best in Spanish.

All about mobile screen resolutions

Thanks to the variety of smartphones, tablets, monitors, laptops and televisions with tens of inches, we never had screens with sizes as different as today. Linked to this scenario is another feature also rich in options: the resolution of the screens. Terms like VGA, XGA, HD, Full HD, 1440p and 4K and others are increasingly part of our daily use.

What is the resolution of a screen?

Others confuse resolution with screen size. Therefore, it is convenient to remember how the measurement of a screen is carried out before reaching the explanation about the resolutions.

Screen size (in inches)

By default, the screen size is measured in inches. Each inch, it should be noted, is equal to 2.54 centimeters or 25.4 mm and can also be represented in quotation marks, for example: 32 ″ (32 inches).

Every time you hear about a 5-inch smartphone or a 40-inch TV, therefore, you will know that the measurement refers to the screen size of the device.

Only this is somewhat imprecise information, since the screens are usually rectangular, and that rectangle can have different proportions horizontally and vertically. This is why the measurement is made considering the diagonal of the screen.

Mobile screen resolution

This is where we come to resolution: the image displayed on the screen is divided into small dots called pixels (You can click on the link and you will see our guide on what pixels are) . A pixel can be understood as the smallest size an image can have.

A resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels indicates that the screen is capable of displaying 1920 pixels per row and 1080 pixels per column. It is like a matrix. As a general rule, the first number refers to the width; the second, at the height of the screen.

Resolution standards

The industry was also forced to adopt resolution standards. In theory, the higher the resolution, the better the quality.

It is at this point that names such as Full HD and 4K come into the picture. But what do these terms mean?

So you can understand, the main resolutions are explained below.

VGA resolution

VGA (Video Graphics Array) is a video output standard created in the 1980s. It was the main format on the market for a long time, until it gradually lost space towards more sophisticated models, such as DVI and HDMI.

One of several features of this model is the use of 640 x 480 pixel resolution, which is why this combination is known as VGA resolution.

Beginning in the 2000s, phones and other mobile devices began to emerge whose displays had the VGA only as a reference and thus used resolutions considered variations.

One of these variations was QVGA (Quarter VGA), which has 320 x 240 pixels. One of the devices based on this resolution is the Sony Xperia X10 mini smartphone. Another variant of this resolution is WQVGA (Wide QVGA), which has a greater width, but maintains the height: 400 x 240 pixels.

To adapt to certain devices, VGA adopted elongated versions. One of them is WVGA (Wide WVGA), which has 800 x 480 pixels and was used, for example, in Google Nexus One and Samsung Galaxy S devices.

The other is FWVGA (Full Wide VGA), which expresses the resolution of 854 x 480 pixels and was used in the Motorola Droid smartphone, for example.

XGA resolution

XGA (Extended Graphics Array) resolution emerged in the 1990s as a supplement to the VGA and SVGA specifications. In terms of resolutions, this model is used to indicate the combination of 1024 x 768 pixels, which for a long time was very common on 4: 3 screens.

Here are also wider variations and properly called WXGA (Wide XGA). The Google Nexus 4 is an example of a smartphone that uses WXGA resolution. In this case, the combination of 1280 x 768 pixels.

HD resolution (720p)

With the advent of mobile devices with more sophisticated displays and ever-increasing LCD, LED, Plasma and similar televisions, the market has adopted a standard resolution not only to lessen the problems in displaying content on these devices, but also to file a strongly commercial appeal. That's where what we know as HD resolution comes up, for its acronym "High Definition".

HD refers to the resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, which in turn combines with widescreen displays (16: 9). In general, images that respect this resolution offer a very satisfactory quality.

HD has become, in fact, a benchmark in the market, being able to be found in low-cost and intermediate televisions, as well as smartphones and tablets. You just have to be careful not to confuse it with its two variants: the nHD, which has 640 x 360 pixels and the qHD, which has 960 x 540 pixels.

Full HD resolution (1080p)

If HD already translates to very good images, Full HD appears to offer an even more enriching experience. The term, which can also be abbreviated as FHD (although this acronym is little used), represents the resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, equally (or more) corresponding to the aspect ratio of 16: 9.

Like HD, Full HD gained strong commercial appeal. Somewhat more sophisticated mobiles are the target of this type of screen, as is the case with the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Google Nexus 5 smartphones, as well as monitors and televisions of different sizes.

HD and Full HD resolutions have become a reference in the market, which is quite useful, since this aspect is reflected in the standardization of video and image formats, for example, as well as facilitating the life of the consumer, which it is not lost in the midst of so many possible resolutions. As shown in the summary below, the variations are few:

• HD (720p): 1280 x 720 pixelsHD: 640 x 360 pixelsQHD: 960 x 540 pixelsFull HD (FHD or 1080p): 1920 x 1080 pixelsQHD (WQHD): 2560 x 1440 pixels

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Since the minimum amount of vertical pixels for high definition resolution is 720, it was created informally on the understanding that any value above that is HD.

4K resolution (UHD or 2160p)

We are still enjoying our Full HD devices, but the industry has wasted no time and a superior standard (four times higher) has already come true: 4K resolution, which represents the generous combination of 3840 x 2160 pixels.

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Also called Ultra HD (UHD), 4K resolution began to be developed in 2003, and was used to come out in mid-2006 in the film industry. A few years later, however, it was already possible to find UHD screens on more sophisticated televisions that cost several thousand dollars.

It is very difficult to find a 4K TV that is less than 50 inches in size. The reason is that, at least so far, only the largest computers can support this far superior image quality.

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That is why, although there are promises of 4K resolution smartphones, many people view the idea with suspicion: on small screens, the differences between HD and 4K can hardly be noticed. We will have to wait for the industry to overcome all technical limitations and launch a device that does support this resolution.

As in the rest of the resolutions, the 4K resolution also has its variations. The combination of 3840 x 2160 pixels is considered the main one because it is the resolution that exists in the specifications of Ultra HD Television, also known as UHDTV. Thus, we can also use a denomination that refers to vertical measurement with Progressive Scan: 2160p. Only, unlike the terms 720p and 1080p, the name 2160p is not widely used.

These are its main variations:

• 4K (UHDTV or QFHD): 3840 x 2160 pixels 4K (Ultra Wide HDTV): 5120 x 2160 pixels 4K DCI: 4096 x 2160, 4096 x 1716 and 3996 x 2160 pixels

5K resolution (the future will come very soon)

In the second half of 2014, the market began to see the arrival of a few but interesting products with 5K resolution. A line of 27-inch UltraSharp monitors from Dell is one example.

A 5K denomination refers to the resolution of 5120 x 2880 pixels (it is slightly higher than 4K combinations, therefore), and can work with displays with an aspect ratio of 16: 9 or close proportions. We are sure that this resolution will reach high-end tablets and will be among our guide to mobile screen resolutions.

Conclusion on mobile screen resolutions

In the midst of so many resolutions you will wonder which is the most convenient. There are still mobiles with VGA and XGA screen resolutions, although it is also true that they are less and less and many of them are the "Chinese low cost".

Nowadays, what companies invest the most money in is smartphones with screen resolutions from HD to Full HD, but it is necessary to be clear that these options are generally the ones that are most standardized. While 2K resolution smartphones = 2560 x 1440p, they are the most expensive and battery-consuming smartphones.

In general, a solution would be this: analyze all the factors that lead to the best quality / price ratio. In today's scenario, the most sophisticated resolutions do not always fit in this context.

What do you think of our guide on mobile screen resolutions? What smartphone do you use and what resolution do you have? Do you find the 2560 x 1440 or 4K resolution the ideal for a mobile phone the ideal? Or on the contrary, you prefer a Full HD so that your battery lasts longer. We open the debate!