From smartphones to laptops to computer monitors to TVs, the display resolution numbers are everywhere. From 5-inch smartphone displays to 50-inch TV display, these numbers are slapped together with pretty-much any digital display you can think about.
In this guide, we have addressed some of the most common misconceptions and questions regarding digital display resolutions. For example, below are few commonly asked questions:
- What’s the difference between 2K and 4K?
- What’s the difference between qHD and QHD?
- Is 2K twice the size of 4K?
- Is 1080p 1K?
- What are the different resolutions and what do they actually mean?
If you had any of the above questions, we have tried to answer all of them here and some more as well.
What is Screen Resolution?
Resolution is the number of pixels on a display or screen. A single pixel, the smallest unit to measure the display resolutions, is a tiny dot on the screen often no visible individually to the naken human eye. The more the number of pixels, the higher the sharpness of the display. But interestingly, only having a higher resolution does not make for a great display but that is for another article. There are a lot of factors such as dynamic range, color reproduction, etc. which also determine the quality of the display.
Here’s a cheat sheet for display resolutions, if you do not want to get into the technicalities:
| Resolution | Pixels |
| 540p / qHD | 960×540 pixels |
| 720p / HD | 1280×720 pixels |
| 1080p / Full HD / FHD | 19201080 pixels |
| 2K | 2048×1080 pixels |
| 1440p / QHD / QuadHD / WQHD | 2560×1440 pixels |
| 2160p / UHD | 3840×2160 pixels |
| 4K | 4096×2160 pixels |
| 5K | 5120×2880 pixels |
| 8K / 8K UHD | 7680×4320 pixels |
540p / qHD
qHD, often confused with QHD, is actually 1/4th of the HD resolutions. By today’s standards, even an HD resolution is considered as very bad. It has 4 times lesser pixels than a 1080p display resolution. The typical qHD resolution is 960 x 540 pixels. It is also called as 540p.
720p / HD
HD has to be the most (mis)used marketing term on the planet earth. You see a lot of resolutions named qHD, QuadHD, QHD, FHD, Ultra HD. HD, short of High Definition, is often associated to anything that is marketed as higher quality. For now, let’s see what the ‘HD’ actually means.
1280 x 720 pixels is the HD Resolution. It is more commonly referred to as 720p.
1080p / Full HD / FHD
1920 x 1080 pixels is the Full HD Resolution. It is also called as FHD and 1080p. 1080p displays pack over 2 million pixels which is about twice as much of the “HD” resolution.
2K is NOT QHD and vice versa.
2K
2K refers to a resolution where the larger of the pixel measurements is over 2000 pixels. A typical 2K resolution is 2048 × 1080 pixels. Basically it’s a 1080p display with a wider aspect ratio. 2K is therefore not quite the same as QHD, and in fact, QHD is better. But QHD is often confused with 2K resolution.
1440p / QHD / QuadHD / WQHD
2560 x 1440 pixels is the QuadHD resolution. 1440p resolution contains 2 times the pixels of the “HD” resolution (which is 4 million pixels) and hence the name “QuadHD”. All of the above-mentioned names refer to the same screen resolution.
The QHD also has an aspect ratio of 16:9 which is considered wide and hence some manufacturers choose to put the “W” in front of it to indicate it is WIDE, making it the “WQHD”.
2160p / UHD
UHD features a 16:9 aspect ratio and is twice the resolution of full HD. In other words, two times 1080p, two times 1920 x 1080 pixels, that is 3840 x 2160 pixels. Having the same 16:9 aspect ratio means it is backward compatible with other HD derivates. However, both 4K and UHD can be shortened to 2160p to match the HD standard and therefore, companies use the terms interchangeably.
4K
If you think 4K and UHD are one and the same, I don’t blame you. I blame the companies that LOVE to use them interchangeably all the time. You pick up a Blu-Ray movie disc of a 4K movie and you will most definitely see an Ultra HD label on it. 4K is actually not a consumer display and broadcast standard but UHD is. 4K displays are used in professional production and digital cinemas and feature 4096 x 2160 pixels.
5K
5K resolution is not a commonly used display standard. There are only a bunch of devices (that I know of). 5K describes a display resolution of 5120 x 2880 pixels and it is mostly found in Apple’s 27-inch iMac display. LG’s 27-inch Ultrafine 5K monitor also outputs at 5120 x 2880.
8K / 8K UHD
7680 × 4320 pixels is the resolution for 8K. As for 8K UHD resolution displays, they have an aspect ratio of 16:9. All digital displays or images with a width or higher pixel value of approximately 8000 pixels have an 8K resolution. At this level of resolution, the naked human eyes will not be able to notice the individual pixels at all and the display looks very clear as no dots are visible to the eyes.
Display Resolutions and Use Cases
Below are a few use cases of the resolutions:
| Resolution name | Other names | Devices |
|---|---|---|
| 8K | 8K UHD | TVs |
| “Cinema” 4K | 4K | Projectors |
| UHD | 4K, Ultra HD, Ultra-High Definition | TVs, monitors, smartphones |
| 2K | none | Projectors |
| WUXGA | Widescreen Ultra Extended Graphics Array | Monitors, projectors |
| 1080p | Full HD, FHD, HD, High Definition | TVs, monitors, smartphones |
| 720p | HD, High Definition | TVs, Smartphones |
The below image should give you an idea of how big the difference is between various display types.
I hope this article helped you figure your way around the gazillion display resolutions and terminologies that are available today.
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4K and Ultra High Definition (UHD) resolutions can be a cause for confusion because both terms are often used interchangeably when actually they are not the same. So we’ll need to do a little explaining of these, too. True 4K displays are used in professional production and digital cinemas and feature 4,096 x 2,160 pixels. UHD is different because it is a consumer display and broadcast standard with a resolution four times that of a Full 10 HD resolution: 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. The difference comes down slightly different aspect ratios between digital cinema and home displays. UHD is another 16:9 aspect ratio standard, which means screens are backwards compatible with Full HD content.
Thank You for yor article. i was totally confused until i read this.
Wonderful. Thank you so much. I have trying to shop for a smartphone, and until this article , I have been totally confused. Thanks again.
Excellent, thank you!
NICE LEARNING
is the 8K also misleading for advertising/marketing purposes?
i think the 7680 × 4320 with 16:9 ratio must be named 4320p?
while 8192 × 4320 or (2×4K) resolution must be called 8K?
Thanks for explaining a lot of misconceptions about screen resolution pixel measurements.
When you wrote
“1440p resolution contains 2 times the pixels of the “HD” resolution (which is 4 million pixels) and hence the name “QuadHD”. All of the above-mentioned names refer to the same screen resolution.”, did you mean 2560 x 1440 = 3,686,400 , but is rounded up to mean 4K?
You’re welcome. I am no expert on display resolutions in any way but, yeah, I think it’s rounded up to mean 4K 🙂
No, it means it has 4 times more pixels than 1280×720, hence QuadHD.
4k is a fake farce, NO TV you buy is 4k, they should be correctly called 2160p tv, but that don’t sound cool enough for the sellers, so they fake you into think your buying a 4k tv that’s 4x that of 1080p, nope just 2x as 1080p(BY their standard should be instead be called 2k), since it measure by THEIR standard at 1920, almost 2k just like TV’s are 3840 almost 4k, just double the 1920 x1080 and you come up with 3840 x 2160 the same resolution as their so called 4k TV, more Typical lying or double standard typical seller lying. Don’t beleive me, try converting a video in true 4k measurements and try to get it to play on your so called 4k tv or 4k Blu Ray player, anything other than a true 4k monitor.
Jeg laver mange video film fra vore ferieoplevelser, og til optagelser bruger jeg IPhone 13, HD Video og 4K video.
Når jeg redigere mine videoer bruger jeg Adobe Premiere pro og skalere optagelserne så de passer til formatet HD formatet, svarende til de optagere klip i HD format.
Mit spørgsmål er om jeg får noget ud af at optage i 4K format, når jeg alligevel nedskalerer klippene til HD formatet?
I have ordered a pad with ‘2k’ resolution, which I assumed is good, fine, detail (non-tech here). But I later read elsewhere that the same pad has 216 ppi, which I understand could be grainy.
How can these two specs. be compatible?
What quality should I expect to see?
how is 4k and UHD differendhjmh,k
You introduced a new term, WUXGA, in the Use Case table. What is that?
WUXGA is 1920×1200, giving an AR of 16:10.
Lots more info on this, here – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080p
This chart almost certainly clarifies XGA, WUXGA, WQXGA, et-cetera…
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Vector_Video_Standards8.svg
🙏🏻