Acquiring one of 8 smartphones with best screen resolution featured on our list will mean you’ll never take your eyes off the screen. Yes, they are that good. Watching movies, looking at the pictures or browsing through the web will be a whole new experience with one of these smartphones.
As you all probably know, smartphone screen is made from thousands of dots known as pixels, short for picture element with each pixel containing a portion of the displayed image. The higher the number of pixels, the sharper the image. Pixels are the ones that count when it comes to resolution. So the definition of the “resolution” would be the number of pixels from left to right and the number of pixels from top to bottom. In terms of smartphone screen resolutions, you have probably heard about HD, Full HD, Quad HD (QHD) and Ultra HD/4K displays. Let’s cover that as well. Each of these tags presents a different vertical and horizontal pixel number ratio. HD and Full HD resolutions are something of a standard in the smartphone industry for the past couple of years, and their pixel ratio is 720×1280 and 1080 x 1920, respectively. Quad HD (1440×2560) became very popular recently while Ultra HD/4K (3840×2160) display is yet to gain some serious attraction.
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Number of pixels is not the only thing that matters when it comes to determining how good a display is. Let’s say the smartphone has a resolution of 1080×1920. This means that screen has 1080 pixels from left to right and 1920 pixels from top to bottom. Now, we will assume that smartphone A has a 4.5 inch screen and smartphone B has a 5.0 inch screen but they both have 1080×1920 resolutions. Someone would assume that smartphone B will provide better content display due to having a bigger screen. Quite the contrary, smartphone A would have a better content display. This brings us to PPI.
PPI (pixels per inch) or pixel density is concentrations of pixels on a smartphone screen. This is basically how close pixels are packed to each other on the screen. Just like the number of pixels, PPI has great importance when it comes to the screen resolution of smartphones. Smartphone screens that have high PPI have better a screen resolution. PPI is calculated by dividing the diagonal size of the smartphone screen with its diagonal resolution. If you want to calculate your screen’s PPI without much hassle, you can do it by using this calculator.
Of course, high PPI doesn’t come without problems. The Higher PPI number means that the battery will be drained rapidly. Also, the studies have shown that when PPI reaches 300, the human eye has a difficulty noticing the difference. This is why some smartphone manufacturers like Apple keep PPI around 300. (If you have bigger concerns over your cell reception than your smartphone display, check out our list of 7 smartphones with the best antenna reception: 2016 models.)
To determine smartphones with best screen resolution, we used screen resolution and PPI as our guide. After checking numerous sources like Phone Egg, Phone Arena, Sony Mobile, Display Mate, among others, we managed to find what we were looking for. First, we looked at the smartphones with Ultra HD/4K (3840×2160) resolution. At this moment, only one phone with Ultra HD/4K (3840×2160) resolution is available on the market (others are scheduled for release) so it deserved the first place on our list, also having the highest number of PPI. Then we looked at the phones with Quad HD (1440×2560) and ranked them accordingly to their PPI, thus getting the rest of our list of smartphones with best screen resolution. Enjoy it!
8. HTC 10
Resolution: 1440×2560
PPI: 564
Price: $599
Some sources suggested HTC 10 has 565 PPI, but we decided to go ahead and trust the official HTC website. One pixel per inch up or down doesn’t matter for HTC 10, because its 5.2 inch screen (71.1% screen-to-body ratio) is amazing. Super LCD 5 display has Quad HD (2560 x 1440 pixels) resolution, Corning Gorilla Glass on a Curve Edge and features display color personalization. Other specifications are pleasing as well. The Quad – core processor is backed with 4GB of RAM and 32/64 GB of storage. Back camera of 12MP and front camera with 5MP will ensure you have enough pictures to browse through on this powerful display.
7. YU Yutopia
Resolution: 1440×2560
PPI: 565
Price: $1,070
We don’t guarantee you will find this smartphone easily if you are not from India since it is sold on Amazon for a hefty price of $1,070. YU Yutopia which ranks 7th on our list of smartphones with best screen resolution comes from Indian manufacturer YU Mobiles and has some interesting features. In the display department, Yu Yutopia has a 5.2-inch Sharp OGS TP OGS QHD display (69.9% screen-to-body ratio) that comes well protected with Corning Concore glass. If that is not impressive enough, Octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage should do the trick. Still not enough? Well, then a 21MP back and an 8MP front cameras might help. One thing is for sure; Indian smartphone future is looking bright.
6. Motorola DROID Turbo
Resolution: 1440×2560
PPI: 565
Price: $485.00
Since the era of smartphones began, Motorola had troubles keeping up with the demands of the market. In the last couple of years, however, things started looking bright, and Motorola DROID Turbo is just one of the examples. Released in late 2014, DROID Turbo has a 5.2-inch screen (70.9% screen-to-body ratio), Super AMOLED Quad HD display and Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Although it has respectable specifications like Quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 32/64GB of storage and a 21MP back camera, selfie lover could skip Motorola DROID Turbo due to its very weak 2MP front camera. And nowm let’s see what else we have on our list of smartphones with best screen resolution.
5. HTC One M9+
Resolution: 1440×2560
PPI: 565
Price: $416.00
After HTC One M9, which ranks 5th on our list of smartphones with best screen resolution, received mild reception, HTC released upgraded version only two months later, calling it M9+. There is also a version called M9+ Supreme Camera released five months later, but it is the same phone with a slightly better camera. Let’s get back to the display and screen resolution; HTC One M9+ has a 5.2-inch screen (68.6% screen-to-body ratio) with Super LCD3 Quad HD display. Specifications are similar to the smartphones in the same price range and include an Octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. HTC went a step further with the back camera including two sensors (20MP + 2.1MP) in addition to a 4MP front camera.
4. Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A
Resolution: 2160 x 3840
PPI: 577
Price: $837.00
We are talking here about a better version of Samsung’s Galaxy S5 model. Higher LTE speed isn’t the only improvement compared to regular Galaxy S5. The main strength of 5.1-inch screen (69.4% screen-to-body ratio) Galaxy S5 LTE-A has, is the display and screen resolution. With this model, Samsung started working on what will become one of the best smartphone screens in the industry. The super AMOLED display has a Quad HD resolution compared to HD resolution featured in the original version. Other improvements were adding 1GB of RAM to the existing 2GB, while Quad – processor, 16/32GB of storage, a 16MP back and a 2MP front camera stayed the same.
3. Samsung Galaxy S6/ Galaxy Edge S6/ Galaxy S6 Active
Resolution: 1440×2560
PPI: 577
Price: $423.00/ $479.50/ $419.00
We had to bundle Samsung Galaxy S6 models together since otherwise our list of 8 smartphones with best screen resolution would be filled with Samsung smartphones. All these variations of Galaxy S6 feature the same 5.1-inch screen, while the differences being in their screen-to-body ratio and design. Super AMOLED Quad HD display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4. Inside Samsung Galaxy S6 and its version are a Quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 32/64/128GB of storage, a 16MP back and a 5MP front camera.
2. Samsung Galaxy S7/ Samsung Galaxy S7 Active
Resolution: 1440×2560
PPI: 577
Price: $549.99/$749.95
Yes, we did the same thing with Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Active which rank second on our list of smartphones with best screen resolution. It was for the same reason as well. Launching Galaxy S7, Samsung continued being one of the best and biggest smartphone manufacturers in the world making a truly tremendous smartphone. Samsung, however, didn’t make any adjustments to the screen of the phone. It is the same 5.1 inch screen (~72.1% screen-to-body ratio), Super AMOLED Quad HD display seen in Galaxy S6. Other specifications were a big improvement: Octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM and 32/64GB of storage. S7 also has one of the best smartphone cameras on the market with 1.7 aperture. As a final piece of info, we will tell you that according to rumors, Samsung Galaxy S8 will feature 4K display.
1. Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
Resolution: 2160 x 3840
PPI: 806
Price: $545.00
The biggest screen resolution and the highest pixel per inch density currently available on the market were enough to put Sony Xperia Z5 Premium on top of our list of 8 smartphones with best screen resolution. Do you remember when we talked about the screen and selling points in the intro? Well, Xperia Z5 Premium’s screen was its biggest selling point, since it was advertised as the first and only 4K smartphone in the world. 5.5-inch screen (70.4% screen-to-body ratio) with IPS LCD display has an amazing 2160 x 3840 resolution topped with 806 PPI. To make things go smoothly, there is an Octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Finally, pictures snapped with a 23MP back and a 5MP front cameras will look over the top. If you want the best of the best when it comes to resolution, this is the smartphone to have.
