One of the less advertised specs of smartphone displays is Pixel Density. Manufacturers would quickly advertise screen sizes, display panel types (LCD or AMOLED) and even refresh rates but would quietly slide the display density somewhere and hope that customers don’t notice. Usually it almost always works.

So what is Pixel Density then?

All displays are made of pixels. Pixel density refers to how close together or far apart the pixels on a smartphone’s display are arranged. In other words, if the pixels on your display are packed very close together, that display has a high pixel density. If the pixels are spread apart, then the pixel density is said to be low.

A higher pixel density on a smartphone display means that the user is going to get a lot more detail, sharpness, clarity and resolution in images and videos, better colour representation and contrast. Fonts and lines would look neat and sharp and a better overall image/video quality.

A lower pixel density means less details, less sharpness, possible image pixelation and poorer colour representation. Characters, fonts and lines may not look neat and the overall image/video quality.

PPI

Pixel density is measured in Pixels Per Inch (or PPI). PPI simply means the amount of pixels that can be found on an inch (area) of a smartphone’s display.
PPI can calculated using this formula
PPI = √(screen width^2 + screen height^2)/screen size

Example:

The Xiaomi Mi A3 has a resolution of 1560 x 720p (HD) and a screen size of 6.09”.
Using our formula:

PPI = √(screen width^2 + screen height^2)/screen size

PPI = √((720)^2 + (1560)^2)/6.09 {solve for the squares first}

PPI = √(518,400+2,433,600)/6.09. {add up the numbers in the brackets}

PPI = √(2,952,000)/6.09 {square the number in the bracket}

PPI = 1718.13853/6.09 {divide it by the denominator}

PPI = 282.12

What do the numbers mean?

D class

A pixel density of less than 300ppi can be said to be average. Colours may not be very accurate, detail may be lacking and image quality will definitely suffer. This is particularly seen when resolutions of 720p are used on screens larger than 6”. The pixels are spread too far apart. Examples of devices here include the aforementioned Mi A3 (282ppi), Samsung Galaxy A10 (271ppi), Samsung A20 (268ppi) and Samsung A21 (270ppi). Budget and entry level phones tend to have low PPIs.

C class

Between 300 and 400ppi is a good pixel density to have on a display. Colours are decently represented, details are good and image quality is very okay. Current midrange phones fall within this category because they mostly use 1080p resolutions which is okay for a 6” but you could also find older premium phones here. These include Redmi Note 9S/9 Pro (395ppi), Huawei Mate 30 (389ppi), Xiaomi MI 10 (386ppi), iPhone 11 (323.6ppi) etc.

B class

Pixel densities of 400 to 500ppi are quite impressive. It takes the viewing experience up a notch. Colours pop out, details are sharp and image quality is very good. Midrangers, flagship killers and older flaghips can be found here as well as some new flagship models. Example are Honor 10 lite (415ppi), Redmi Note 7 and Redmi Note 8 (409ppi), iPhone X (458ppi), iPhone 12 (460ppi) etc.

A class

Pixel densities above 500ppi are top of line. You get the best of everything here. Image quality is so good that they seen to jump out of your screen. Details are crisp and the colours are rich and vibrant. Only flagships get to enjoy this kinds of PPIs as the displays around here are mostly 1440p (QHD or 2K) and 2160p (UHD or 4K). Phones here include Samsung Galaxy S20 (563ppi), S20 Plus (525ppi), S20 Ultra (511ppi), Xiaomi MI 11 (515ppi) etc


https://inquisitiveuniverse.com/2021/01/10/pixel-density-explained/

You can also find me on Telegram and Facebook by searching for Inquisitiveuniverse. The Telegram group is more interactive tho.

Very educative.. Thanks Op.

I am trying to take attendance please.

Xfuzzy:
Very educative.. Thanks Op.

You're welcome.

Adasun:
I am trying to take attendance please.

Lol

Well done

I heard snapdragon 888 is having heating problems o.

Rareoil:
I heard snapdragon 888 is having heating problems o.

Link please

My neighbour keeps going on and on about his Amoled screen on his Samsung A20. He'd say "just use a phone with amoled, it is the best." Mah share this link give am.

Hakeem12:
My neighbour keeps going on and on about his Amoled screen on his Samsung A20. He'd say "just use a phone with amoled, it is the best." Mah share this link give am.

Share away boss

Hakeem12:
My neighbour keeps going on and on about his Amoled screen on his Samsung A20. He'd say "just use a phone with amoled, it is the best." Mah share this link give am.

amoled on those cheap samsung are something else

sunshineV:
amoled on those cheap samsung are something else

Not all AMOLEDs are AMOLEDs.

The "real" AMOLEDs by Samsung are super and dynamic AMOLEDs.

The rest na scam.

Samsung phones without those two are prolly using generic AMOLEDs.

@atheistandproud, you are really churning out useful stuff. Great work.

Hakeem12:
My neighbour keeps going on and on about his Amoled screen on his Samsung A20. He'd say "just use a phone with amoled, it is the best."

na true na.

atheistandproud:


Not all AMOLEDs are AMOLEDs.

The "real" AMOLEDs by Samsung are super and dynamic AMOLEDs.

The rest na scam.

Samsung phones without those two are prolly using generic AMOLEDs.

so tecno,gionee,umidigi own no follow?

Randerl:
@atheistandproud, you are really churning out useful stuff. Great work.

Thank you sir

Youngpo413:
so tecno,gionee,umidigi own no follow?

Generic AMOLEDs

atheistandproud:

Generic AMOLEDs

Brokeness no good wallahi

atheistandproud:

Generic AMOLEDs

aka chinko AMOLEDs,lol,thanks for the info.

Timmzycul11:

Brokeness no good wallahi

Na wa my brother

Youngpo413:
aka chinko AMOLEDs,lol,thanks for the info.

Lol.

So my Samsung A30 falls in this category B PPI.

A very educative wrote up....

Great job from OP.

fredie107:
So my Samsung A30 falls in this category B PPI.

A very educative write up....

jjxxx:
Great job from OP.

Thank you sirs.

Thanks for sharing such an informative thread. I have been trying to understand PPI for many weeks. However, I have a few questions here. First of all, can we improve the PPI of any image that is already with the quality of poor pixels? If yes, then what tools you can suggest?

Secondly, I want to know whether I can use this web application https://ruler.onl/ for graphic designing software to measure the PPI. Actually, I am not using premium graphical design software that is why I don't have functionalities to measure pixel per inch. I would be grateful if you share your thoughts on this matter.

Thanks.

atheistandproud:


Not all AMOLEDs are AMOLEDs.

The "real" AMOLEDs by Samsung are super and dynamic AMOLEDs.

The rest na scam.

Samsung phones without those two are prolly using generic AMOLEDs.

Lolzzz as far as am concern cheap Samsung with AMOLED is the same thing with eye Care mode.

Who else skip the step followed to arrive at the final result of the ppi, thump up bros, more ppi more clarity

ICEWIN:


Lolzzz as far as am concern cheap Samsung with AMOLED is the same thing with eye Care mode.