LG says Apple’s 300ppi Retina definition is industry misconception

[RedRound2]

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone 4, he also introduced us to Apple’s definition of a Retina display. “There’s a magic number right around 300 pixels per inch, that when you hold something around 10 or 12 inches away from your eyes, is the limit of the human retina to differentiate the pixels… text looks like you’ve seen it in a fine printed book.”  That Retina branding has become an industry misconception according to LG, and the company made a point of it during its G3 smartphone unveiling earlier today.

 

LG’s comments aren’t just relevant when comparing current iPhone models, but also when thinking about what’s planned for iPhone 6. It didn’t mention Apple by name, but it was clear LG was referring to the iPhone and Apple’s 300ppi Retina definition:

There’s one common misunderstanding within the smartphone industry. There’s a misconception that the human eye can only distinguish differences in display quality up to around 300 pixels per inch. However, this is not the case. The human eye can in fact discern differences in display quality above this measure and this is a fact that’s already understood in the printing industry. Today what they consider the best print quality is what LG has achieved with the introduction of its first Quad HD display, as seen in the G3. 

 

These people totally missed out the part of 10 to 12 inches away

 

LG also compared an HD display at 269ppi to Full HD at 403ppi and its Quad HD display from the new G3 at 538ppi:

 

“If it were true that the human eye could only discern differences in display quality up to a maximum off 300 ppi, then you wouldn't be able to notice these differences in clarity and sharpness between the images shown.”

 

 

Yeah showing the above resolutions spread across in 60" or 70" is the way they support their argument. Idiots!

 

The current iPhone lineup remains at the 326ppi that was introduced with the iPhone 4 despite later moving to a 4-inch iPhone 5 and introducing scaling modes that improved the overall quality on displays of later models. We recently reported that Apple is currently working on a 3x pixel tripling mode that would likely bring a 1704 x 960 resolution display to the next-generation iPhone. That would give the rumored 4.7-inch model a pixel density of 416 ppi and the 5.5-inch model 356ppi assuming they both use the 1704 x 960 resolution.

 

​I personally think that LG just wants to get some attention by bringing in some high specs on paper. Personally I don't see any pixelation on my iPhone when compared to HTC One (unless you go really close). Just slapping in a QHD screen on a 5.5" display IMO is a waste. I'd rather have a lower res panel with better battery life.

 

And I also do think that the iPhone 6's resolution is smart. The resolution would be high enough to view content without any pixelation but not too high that it starts affecting the battery and the GPU load required. Also not to mention the compatibility of existing apps

[Nineshadow]

I don't know why people hate on manufacturers which provide a higher pixel count...IT'S EVOLUTION OF THE MARKET!Why the hell wouldn't you want evolution?The only downside of 1440p on phones right now is the lack of content for it.

[qwertywarrior]

k

[Anthony10]

lol.. facepalm

[ShadowCaptain]

to an extent the whole PPI battle is sort of pointless. frankly as long as phone display is at least as good as the iphone 5, then its cool

 

the problem with adding ludicrously high resolution makes hard work for everyones, more battery drain, increased performance required to drive the display in games and 3d content, scaling issues with apps that do not support that resolution, etc etc etc

[Buckley]

I can most certainly tell the difference between my iPhone screen and my one m8. Same goes for my gs3

[RainfallWithin]

I don't know why people hate on manufacturers which provide a higher pixel count...IT'S EVOLUTION OF THE MARKET!Why the hell wouldn't you want evolution?The only downside of 1440p on phones right now is the lack of content for it.

 

I agree with your point, but I think you've misunderstood when to use the word 'evolution'.

 

Animals evolve. Technology advances.

[RedRound2]

I don't know why people hate on manufacturers which provide a higher pixel count...IT'S EVOLUTION OF THE MARKET!Why the hell wouldn't you want evolution?The only downside of 1440p on phones right now is the lack of content for it.

 

Why don't they develop on something like a better battery instead of bringing in features that causes more problems with almost no difference

[zanduh]

the quote from Jobs says 10-12 inches from your face and the phrase 'differentiate pixels'

 

LG showed this image on an enormous screen for people with different viewing lengths and they think they are making a point?

 

Also, yes we can tell when an image is sharper quality than 300ppi. The quote they are trying to refute, though, is that you can usually no longer differentiate pixels past that point. 

 

 

I honestly don't care about pixel wars, but LG didn't actually refute anything 

[nicholaswillems]

I  could only see the pixels really slightly on an iPhone 4 when I was really close to the screen and on a Nexus 5 I really couldn't see a pixel from closeby so I don't get why people want 4K on their phone

[NickTheMajin]

I'll take apples retina display over these higher resolution displays any day if it means a smaller phone with better performance and better battery life. 

[Misanthrope]

LG - "Yeah Jobs was full of shit, we totally have bionic eyes that can really see better than motherfucking eagles! All the way to 1440p. Incidentally, did I mention that we just produced one of the most unnecessarily high resolution screens for a mobile device at 1440p?"

 

LTT Forums - "Yeah but what's it made of?"

 

LG - "Extremely high quality and durable...plastic"

 

*room clears*

 

EDIT: Forgot the second part

[JAKEBAB]

I have an iphone 5 and it's battery is beyond bad it is rediculous how can u even say all this stuff when i bet that g3 with its display has a better battery life lol

[Dietrichw]

its okay its just a number

[Socky]

why cant Apple just use a standard resolution like 1080p or 900p or whatever. I just want to watch my videos without black bars.

[NickTheMajin]

I have an iphone 5 and it's battery is beyond bad it is rediculous how can u even say all this stuff when i bet that g3 with its display has a better battery life lol

I went from a Note 2 to an iphone 5S and experience better battery life than I did with the Note 2.

[syoumans54]

I went from a Note 2 to an iphone 5S and experience better battery life than I did with the Note 2.

That has nothing to do with the screen... Any app can quickly drain the battery if it remains running in the background. There are many examples of phones out there with bigger screens and/or bigger PPI that has longer lasting battery life compared to iPhones.

[Misanthrope]

I went from a Note 2 to an iphone 5S and experience better battery life than I did with the Note 2.

 

-MS: "Hold on...One sec...Yes Hi we're doing a live call here, we're calling bullshit!"

 

[Whiskers]

-MS: "Hold on...One sec...Yes Hi we're doing a live call here, we're calling bullshit!"

 

My Note 2 gets nowhere near as much battery life as that.

[Mooshi]

Neat.

[Misanthrope]

My Note 2 gets nowhere near as much battery life as that.

 

1) Battery degrades over time

 

2) This is a standardized test they run precisely because battery is greatly impacted by usage, even seemingly routine days can change usage drastically if Wifi is suddenly not available, if the user runs a more intensive app even for just a few minutes, etc.

 

No disrespect or anything, I do believe you guys when you say that you personally don't get as good numbers, but I just never really put much weight into anecdotal data vs actual controlled tests.

[DildorTheDecent]

LG firing shots

[paras]

LG firing shots

LG becoming a man now hehe.

[RedRound2]

-MS: "Hold on...One sec...Yes Hi we're doing a live call here, we're calling bullshit!"

 

 

gsmarena tests are bullshit. none of the phones last anywhere near what the claim it to be. math never works for battery

[paras]

gsmarena tests are bullshit. none of the phones last anywhere near what the claim it to be. math never works for battery

I agree.