Iphone 6 Plus Basking In The Area Of The Camera

He writes to us Artyom Lyubesny.

Encouraged by the slogan “Bigger than bigger”, Apple introduced not only the iPhone 6, but also the larger iPhone 6 Plus. The screen resolution of the “six” is greater than that of the previous 5S model, and amounts to 750 × 1334 pixels on a 4.7-inch screen. This model should replace the existing line of iPhones. But, apparently, the guys from the Apple marketing department felt the jabs of competitors with their huge phablets, which, as we all know, were eating away potential sales of iPads. and the company began to look for a solution.

Let’s make an iPhone 5-6 inches in size, okay, let’s be the golden mean of 5.5 ”. The essence of Apple’s marketing ploy is simple: customers are given the choice between a truly large iPad, or just a larger iPhone. the main thing so that they don’t look at competitors’ devices.

The risk of such a strategy is that potential owners of two devices. iPhone and iPad. may well decide that they need only one iPhone-phablet.

And here is before us iPhone 6 Plus with permission 401 ppi. A very strange number, at first glance. a mistake. But no, if you take permission 1080 × 1920 pixels and counted to a diagonal of 5.5 ″, you get 400.52 ppi. That’s right, there is no mistake. But then what will be the “real” resolution of the device?

A bit about screen resolution

Here we should make a small digression and remember that in addition to physical screen resolutions in pixels, in iOS there is also logical screen resolution, measured at the so-called dots. Dots and pixels are interconnected. scaling factor (“Retina” factor).

For older models of iPhones, this factor was unity, and the physical resolution 320 × 480 pixels corresponded to the same logical resolution. 320 × 480 pixels, or 163 dpi (1 × scaling factor).

Retina screen in iPhone 4 received four times more physical resolution. 640 × 960 pixels, or 326 ppi, but the logical resolution of the display has not changed, and still amounted to 320 × 480 pixels, only now these points were drawn with double definition (2 × zoom factor).

iPhone 5 received new display sizes, but its clarity remained the same. 640 × 1136 4 ″ physical pixels give the same 326 ppi pixel density corresponding to a logical density of 163 dpi (2 ×).

Finally, in the new iPhone 6, the display has again increased to 750 × 1334 pixels, but its density is still equal to 326 ppi, and the logical resolution is scaled with a constant factor of 2 ×, and is 375 × 667 pixels, or 163 dpi.

Why are dots so important? Because it is in them that the dimensions of the interface elements on the device screen are measured. A button with a height of 44 points will have the same size both on the screen of the old iPhone 3G, and on the screen of the new “six”. about 7 millimeters. The difference will only be in detail: in the second case, the button will be drawn with double clarity (the same scaling factor).

Changing the logical density of the screen at points changes exactly the physical size of the interface elements. Fluctuations in the region of 150-170 dpi will be practically invisible to the eye. If the density becomes more than 170 dpi, then the elements will “shrink”, the buttons will become small, and it will simply be impossible to get into them with your finger. Conversely, if you reduce the logical density below 150 dpi, then the entire interface will increase, as was the case with the 10-inch iPad, whose density is 132 dpi.

To summarize: increasing the physical definition of the screen (ppi) only makes sense while maintaining an acceptable range of logical definition (dpi), which ideally should be in the range of 150–170 dpi. Only in this case, the interface elements of the system and applications will retain their usual sizes.

Resolution iPhone 6 Plus

So what is the logical resolution of a 1080p display with 401 dpi physical clarity? Here are a few possible scenarios.

1. If Apple decided to use a 2 × scaling factor, then the logical screen size will be 540 × 960 pixels, which is pretty good for a phablet. But the problem is that the logical density of such a screen is 200 dpi. The entire interface will be compressed to such an extent that the device will be impossible to use. Bad choice.

2. Now let’s try triple scaling 3 ×. It leads to a screen with a density of 134 dpi. a bit too much, as for an iPhone, it is rather a “tablet” value. But the main problem is different: such a screen will have a logical size of only 360 × 640 pixels, which is less than the younger iPhone 6 model. 375 × 667 pixels with a 2 × zoom. This is unacceptable, because Apple claims that the iPhone 6 Plus should have more space for content compared to the iPhone 6.

3. If neither 2 × nor 3 × scaling works, then what? Some sources suggest that Apple will use fractional scaling like 2.5 ×. but this option looks completely alien.

4. A little research on Xcode files reveals the truth. Apple Applies Theoretical Screen Resolution in 1242 × 2208 pixels with triple definition, corresponding to the logical size of 414 × 736 pixels. And then the picture is compressed on a hardware level to a 1080p display scale. Nobody could have thought of such a thing. Even the venerable “Apple Explorer” John Gruber, who accurately guessed the resolution of the displays of both iPhones.

However, this is exactly what is actually happening. Let’s forget about the 1080p panel for a moment, and imagine that Apple actually used a display with a physical resolution of 1242 × 2208 pixels and triple scaling for the iPhone 6 Plus. In this case, the logical screen size will be 414 × 736 pixels, and its density will be 154 dpi. everything looks perfect! Well, the rest will be taken care of by hardware compression to a smaller than expected screen panel. At the same time, the picture will lose a little in detail, about 13%.

It is important to understand that hardware compression does not affect the physical dimensions of the interface elements on the phone screen. A status bar with a height of 20 points will have almost the same height on both iPhone 6 and iPhone 6. In terms of interface size, this is much more similar to switching from iPhone 4 to iPhone 5 than the difference between iPad and iPad mini. Scaling compression and downsizing are not the same thing at all! This difference can be clearly seen in the following picture.

What are the disadvantages of this approach? Will the image be noticeably blurry? And hey, they just killed the exact correspondence of logical points to physical pixels! Goodbye, 1 pixel lines.

Well, actually it may not be so terrible. Yes, such a solution is an unambiguous compromise, and it destroys the ideal lick of interfaces “to the last pixel”. But we are talking about a triple scaling factor! Any compression artifacts will be so small that you still can’t notice them with the naked eye, so instead of hunting for pixels, you can focus on creating a great design. Our beloved loyal Apple customers are unlikely to suspect anything. Pure magic!

Talk about the loss of accuracy

Now we know that magical contraction works in the sweat of the face to fit all these millions of pixels in a small space. (Yes, this is Singapore!) Some pixels will inevitably be drawn inaccurately, and it’s time to recall our friend Antialiasing. The main question is: will these blurry lines be visible to the eye?

Let’s imagine that we draw a black line 1 pixel thick on a non-retina screen with initial coordinates X = 0; Y = 0.25. In the pixel grid, this line will occupy two rows, each of which will be drawn in different shades of gray. If you draw the same line on the “double” retina screen, then it will already consist of ½ completely black pixel and two more gray half-pixels. Now take the Retina HD screen with triple definition. ⅔ pixels will be completely black. On screens with such a high resolution, the size of the pixel array is approximately 0.06 millimeters. My eyes begin to squint at the mere thought of it.

Why not immediately do it humanly?

But why use a 1080p display instead of the correct one? Why not make everything perfect right away, Apple, why not?

1. Apple is thinking about money. Screens with a resolution of 1080p are more accessible, this is more or less standard resolution. The company needs to maintain a margin level, and the price of the iPhone 6 Plus is not too different from the iPhone 6. with a larger screen, larger battery, and better camera, it’s only 100 more expensive. But in the long run, iPhone 6 Plus sales will take away iPad’s market share losses also need to be covered.

2. The availability of the desired screens. It is possible that suppliers simply did not have time to produce the right number of panels, jeopardizing the timely release of the iPhone 6 Plus.

In fact, such a decision is a very smart move on the part of Apple, and here’s why:

1. In the future, in the hypothetical iPhone 7 Plus, Apple will be able to use the original resolution of 1242 × 2208 without any problems for developers.
2. There is a balance between the dpi value and the available screen size. 1080 physical pixels, but at the same time much more than just 1080p.
3. Profitability will not suffer.
4. The use of panels available on the market will allow Apple to release iPhone 6 Plus in sufficient quantities to meet demand.

But it’s a pity that Apple compromised.

Brief conclusion: in a constant race of “pixel” screen definition (ppi), the main problem is choosing the right zoom level to keep the logical resolution (dpi) within acceptable limits. For iPhone 6 Plus, Apple chose the exact triple scaling of 462 ppi / 154 dpi pictures in 1242 × 2208 pixels. However, this picture is hardware-compressed to fit in a 1080 × 1920 physical panel.

concise conclusion: At the iron level, Apple screwed up. Not only did we not get a sapphire screen, but the panel resolution was worse than expected. However, at the program level. respect for maintaining the original resolution.

To developers: Do not use the resolution of 1080 × 1920 at all for design for iPhone 6. Use only 1242 × 2208. [brucewang]

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