Monitor Resolutions and Sizes Review

2024-01-01 22:38:54Z

As a very computer person, I have used monitors with differing resolutions and sizes.

Today, I have 2 comparisons to make:

• A random 21-inch (or 24-inch) 1920x1080 (HD 1080p) monitor compared to a random 27-inch 3840x2160 (4k) monitor
• My MacBook's internal display compared to my Fairphone 4

=> My MacBook technical specifications

=> Fairphone 4 technical specifications

21-inch 1080p vs. 27-inch 4k

(I am not exactly sure of the exact inches of my previous 1080p monitor, and it might be 24-inch. So I'll include a 24-inch 1080p monitor in the comparison.)

My previous monitor was a 21-inch 1920x1080 (1080p) monitor. Because the text wasn't really that sharp to my liking (I have a MacBook with its sharp internal display, after all), I decided to get a 4k monitor.

The 4k monitor I happened to get is an LS27A70 with the Samsung brand on it. Feel free to look up whatever that is, but the monitor is a 27-inch 3840x2160 monitor.

Putting the numbers into a random online Pixels Per Inch calculator, it returns **104.90 PPI for the 1080p monitor and

163.18 PPI for the 4k monitor**.

(Assuming that the 1080p monitor was actually 24-inch, it would be 91.79 PPI)

=> Pixels per inch calculator

Well, what do those numbers even mean?

Actually, it doesn't say much about how sharp text will look on those monitors.

With the 1080p monitor, I can pretty much see the tiny pixels when sitting quite close to it but still being able to see the entire monitor. I don't like not very sharp text, so I got a 4k monitor.

In my experience with the 27-inch 4k, I have to sit far away enough to see the entire monitor. At that point, the text is pretty sharp and I wouldn't be able to tell apart the tiny pixels. Looking any closer at the display is pretty abnormal (for me, at least), but does mean I can see the pixels more.

My MacBook vs Fairphone 4

My MacBook has a 13.3 inch 2560x1600 display. The Fairphone 4 has a 1080x2340 display when in portrait mode, and 2340x1080 in landscape mode.

These are getting into "weird resolutions territory". MacBooks tend to have a 16:10 aspect ratio, and my Fairphone 4 has an aspect ratio of 19.5:9.

Basically, MacBooks have a slightly taller displays than 16:9 monitors (the 1080p and 4k monitors that I talked about earlier), and the Fairphone 4 has a wider display in landscape mode.

Number-wise, my MacBook has a 226.98 PPI display, and the Fairphone 4 has a 409.08 PPI display.

Experience-wise, both have sharp text at reasonable viewing distances. I can start seeing the pixels on my MacBook if I stared at it closely, but on the Fairphone 4? I can't see pixels even if I tried, except for dead pixels at max brightness in very dark rooms.

Recap

• I primarily use a 13-inch MacBook, which has pretty sharp text
• A 4k monitor (27-inch) had sharper text compared to the 1080p monitor (21-inch) I had
• The Fairphone 4 display (6.3 inch, 1080p but wider in landscape) has a PPI that is way too high for me to see individual pixels (except for dead pixels with max brightness in dark rooms)
• The 4k monitor, my MacBook, and the Fairphone 4 all has pretty sharp text, with the baseline being my MacBook

Overall, higher pixels per inch means more pixels to make sharper text, although anything above a MacBook could start being too much (e.g. Fairphone 4).

Also, there's another factor to account for: Viewing distance. I have not accounted for that, and I think that's an important factor.

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