Laptops and Mobile Devices Lesson 003: Display Attributes Part 1

Display Attributes

Used to define the quality and performance of a given screen.

What are the key display attributes?

Pixel density, refresh rate, screen resolution, and color gamut

Pixel Density

The number of pixels packed into a given area.

What does PPI stand for?

Pixels Per Inch.

How is pixel density measured?

In PPI.

What does higher pixel density result in?

Sharper images and texts appear on the display.

What is the PPI required for a display to be considered a retina display?

300 PPI.

What is the trade off of a display having a higher PPI?

It requires the system to use more processing power, potentially impacting overall device performance and battery life.

What is an important consideration when deciding display PPI?

Balancing pixel density and screen size as well as the intended use case for the device when selecting a screen based on pixel density.

Refresh Rate

Measures how often a display updates the image per second.

What does Hz stand for?

Hertz.

What is refresh rate measured in?

Hz.

What is the most common refresh rate on displays used for everyday tasks?

60 Hz.

What is the most common preferred refresh rate for devices used for gaming and video playback?

120-144 Hz.

Why is a 120-144 Hz display preferred over 60 Hz?

It provides smoother motion across the screen and reduces the possibility of image blurring.

What is needed in order for a system to utilize a display with higher refresh rates, especially displays capable of up to 240 Hz?

A graphics card that’s capable of rendering frames quickly enough.

Screen Resolution

The number of pixels displayed horizontally and vertically on any given screen.

What is the resolution of 1080p displays?

1920 × 1080.

What is the resolution of 4K displays?

3840 × 2160.

What is the resolution of 8K displays?

7680 × 4320.