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Other Interesting thought - XR resolution may not matter

thadoggfather

thadoggfather

macrumors P6
Original poster
Oct 1, 2007
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Dont get me wrong, this isnt an apologist thread for not having a 6.1” AT LEAST 1080p screen for $749 in 2018 especially when a 1080p 5.5” screen was offered “as low as” $799 as the latest and greatest of LED offerings, the year before and certainly still is with 7plus and 8plus offered in lower price tiers now. It’s Apple greed plain and simple, from my perspective. Any Battery life increases would be a side effect (supposed to be 1.5 hours more than 8plus, between lower resolution screen and A12)

As a side note its also quite sloppy the 8plus is $699 in the lineup and XR is $749. That pricing difference makes no sense to me.

And i also have to preface

I ‘love’ my X and backup 7Plus screens- I love the 458ppi and 401ppi respectively... though the 458ppi has to factor in pentile and sub pixel layout, somewhat even offset by high quality Samsung OLED’s and Apple’s software voodoo. (And I’m not really in the market for an XR so this isnt to convince myself to buy one, OLED is king I love pure blacks on my jailbroken device and the crazy contrast)

If Apple applies enough software voodoo, I could see 326ppi itself actually not being an issue... especially to average Joe.

SO LONG AS p3 color gamut and other panel characteristics are up to par. If they arent, then all bets are off because ppi doesnt tell the be all end all story.

Also, just some additional perspective... my 12.9 iPad Pro is a measly 264ppi with an excellent panel in it

It’s true my iPad I’m using from a further viewing distance when used as a tablet, and even further when using the apple Smart Keyboard for a laptop like experience, but even with my face CRAMMED inches from the screen (unrealistically), I’m not balking at crazy pixelation or a shocking amount of lacking sharpness.

Nor with my SE (even tho a quality panel can be a lottery), which isnt a P3 panel or even as good as 6/6s panels in quality.
 
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There will always be those who will tell you until they are blue in the face that the difference between an iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 plus screens (for example) is night and day. I cannot say they are lying. Perhaps that is what their eyes see. I know for me, I had both sized phones each of the last 4 years and side by side, no matter the picture, video, website, or any other comparison I did....my eyes could not discern the difference (and yes, my vision is slightly better than 20/20). Could Apple have given it more pixels per inch? Sure. But they feel the screen is great and it probably is. I am put off by the whole 'liquid retina' label. Another marketing gimmick that they will use to try and lure in those who are not tech savvy. There will be people quick to point out that android phones with an even cheaper price point exist with 1080p screens. What matters is how the screen looks to the person making the purchase. The rest of the spec talk is just another d*** measuring contest.
 
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‘Liquid retina’ is an ultra cringe term

As is ‘super retina’

How does ‘liquid retina’ sound cooler than ‘retina’ that has a higher resolution? (Plus)

Apple is confusing

“Same ppi as iphone 4/2010” is a true statement but misleading. Many other advancements in screens beyond stagnant ppi

iPhone 4,5,6,7,8 have same ppi. And now Xr
 
I’m sure the XR display will look great, and for the most consumers won’t care about resolution, but for me, I couldn’t opt for the XR resolution as it stands, especially buying some of the most recent updated iPhone resolutions.
 
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This is resolution is a crap. It would be a downgrade from my 6S Plus so what's the point of having a worse screen?

You know what I hate with cheap PC laptops? Screens. That's why I love my MBP.

I think the iPhone XS is worth the price.

iPhone XR has:
- lower resolution, LCD screen
- aluminium body
- single-lens camera
- less storage
- available in October

I chose XS.
 
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mpConroe said:
This is resolution is a crap. It would be a downgrade from my 6S Plus so what's the point of having a worse screen?

You know what I hate with cheap PC laptops? Screens. That's why I love my MBP.

I think the iPhone XS is worth the price.

iPhone XR has:
- lower resolution, LCD screen
- aluminium body
- single-lens camera
- less storage
- available in October

I chose XS.
Click to expand...

So did I, xs max, but I don’t consider lower ppi the only metric in display quality.
 
The problem is that it is a 828p screen on a 6.1 inch device. My Note 8 looks horribly blurry when I set it to 720p with a 6.3” screen and 6.1 is not that much far... I can even see it’s not sharp enough at 1080p so imagine the iPhone? The pictures won’t look as sharp as they do on the XS and that is a downgrade for an expensive phone like the XR.
 
It's the same people who complain phones like the Oneplus are "only" 1080p compared to their mighty 1440 Samsungs etc (even though they ship at 1080p FHD setting on). The same people who complained the 6/6s/7 Plus was "only" 1080p.

Always will be spec complainers. I had no issue with any of those 3 plus models at 1080p, they looked crisp to me. And I had no issue with regular size iphones at the 326 PPI. Never did I say many that's blurry.

The resolution means little to nothing, it is the PPI that matters whne talking image quality. And 326 PPI is not blurry/poor.

If you think so then you must think all ipads are blurry as heck as even the newest 12.9 and 10.5 out are "only" 264 PPI. And they certainly are not poor viewing experiences at all.
 
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1050792 said:
The problem is that it is a 828p screen on a 6.1 inch device. My Note 8 looks horribly blurry when I set it to 720p with a 6.3” screen and 6.1 is not that much far... I can even see it’s not sharp enough at 1080p so imagine the iPhone? The pictures won’t look as sharp as they do on the XS and that is a downgrade for an expensive phone like the XR.
Click to expand...

True but the pictures WILL look as sharp as they do on the 8, and that's absolutely fine for a LOT of people. You don't have to buy the XR if the res is too low for you but I am sure it will sell very well.
 
martin2345uk said:
True but the pictures WILL look as sharp as they do on the 8, and that's absolutely fine for a LOT of people. You don't have to buy the XR if the res is too low for you but I am sure it will sell very well.
Click to expand...
They can’t look as sharp as the 8 because the 8 has a 4.7” screen and the XR is much bigger at 6.1”, imagine if your computer screen is 27” and you set the resolution to 1280x720p, things will look huge and blurry.
 
1050792 said:
The problem is that it is a 828p screen on a 6.1 inch device. My Note 8 looks horribly blurry when I set it to 720p with a 6.3” screen and 6.1 is not that much far... I can even see it’s not sharp enough at 1080p so imagine the iPhone? The pictures won’t look as sharp as they do on the XS and that is a downgrade for an expensive phone like the XR.
Click to expand...

Setting your Note to 720p isn't the same as it still has a much higher native resolution so any lower resolution will be blurry.

My previous two phones have been a Oneplus One and Oneplus 3, both with 1080p 5.5" 16:9 screens but one was LCD and one was OLED. Despite the pentile arrangement I did not notice any difference in sharpness and for that size I felt 1080p was perfectly fine. The iPhone XR is roughly the same physical size as my Oneplus 3 but with a taller screen. I have to see it in person but I thinkt the XR will be noticeably less sharp in comparison. I had a Sony Z5 Compact briefly and I found its 4.6" 720p display already too low res.

1440p or higher screens on current size phones are complete excess IMO so I don't mind the resolutions chosen for the XS and XS Max.
 
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1050792 said:
They can’t look as sharp as the 8 because the 8 has a 4.7” screen and the XR is much bigger at 6.1”, imagine if your computer screen is 27” and you set the resolution to 1280x720p, things will look huge and blurry.
Click to expand...

Huh? PPI is pixels per inch of display size. That is why the XR display is over 720p, to compensate for the screen size difference from 4.7 to 6.1

In the PPI number the screen size in inches means zero. You cannot mix resolution with PPI.

The XR has the EXACT same pixels per inch of display and the 8. So how is it "not as sharp?" They will have the identical pixels per inch of display on each.
 
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kasakka said:
Setting your Note to 720p isn't the same as it still has a much higher native resolution so any lower resolution will be blurry.

My previous two phones have been a Oneplus One and Oneplus 3, both with 1080p 5.5" 16:9 screens but one was LCD and one was OLED. Despite the pentile arrangement I did not notice any difference in sharpness and for that size I felt 1080p was perfectly fine. The iPhone XR is roughly the same physical size as my Oneplus 3 but with a taller screen. I have to see it in person but I thinkt the XR will be noticeably less sharp in comparison. I had a Sony Z5 Compact briefly and I found its 4.6" 720p display already too low res.

1440p or higher screens on current size phones are complete excess IMO so I don't mind the resolutions chosen for the XS and XS Max.
Click to expand...
But you are comparing 1080P which is perfectly acceptable and sharp enough for most phones these days, unlike 828p. You won’t even be able to enjoy 1080P content which is essential in 2018. Apple just went cheap here for no reason and they sell a much cheaper phone with 1080P and a very expensive one with 828p.
 
1050792 said:
They can’t look as sharp as the 8 because the 8 has a 4.7” screen and the XR is much bigger at 6.1”, imagine if your computer screen is 27” and you set the resolution to 1280x720p, things will look huge and blurry.
Click to expand...
I don't think you understand PPI. The XR will look exactly as sharp at the 8, because they have the exact same PPI. In fact they are both sharper than the iPad Pros which have a lower PPI.
 
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1144557 said:
Huh? PPI is pixels per inch of display size. That is why the XR display is over 720p, to compensate for the screen size difference from 4.7 to 6.1

The XR has the EXACT same pixels per inch of display and the 8. So how is it "not as sharp?"
Click to expand...
It can compensate but it’s still not going to be as sharp as they could have made it for the price you are paying. 828p is a joke in 2018.
 
1050792 said:
It can compensate but it’s still not going to be as sharp as they could have made it for the price you are paying. 828p is a joke in 2018.
Click to expand...

You're talking in circles now.

There are 326 pixels on every inch of display on both an 8 and XR. Same exact pixel density. Period. Anything else is making stuff up.

And again, you must think all modern ipads are INCREDIBLY poor at a measly 264ppi. Never heard one complaint on those they are grainy displays.
 
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1144557 said:
You're talking in circles now.

There are 326 pixels on every inch of display on an 8 and XR. Period. Anything else is making stuff up.
Click to expand...
And you find acceptable to have a screen with the same “sharpness” as the 6 from 2014? That’s called trying to justify a product when the company is just being cheap, just like “Apple removed the screen” and you go like “It’s alright I barely used it anyway”.
 
1050792 said:
And you find acceptable to have a screen with the same “sharpness” as the 6 from 2014? That’s called trying to justify a product when the company is just being cheap, just like “Apple removed the screen” and you go like “It’s alright I barely used it anyway”.
Click to expand...

Who cares about numbers if it looks good to the eye? Being a spec wh*re means nothing to 98% of the purchasing community out there.
 
balaplus said:
A contest that Apple started in the first place by talking up 'ppi' and retina displays. Can't blame us now can they?
Click to expand...
I think that’s a fair point. When the iPhone 4 was introduced, the 326ppi was a big deal. Competition eventually surpassed it. I still didn’t prefer the alternative displays because I felt they were over saturated and cartoonish looking. But once that was corrected, Apple was left behind.
 
1144557 said:
Who cares about numbers if it looks good to the eye? Being a spec wh*re means nothing to 98% of the purchasing community out there.
Click to expand...
That’s called ripping people of because you can find a $300 phone with a sharper screen and yes it’s noticiable :)
 
My question is how does Netflix/hulu/YouTube stream. Does it automatically down scale?

Right now on my 8plus I have options on sat youtube auto (720p), 1080p,480p, 360p,240p
 
1144557 said:
You're talking in circles now.

There are 326 pixels on every inch of display on both an 8 and XR. Same exact pixel density. Period. Anything else is making stuff up.

And again, you must think all modern ipads are INCREDIBLY poor at a measly 264ppi. Never heard one complaint on those they are grainy displays.
Click to expand...

Viewing distance matters. You don't look at your iPad quite as close up. Likewise my 27" 1440p screen at 108 PPI is fine at the intended viewing distances, which again is further than an iPad or iPhone.
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aneftp said:
My question is how does Netflix/hulu/YouTube stream. Does it automatically down scale?

Right now on my 8plus I have options on sat youtube auto (720p), 1080p,480p, 360p,240p
Click to expand...

It downscales automatically. I watch 4K YouTube on my 1440p desktop screen, mostly because the higher resolution helps offset the video compression so even at a lower res it resolves more detail.
 
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