Screen sizes

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The page compares screen sizes available on eBook Readers and defines a few terms.

Contents

[edit] Overview

This display size is usually given as a single number that represents the diagonal dimension of the screen. This number, however, doesn't tell the whole story. You need the height and width to really know the size of the screen.

Next to the size of the screen the next important number is related to the number of pixels on the screen. This is usually summarized as a PPI (pixels per inch) which relates screen size and screen resolution. Digital cameras use a pure total pixel count as a measure which could also be applied to a screen by multiplying the number of pixels wide by height. Modern large portable screens can now reach or exceed 5.0 MP (mega pixels) which relates directly to how big a picture they can show at full resolution.

If you are a very visual person you can use the dimensions given and a ruler to cut out paper to the exact size and then compare.

[edit] Aspect Ratio

While the diagonal number is a convenient number to use for display size the important screen size is actually the area of the screen which determines the total number of letters and thus words that can appear on the page. The area is related to the diagonal size by the aspect ratio. This is a term that describes the relationship of the height of the display to the width of the display. For example a 5" screen that was 4" high and 3" wide would have a ratio of 4:3 or sometimes represented by dividing the smaller number into the larger as 1.33:1. The area of such a screen would be 12 square inches. A narrower screen would have a less reading area. For example a 5" screen with a ratio of 16:9 would be 4.35" high and 2.45" wide and have a reading area of only 10.6 square inches. Some PDAs and cell phones use a ratio of 3:2 on small pocket size devices although 4:3 is also popular.

Occasionally someone will want to fill the screen with an image by zooming it up or allowing it to be resized and wonder why there are spaces at the top and bottom or on the sides. This is caused by trying to display an image that has a different aspect ratio than the one your screen has. You need to remake the image with the correct aspect ratio or allow it to be distorted. Note that the aspect ratio for an image must take into account any extraneous data that may be on the screen such as a title bar so the image may need to have a different aspect ratio than the screen itself.

The electronic displays have tended toward wider (taller) ratios which makes them less suitable to fit standard paper page size on the screen. This is particularly important for PDF books which are targeted at mimicking paper. See Paper sizes.

Comparing devices with a different aspect ratio can be difficult. The Area, the MP, and the PPI numbers can be useful to make these comparisons. For a given screen size a square screen would have the largest area while the more elongated the smaller the area will be. Area is directly related to the number of words that will fit on the screen for reading. Since the ratio is often shown with a different denominator, for example 3 (4:3) or 9 (16:9) you might want to show the ratio using a fixed value. Simply divide the height by the width to get the actual ratio. For a 4:3 display we have 1.333:1. Then multiply by the number you want to compare, for example 9, and you get 12:9.

[edit] 4:3 ratio

This is the ratio used on most CRT monitors and is considered pleasing to look at although for eBook readers you are likely to prefer portrait mode. It is often used with eBook readers, particularly E Ink displays. The computer monitors have standardize the pixel sizes for this ratio as: 640 x 480 (VGA), 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, 1280 x 1024, 1600 x 1200 and 2048 x 1536 for square pixels. Many eBook readers use one of these standard values but may have screens that are not exactly the 4:3 ratio or may use pixels that are not exactly square. Computed PPI values may be different for horizontal and vertical for these reasons and an average may be shown. This ratio is also called 1.33 to 1 or just 1.33:1. Note that the Euro standard paper is 1.41:1 and would be close to this ratio while North America paper is 1.3:1 which is even closer but on the other side. This would therefore be the perfect ratio for PDF files. Note the 11" iPad Pro and iPad Air 10.9" are shown in this list but its actual aspect ratio is 1.43:1 (4.3:3) making it a good fit for Euro standard.

approx 4x3 ratio
Size Dimensions Pixels PPI Area Sample Device MP
13.3" 271 x 203 mm, 10.67" x 8.0" 1600 × 1200 150 85.3 Sony DPT-S1 1.9
2200 x 1650 207 DASUNG 3.6
267 x 210 mm, 10.5" x 8.27" 86.8 BOOX MAX2 Pro
12.9" 264 x 198mm, 10.4" x 7.8" 2732 x 2048 264 81 iPad Pro 5.6
11.0" 9.0" x 6.3" (1.43:1) 2388 x 1668 264 56.7 iPad Pro 2018 4.0
10.9" 8.9" x 6.2" (1.43:1) 2360 x 1640 264 55.5 iPad Air 2020 3.9
10.5" 213 x 160mm, 8.4" x 6.3" 2224 x 1668 264 52.9 iPad Air 2019 3.7
10.3" 210 x 157mm, 8.26" x 6.2" 1872 x 1404 226 51.2 reMarkable 2.6
10.2" 207 x 155 mm, 8.15" x 6.1" 2560 x 1800 300 49.7 Pixel C 4.6
1280 × 1024 158 IRex Digital Reader 1.3
2160 x 1620 264 iPad 2019 3.5
9.7" 203 x 140 mm, 8.0" x 5.5" 1600 × 1200 200 44 E Ink display 1.9
2400 x 1650 300 4.0
1200 × 825 150 1.0
197 × 148mm, 7.8" x 5.8" 2048 × 1536 264 45.2 iPad Air 1&2 3.1
1024 × 768 132 iPad 1 & 2 0.8
9.0" 183 × 137 mm, 7.2" × 5.4" 1024 × 768 142 38.9 MReader 9
8.1" 6.46" x 4.845" 1024 x 768 158 31.2 iRex iLiad
8.0" 163 x 122 mm, 6.4" x 4.8" 1600 × 1200 250 30.7 PocketBook InkPad 1.9
1024 x 768 160 ICARUS Illumina XL 0.8
1920 × 1440 300 Kobo Forma 2.8
7.9" 160 x 119 mm, 6.3" x 4.7" 1024 × 768 163 29.6 IPad mini 0.8
2048 x 1576 326 IPad mini retina 3.2
7.8" 158.5 x 118.9 mm, 6.24" x 4.68" 1872 x 1404 300 29.2 Aura ONE 2.6
468 x 624 100 BOOX Nova 3 Color 0.3
7.0" 5.6" x 4.2" 1680 x 1260 300 23.5 Kindle Oasis 7 2.1
6.8" 5.0" x 3.7" 1648 x 1236 300 18.5 New Paperwhite 2.0
6.8" 137 x 104 mm, 5.4" x 4.1" 1440 × 1080 265 22.2 Aura HD 1.6
6.0" 120 x 89mm, 4.7" x 3.5" 1448 × 1072 300 16.9 Kindle Voyage 1.5
122 x 91 mm, 4.8" x 3.6" 1024 × 768 213 17.3 Boyue T61 0.8
800 × 600 167 E-book Reader Matrix 0.5
5.5" 4.6" x 3.1" 480 x 320 104 14.3 eBookwise-1150 0.15
5.0" 101 x 76 mm, 4.0" x 3.0" 800 x 600 200 12 Kobo Mini 0.5
640 x 480 160 jetBook 0.3
4.3" 88 x 66 mm, 3.46 x 2.60" 800 x 600 232 9 Pyrus mini 0.5
3.5" 71 x 53 mm, 2.80" x 2.10" 320 x 240 114 5.9 0.1
2.8" 2.25" x 1.75" 600 x 480 270 3.9 Light Phone II 0.3
2.7" 2.16" x 1.62" 800 x 600 370 3.5 0.48
2.4" 1.92" x 1.44" 320 x 240 167 2.8 Sansa Fuze 0.1

[edit] 16:9 ratio

Also known as widescreen, this is the standard for the new HD (High Definition) TV's and has also been used on many of the new computer screens. It is also known as 1.77:1. However computer screens are sometimes actually 16:10 (8:5) or have pixel counts that are slightly higher than would be normal for a true 16:9 screen. Specifically Android devices tend to be 8:5 (1.6:1). True High Definition TV's are either 720p (720 x 1280 pixels) or 1080p or 1080i (1080 x 1920 pixels is sometimes called "Full HD"). A small computer screen of 800 x 480 would actually be 800 x 450 if it were true 16:9 ratio. Either the screen is slightly wider (16:9.6) or the pixels are not square to accomplish this difference. Computed PPI values may be different for horizontal and vertical for these reasons and an average may be shown.

approx 16x9 or 16x10 ratio
Size Dimensions Pixels PPI Area Sample Device MP
12.5" 10.9" x 6.13" 2560 x 1440 236 66.8 3.7
11.6" 10.1" x 5.68" 1366 x 768 135 57.4 Acer R11 1.0
10.8" 9.4" x 5.3" 2560 x 1600 272 50.0 Yoga Book C930 Laptop 4.1
1920 x 1080 204 2.1
10.6" 9.25" x 5.2" 1920 x 1080 207 48.1 Surface 2 2.1
1366 x 768 148 Surface RT 1.0
10.5" 8.92" x 5.57" 2560 x 1600 287 49.7 Galaxy Tab S5e 4.1
10.1" 214 x 135 mm, 8.53" x 5.33" 1280 x 800 150 45.5 Motorola XOOM 1.0
8.6" x 5.37" 2560 x 1600 298 46.2 Sony Xperia Z4 4.1
1920 x 1200 223 Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus 2.3
220 x 132 mm, 8.68" x 5.1" 1024 x 600 118 44.3 0.6
223 x 126 mm, 8.8" x 4.95" 1366 x 768 155 43.6 Asus Transformer T100TA 1.0
8.9" 7.8" x 4.4" 2560 x 1600 339 34.3 Kindle Fire HDX 4.1
1920 x 1200 255 Kindle Fire HD 2.3
8.4" 7.13" x 4.46" 2560 x 1600 359 31.8 Huawei M5 8.4" 4.1
1920 x 1200 269 Galaxy Tab A 8.4" 2.3
8" 7" x 4" 1920 x 1200 280 28.0 Lenovo Tab 4 8 Plus 2.3
7.1" 15,6 x 9,15 mm; 6.14" x 3.6" 1024 × 600 167 22.1 Daily Edition 0.6
7" 155 × 89 mm, 6.1" × 3.5" 1920 × 1200 323 21.4 Kindle Fire HDX 2.3
1280 × 800 216 PadFone X mini 1.0
6.9" 152 × 86 mm, 6.0" × 3.4" 800 × 480 138 20.4 0.4
5.5" 4.8" x 2.7" 1920 x 1080 401 13.0 iPhone 6 plus 2.1
5.2" 4.42" x 2.49" 960 x 540 217 11.0 InkCase Plus 0.52
4.52" x 2.54" 1280 x 720 283 11.5 Kingrow K1 0.9
5.1" 110 × 66 mm, 4.35" × 2.62" 800 x 480 184 11.4 0.4
5.0" 4.35" x 2.45" 1920 x 1080 441 10.6 Google Pixel 2 2.1
4.7" 4.1" x 2.3" 1280 x 720 315 9.4 Fire phone 0.9
1334 x 750 326 iPhone 6,7,8; iPhone SE 2022 1.0
960 x 540 235 Yotaphone 2 0.5
4.5" 3.92" x 2.2" 854 x 480 218 8.6 PadFone X mini 0.4
4.3" 95.3 x 54 mm, 3.75" x 2.13" 1280 x 720 338 8.0
800 x 480 217 BOOX E43 0.38
640 x 360 170
480 x 272 128 Sony PSP 0.13
4.0" 3 7/16" x 2 1/16" 800 x 480 235 7.1 Nokia Lumia 520 0.4
88.9 x 49.3 mm, 3.5" x 1.94" 1136 x 640 326 6.8 iPhone 5 0.7
3.5" x 2" 1136 x 640 326 6.9 iPod Touch 0.7
3.5" 3.0" x 1.8" 600 x 360 200 5.4 InkCase 0.2
3.3" 2.88" x 1.62" 1280 x 720 445 4.7 Palm phone 0.9

[edit] 3:2 ratio

This ratio is used on some pocket sized devices such as PDAs and cell phones with screens smaller than 4" although 4:3 screens are also used on these devices. It is sometimes shown as 1.5:1 and termed wide screen. The pixels on screens with a 3:2 ratio are often not square. When compared to standard wide screen this is the equivalent of 13.5:9. Larger screens are found on Laptops.

approx 3x2 ratio
Size Dimensions Pixels PPI Area Sample Device MP
13.5" 11.2" x 7.5" 3000 x 2000 267 84.0 Surface Book 6.0
2256 x 1504 201 84.0 Surface Laptop 3.4
13.0" 10.8" x 7.2" 2880 x 1920 267 77.5 Surface Pro 8 5.5
12.3" 10.25" x 6.83" 2736 x 1824 267 70.0 Surface Pro 4 5.0
12.0" 10" x 6.67" 2160 x 1440 216 66.7 Surface Pro 3 3.1
1920 x 1280 192 HP Elite x2‎‎ 2.5
10.8" 9" x 6" 1920 x 1280 216 54 Surface 3 2.5
10.0" 8.3" x 5.53" 1800 x 1200 217 46 Surface Go 2.2
9.0" 7.5" x 5" 1920 x 1280 256 37.5 NOOK HD 9 2.5
8.3" 6.95" x 4.56" 2266 x 1488 326 32.0 iPad mini 6 3.4
7.0" 5.9" x 3.7" 1440 x 900 243 21.8 NOOK HD 7 1.3
3.9" 82 x 55 mm, 3.22" x 2.15" 480 x 320 149 6.9 Compaq iPAQ‎ 0.15
3.5" 73.9 x 49.3 mm, 2.91" x 1.94" 320 x 240 116 5.6 iPhone 0.08
480 x 320 165 iPhone 3 0.15
960 x 640 326 iPhone 4 0.6

[edit] ultra wide

These are the really wide screen devices. The original ultra-wide screen (super wide screen) was a 29" 21:9 ratio monitor screen at 2560 x 1080. The mobile devices below are a bit more portable. Ratio is shown as a value multiplied by 9 to permit understanding the ratios which are compared to 16:9 HD. The ratio 4:3 is 12:9. You can also go ahead and perform the division to reference as 2.XX:1. 18:9 would be exactly 2:1. Some of these screens are radiused, meaning that the corners of the screen itself are rounded making exact rectangular equivalent diagonal sizes difficult. They may also have a cutout area at the top to accommodate a camera and other sensors. These screens are not shown the Nomenclature section as they do not have named designations.

approx 2x1 ratio
Size ratio Dimensions Pixels PPI Area Sample Device MP
6.9" 19.8:9 6.22" x 2.9" 3088 x 1440 496 18.1 Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 4.4
6.8" 20.5:9 6.23" x 2.7" 2460 x 1080 395 17.0 LG WING‎ 2.7
6.7" 20:9 6.1" x 2.75" 2400 x 1080 393 16.8 Galaxy Note 20 2.6
19.5:9 6.1" x 2.8" 2778 x 1284 458 17.0 iPhone 12 Pro Max 3.6
6.5" 19.5:9 5.9" x 2.71" 2688 x 1242 458 15.9 iPhone XS Max 3.3
6.4" 19:9 5.76" x 2.7" 2300 × 1080 399 15.6 Motorola G power 2.5
6.4" 18.5:9 5.75" x 2.8" 2960 x 1440 515 16.1 Galaxy S10+ 4.3
6.3" 18.5:9 5.66" x 2.75" 2960 × 1440 523 15.6 Google Pixel 3 XL 4.3
6.2" 18.5:9 5.61" x 2.73" 2960 x 1440 527 15.3 Galaxy Note8 4.3
6.1" 19.5:9 5.5" x 2.53" 1792 x 828 326 14.0 iPhone XR 1.5
19.5:9 5.5" x 2.54" 2532 x 1170 460 14.0 iPhone 12 3.0
18.5:9 5.48" x 2.67" 2960 x 1440 540 14.6 Galaxy S10 4.3
6.01" 18:9 5.37" x 2.69" 2160 x 1080 402 14.4 Hisense A6 2.3
6.0" 18:9 5.35" x 2.68" 2880 x 1440 538 14.3 Google Pixel 2 XL 4.1
5.84" 18:9 5.22" x 2.61" 1440 x 720 276 13.5 Hisense A5 1.0
5.8" 18.5:9 5.24" x 2.55" (133 x 64.8mm) 2960 x 1440 571 13.4 Galaxy S8 4.3
19.5:9 5.32" x 2.46" 2436 x 1125 458 13.1 iPhone X 2.7
5.7" 18:9 5.1" x 2.55" 2880 x 1440 565 13.0 LG G6 4.1
17.1:9 5.09" x 2.61" 2560 x 1312 503 13.3 Essential phone 3.4
5.61" 18:9 5.0" x 2.5" 1440 x 720 287 12.5 Hisense A6 EPD 1.0
5.4" 19.5:9 4.9" x 2.27" 2340 x 1080 476 11.1 iPhone 12 mini 2.5

[edit] Nomenclature

Certain sizes are considered to be standard sizes with specific names and screen resolutions. These standards are a mix of 4:3 ratio and wide screen. These include:

Name pixels ratio comment photo
QVGA 320x240 4:3 Quarter VGA used on Sansa Fuze
WQVGA 400x240 5:3 0.1MP
WQVGA432 432x240 9:5 0.1MP
HVGA 480x320 3:2 0.15MP
nHD 640x360 16:9 1/9 FHD, 1/4 HD 0.2MP
VGA 640x480 4:3 NTSC standard definition (SD TV) 0.3MP
SD and DVD 720 x 480 3:2 NTSC w/bars 0.3MP
720 x 576 5:4 PAL (video) 0.4MP
WVGA800 800x480 15:9 or simply WVGA 0.4MP
WVGA854 854x480 16:9 aka FWVGA or SD widescreen 0.4MP
SVGA 800x600 4:3 0.5MP
qHD 960x540 16:9 quarter FHD 0.5MP
DVGA 960x640 3:2 0.6MP
WSVGA576 1024x576 16:9 0.6MP
WSVGA 1024x600 15:9 0.6MP
XGA 1024x768 4:3 0.8MP
WXGA720 1280x720 16:9 aka 720P or simply as HD - (video) 0.9MP
WXGA800 1280x800 16:10 supported on Android 1.0MP
WXGA 1366x768 16:9 aka FWXGA (sometimes 1360x768 to save memory) 1.0MP
XGA+ 1152x864 4:3 1.0MP
UVGA 1280x960 4:3 Ultra VGA (aka 4:3 version of SXGA) 4x VGA 1.2MP
WXGA+ 1440x900 16:10 1.3MP
SXGA 1280x1024 5:4 1.3MP
SXGA+ 1400x1050 4:3 1.5MP
UXGA 1600x1200 4:3 Ultra Extended Graphics Array 1.9MP
FHD 1920x1080 16:9 Full HD aka 1080P or 2K (video) 2.0MP
WUXGA 1920x1200 16:10 supported on Android 2.3MP
QXGA 2048x1536 4.3 4x XGA highest resolution on an analog display 3.1MP
Ultrawide 2560x1080 21:9 Ultrawide movie screen FHD 2.8MP
QHD 2560x1440 16:9 4x HD aka Quad HD video 3.7MP
WQXGA 2560x1600 16:10 supported on Android 4.0MP
WQHD+ 2960x1440 16:9 aka Quad HD+ 4.0MP
iPad 2592x1944 4:3 Older models front camera 5MP
3264x2448 shown for comparison, standard rear camera 8.0MP
UHD 3840x2160 16:9 Ultra HD aka 4K video 8.0MP
UHD+ 5K 5120x2880 2880 is the smallest number that evenly divides PAL (5) and NTSC (6) 14.7MP
8K UHD 7680x4320 sometimes called 8K Super UHD video 33MP

[edit] For more information

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