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720p Displays - 'Cool Factor' or a practical improvement?

I’m going to be buying a new phone soon. I’ve been eyeing up the Galaxy S II but I thought I might as well wait and see what is announced this month. One thing that all top end rumoured phones have in common is a 720p display. I have to admit this alone has tempted me to wait. But then I got to thinking, aside from the ‘cool’ factor. What benefit in the real world will a 720p display bring us?
The two main advantages that I can see are improved PPI and the obvious advantage when playing 720p videos. But a higher PPI means more processing power, which in turn means lower battery life. Also from an admittedly purely lazy point of view it means having to zoom in further to be able to read text.
A 720p display will now mean that 480p videos on youtube and the like will be upscaled and won’t look as good. ‘Just choose the 720p option’ you say. Fine, so long as you’re on wifi. Until 4G hits and is widespread (which in the UK is going to take a while) it will mean longer waits and buffer issues.
Yes I’m nit picking but I’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts on the pros and cons of a 720p display. I know there will be many more I’ve missed.

i see it from 2 sides....
720p = really nice picture quality
720p bad for some apps/games, which might no longer run properly, unless fixed, or some how the hardware can auto adjust the resolution to stretch it to fit.
720p can be a bit of a pain, if some Apps/Games developer decide to use too small of a touch area, due the larger dot-pix available in the 720p area
that also means DVD quality or lower quality videos played on the 720p will look like blurry or smeared, that can be fixed with software/hardware correction, like games.

^^ All that.
Plus, I don't really see the need for a 720 screen that's around the 4" size. Do you really need pixels that small? They'll be smaller than photons if we carry on like this and then it'll be reality that'll have to catch up with our tech
Personally, I wouldn't hold back for purely that one feature, but who knows what else is round the corner. Get a phone and let it be the best for a few months and then slowly drop down the list. As everyone always says, there's always something better coming, and if you waited then you'd never get anything.
Incidentally, I do have the SGS2, and it is REALLY nice

well definitely 1080p will be around the corner as we already stepped into the 720p kingdom
so 1080p on a 4" display would not be a long wait, but it will really make you think, what's the point of cramming so much in such a little screen
i can see 1080p to be a normal thin on a 10" tablet, but on a phone... that's a bit much
i do hope they don't go beyond 720p on any screen smaller than 5"
imagine running Windows Vista/7 on 15" wide LCD at 1080 (there are many laptops that are actually like that) it's soooooo eye strain-ful, it literally kills the eyes
i always down set the resolution back to something more readable to not strain my eyes

AllGamer said:
i always down set the resolution back to something more readable to not strain my eyes
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Do you need your reading glasses as well, so you can find your pipe and slippers?

i don't wear glasses, and i intent to keep it that way, reason why i prefer an easy reading, on 480 vs 720
on 720 i'll have to probably the the font size twice as big, to make it easily legible when you are in the car, bus/subway, or walking
no i don't get dizzy reading while doing any of the above
many people can't read if they are in a moving vehicle
probably due the same relevant issue about having to scan the text in a small device and straining your vision, while trying to keep an eye on the road and not crashing

AllGamer said:
i don't wear glasses, and i intent to keep it that way, reason why i prefer an easy reading, on 480 vs 720
on 720 i'll have to probably the the font size twice as big, to make it easily legible when you are in the car, bus/subway, or walking
no i don't get dizzy reading while doing any of the above
many people can't read if they are in a moving vehicle
probably due the same relevant issue about having to scan the text in a small device and straining your vision, while trying to keep an eye on the road and not crashing
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I agree with you, therebisbreally no reason to go above 720p resolution on small smartphone devices. I myself notice my eyes begin to hurt after more than thirty minutes or so of heavy reading on my Sensation. Now I know my Sensation does not have 720p but I am just saying the size of the screen and the text on that screen is no doubt a strain on the human eye after extended reading done on the device. 1080p is definitely so,ethimg that should just make it to the larger tablets and not smartphones.
Oh and yes actually paying attention to the road while you are driving is a highly recommended activity lol.

AllGamer said:
that also means DVD quality or lower quality videos played on the 720p will look like blurry or smeared, that can be fixed with software/hardware correction, like games.
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This is just plain wrong, low resolution video will look just as good on 720p displays.
Sent from my GT-I9100

Maybe i miss-understood your question, but i am using the Galaxy SII
I never had any screen / resolution issues

Well,first off,let's not forget that Android supports changing the DPI in build.prop(I think-haven't bothered in a while).I don't think manufacturers will leave 220-240 dpi of the current devices on 720p devices,but they would rather pump it up,so that everything stays the same size,but is just crisper.That's just my thought though.
On another note,lower resolution videos won't look worse at all.Resolution in that aspect is irrelevant.The same way that you can play a 720p video on a 480p screen without problems,you can do the opposite just as well.Unless some manufacturer decides to f*ck it up with upscaling tricks and stuff that will defo make the image blurry and ugly.
The only really valid argument on the topic,in my opinion,is the possible lack of processing power,especially when it comes to GPUs.We even saw the Mali MP-400,the most powerful GPU on a PHONE (DON'T SAY ABOUT THE A5 IN THE iPAD!!!!) to date,struggle to keep up in the case of the Galaxy Note's resolution.If the next gen of SoCs doesn't improve quite a lot in that aspect,we'll see some performance drops for sure.Not to mention the worst thing,the losses of battery life in case that extra power is met.Not that I mind about battery life as long as it makes it through the day,but many many people do.

Do any of you guys know the p in 720p stands for?
It has nothing to do with resolution, which is what you are all trying to talk about.

Papi4baby said:
Do any of you guys know the p in 720p stands for?
It has nothing to do with resolution, which is what you are all trying to talk about.
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progressive, opposed to the i of interlaced.
Technically 720i use half the vertical pixels for each frame.

Papi4baby said:
Do any of you guys know the p in 720p stands for?
It has nothing to do with resolution, which is what you are all trying to talk about.
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Yes man,we know.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/720p

sgs 2
sent from my cappy. xda app

HD rules

4K video so disappointing

I've been recording a few 4k clips. I think its pretty pointless A) No OIS , you need a tripod only reall for using it B) Frame rate not 30fps all the time stutters a bit.
Other than that its the most detailed amazing video on my 2560 x 1440p monitor (No 4k monitor yet), but with no OIS its really not practical at all. Or usable. And not to mention the 5 minute clip limit...
Anyone here going to honestly be using it over 1080p? (Unless you carry a tripod) Guess i'm too use to the G2's OIS camera which gives much smoother videos.

Honestly, mostly I just use 720p. In my opinion the 4k function is an marketing trick by Samsung. Well it works but the mainstream market needs a few more years until it's the non+ ultra. It's nice to have but I'm quietly sure I won't use it at all.

Lenniitsch said:
Honestly, mostly I just use 720p. In my opinion the 4k function is an marketing trick by Samsung. Well it works but the mainstream market needs a few more years until it's the non+ ultra. It's nice to have but I'm quietly sure I won't use it at all.
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Agreed. 100% marketing gimmick. Other than playing with it for a few minutes, doubt I will ever use it again. If it was 4K 30fps with image stabilization yes.

Chaialo says
I was actually thinking of filming a commercial with it. I do have a tripod, slider and a clamp to hold it. I will also be shooting the same scenes in 1080P on my HPX300 just in case.

Hendrickson said:
I've been recording a few 4k clips. I think its pretty pointless A) No OIS , you need a tripod only reall for using it B) Frame rate not 30fps all the time stutters a bit.
Other than that its the most detailed amazing video on my 2560 x 1440p monitor (No 4k monitor yet), but with no OIS its really not practical at all. Or usable. And not to mention the 5 minute clip limit...
Anyone here going to honestly be using it over 1080p? (Unless you carry a tripod) Guess i'm too use to the G2's OIS camera which gives much smoother videos.
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I wish you guys would quit with the whining.. the camera (from what I have seen) is clearly better than its predecessors or just about anything on the market for a smartphone. Samsung has clearly improved this phone in every way, its by far the best phone on the market. No other phone can anywhere close to what this phone offers, the features are endless. So stop crying and be happy that you are fortunate to own the best phone on the market. IMO

I don't think that the 4k ability is outstanding but someone has to take the first step. And that the note 3 can handle the bandwidth needed for 4k is enough to wow me right there.(it is very compressed I'd imagine)
And to people saying its a marketing gimmick, isn't the iphones slow mo feature the same? The note 3 can do 720p 120fps just like the iphone but there not hyping it up. 4k is more exciting then watching every video on YouTube in slow mo. If I want to watch slow mo I want to see it at 1000fps with a true slow mo camera.

Lenniitsch said:
Honestly, mostly I just use 720p. In my opinion the 4k function is an marketing trick by Samsung. Well it works but the mainstream market needs a few more years until it's the non+ ultra. It's nice to have but I'm quietly sure I won't use it at all.
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Uh, 4K is a feature of the snapdragon 800 chipset. Samsung had nothing to do with it. Blame Qualcomm for it being less than desirable.

I imagine xda devs will get around the 5 minute limit soon enough.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317

I'm so tired of coming to this forum and seeing people constantly complain about things that are either superficial or not mind blowing (etc. speakers not putting out surround sound 7.1, 4k not being worlds better than 1080p).
Keep these negative post in:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2458640

Agree Sgt. Beside that I would add permission that people with less of 200 (maybe 100) cant open new threads in general..Only qa.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app

Sounds great, they should also make it that Samsung fanboys can only start posts too? Fanboys here don't let people express their opinions which is what forums are all about discussions and sometimes there are topics you might not like.
Edit: I've request this thread be lock and buried incase more don't like it

Mod Edit
Thread closed at [OP] request
malybru
Forum Moderator

Has anyone tried downscaling our S6 screen to 1080p?

Now before ppl bite my head off asking why, whats the point, im butthurt etc., my reasoning is I, along with many others, did this on my Note 4 and noticed both an increased in performance and battery life. I am just wondering if anyone has tried this yet on the S6? I know the QHD is one of its selling points, but there are some of us who dont notice the difference between 1080p, yet bought the S6 for its excellent build and stellar camera. Anyways, drop a reply if you wanna weigh in!

i would like to know also whether it does increase battery life!

Once you figure out how to remove all those extra pixels, please let us know

I dont think it will improve things nor battery life.
The downscaled resolution will also be on the full screen and will use also all the pixels. Therefor still all the pixels will be used and will be powered on.
Forget it, no chance.

Guessing this would mean GPU working less and therefore less power used. Not sure it would do much though. Of course actual screen power used would not decrease.

The screen can only display it's native resolution. All lower resolution images are upscaled to the native resolution.

ramon.nmgn said:
I dont think it will improve things nor battery life.
The downscaled resolution will also be on the full screen and will use also all the pixels. Therefor still all the pixels will be used and will be powered on.
Forget it, no chance.
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Ah didn't think about that. It's weird though because I analy tested this on my note 4 and noticed a 2 hour difference without fail in battery consumption. Maybe something else I did contributed to that change?. Anyways thanks for weighing in!

Will it have 4K screen?

Only reason I'd upgrade.

I have Note 5 and the resolution is soo good already. At 4K it would not make much difference. What would 4K do to a small screen?

Why do you need a higher resolution than 2.5k? Do you see pixels so badly that images and text look grainy? You realize the trade offs with a 4K display would be worse battery life, worse gaming performance, and likely lower quality screen as 4K in smartphones is still in it's infancy right?

lite426 said:
Only reason I'd upgrade.
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No, it won't.
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

I have a 120" wall paint screen and I only see in 1080p. If I get to 4K, that would make a mega difference.
But not on such a small screen. Even if you rip a movie to 480p, it still looks great on a 2k tiny screen.

JasonJoel said:
No, it won't.
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
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So this is confirmed that it won't?

geoff5093 said:
Why do you need a higher resolution than 2.5k? Do you see pixels so badly that images and text look grainy? You realize the trade offs with a 4K display would be worse battery life, worse gaming performance, and likely lower quality screen as 4K in smartphones is still in it's infancy right?
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I have a special use case where I'll be using it at very close distance. But wasn't Quad HD in its "infancy" as well when it came out on the S6? The screen on the S6 is good. Same when Full HD came out on the S4. Both were at the cutting edge at the time.

lite426 said:
I have a special use case where I'll be using it at very close distance. But wasn't Quad HD in its "infancy" as well when it came out on the S6? The screen on the S6 is good. Same when Full HD came out on the S4. Both were at the cutting edge at the time.
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I know the Sony Xperia has a 4k display but has lots of compromises
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

geoff5093 said:
I know the Sony Xperia has a 4k display but has lots of compromises
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
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The Xperia runs at 1080p for anything other than video or photos so that's useless to me. And I remember one of the first 720p phones, the Xperia S had really washed out colours. Then when Samsung came out with 720p there weren't any problems like that.

No. The screen itself is on par with the Note 5.

I'll only consider 4k if doesn't vastly affect battery life, but that will never happen. So 2k is perfect.

Scorpion67 said:
I'll only consider 4k if doesn't vastly affect battery life, but that will never happen. So 2k is perfect.
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Why not 1080p? You'd get even better battery life with that.

For things like VR you need the higher resolution. 4k would be better for that.
The release today confirmed no 4k screen, which is really no big surprise.
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

I personally think 4K on a mobile is pointless! On a 55" tv on the other hand!...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This reminds me of the old camera megapixel debate. Bigger?! It must be better!! Er...no. Screens this size do not need 4K, it's a waste and additional real estate for the GPU and CPU to push around. Once you get beyond a certain DPI, the human eye will struggle to notice the difference. 4K on a 55" television? Yes, worth it. 4K on a 5.5" phone? No, it's an unnecessary gimmick to sell phones to people who should know better.
In short, the resolution on the S7 is more than good enough.

'''more than half of US households are anticipated to have a 4K-capable TV '''
Then why not for S7 ? Curious about it

Penelope559 said:
'''more than half of US households are anticipated to have a 4K-capable TV '''
Then why not for S7 ? Curious about it
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Simple answer, because it's not required. And comparing the resolution of a phone to a TV is ridiculous given the size difference, see my post above. I'm personally glad Samsung haven't bought into the 4K bulls**t and concentrated on more important aspects of the phone to improve.

Beefheart said:
This reminds me of the old camera megapixel debate. Bigger?! It must be better!! Er...no. Screens this size do not need 4K, it's a waste and additional real estate for the GPU and CPU to push around. Once you get beyond a certain DPI, the human eye will struggle to notice the difference. 4K on a 55" television? Yes, worth it. 4K on a 5.5" phone? No, it's an unnecessary gimmick to sell phones to people who should know better.
In short, the resolution on the S7 is more than good enough.
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Excuse me, no one's said bigger=better. I have specific uses where the extra resolution will be valuable. Please don't speak for everyone.

What uses are these?

Beefheart said:
What uses are these?
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VR, as mentioned earlier.
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Wich resolution you use on Oreo

Hi,
Wich resolution you use ? (1080P/1440P)
And why ?
Please say if you have an S8 or S8+.
It would be Better if you are on Oreo (Samsung have working on it in Oreo for less difference on both resolution )

I use 1080p cant see the difference im on s8

Mads4295 said:
I use 1080p cant see the difference im on s8
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Thank, you are on Oreo?

1440P oreo. can see the diffirence in resolution, but not in the battery

deraiz12 said:
Thank, you are on Oreo?
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Yes im on Oreo

1440p for sure. If I need to last battery like for a long time (and forget my powerbank) i´ll just probably use battery saver - 720p. Don´t see reason why use 1080p anyway...

Problems with facebook on 720p. Pictures and videos are cropped.

I have seen big difference in smoothness .
For compared in fhd+ my s8 is more fast than mate 9 of my wife and In qhd+ the mate 9 win .

There's minimal battery difference between running it in fullhd+ and qhd+, the only way you would find some battery savings is if you play games a lot. I'm on oreo beta exynos

1440p. I'd rather it look better than get an extra 15 minutes of battery life

Wow...I can't believe people aren't using the full quality of the screen. You do realise the battery difference is negligible right? Whether you use FHD or QHD+, the display is still having to power up all the pixels. You save maybe 15 minutes of battery, nothing more, by using FHD.
Personally I can definitely see the difference in visual quality.

the_scotsman said:
Wow...I can't believe people aren't using the full quality of the screen. You do realise the battery difference is negligible right? Whether you use FHD or QHD+, the display is still having to power up all the pixels. You save maybe 15 minutes of battery, nothing more, by using FHD.
Personally I can definitely see the difference in visual quality.
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Yes agree with you but in term of performance the difference are no negligible.

Wtf are you guys talking about? The gpu is always running and rendering for full resolution. From what I understand, this "Screen resolution" setting is nothing like the "Screen resolution that you observe in Windows OS...". The difference is just the percieved resolution (BY APPS!!!) similar to what is done on MacOS..

malimukk said:
Wtf are you guys talking about? The gpu is always running and rendering for full resolution. From what I understand, this "Screen resolution" setting is nothing like the "Screen resolution that you observe in Windows OS...". The difference is just the percieved resolution (BY APPS!!!) similar to what is done on MacOS..
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Sorry but I don't agreed with you .
The operation of the gpu is the same as that on video games. If you play in FHD or QHD the request for power is not the same and you need a gpu/cpu more powerful .

A pixel is a pixel is a pixel. The higher the resolution, the "smaller" they seem.... You are still powering on all the pixels regardless ofthe resolution... The resolution, as it was mentioned before, is for the apps to use for scaling (if you ever develop anything for Android, read this article https://developer.android.com/guide/practices/screens_support.html)
Resolution has little to no effect on battery, everyone stop crying about it...

1440p because I wasn't raised in a barn.
Haha! I just had to put that. I do use it but I have no good reason.

I have to agree with an earlier post that the higher resolution would impact performance.
I tried the highest resolution and I agree, everything looks much better and has close to 0 impact on battery life (if that's your thing) but I did notice a significant drop in performance.
That being said on 1080 there 0 lag, while on the higher resolution there's lag even in basic apps like messaging or contacts.
But that's my experience.
I don't really care that much about battery life on the s8 as it always got me through a whole day of usage, regardless of the settings, but I do care about performance.
I am 99% sure changing the resolution has an impact on gpu.
It's correct that I doesn't impact display power consumption but the gpu has to render more, so it will impact gpu performance.
Just my 2cents