Android flagship phone comes standard with 2K resolution screen Is Apple slowly rotting?

At present, the flagship models of domestic mobile phones are basically accustomed to declaring that they are 2K screens (3216x1440). If according to these domestic manufacturers, the screen resolution of the iPhone 13 Pro Max is only 2778x1284, which has not yet reached the category of 2K in their eyes. It's just that users look more and more picky over the years, but not too many people criticize the screen configuration of the iPhone, so the iPhone has really begun to slowly rot over the years? Maybe Apple didn't want to play the concept with Android manufacturers at all, and there are probably three main reasons:

The first reason: in terms of screen parameter standards, the direction of the two camps is different. Whether the screen is delicate enough or not is not determined by the resolution factor at all. At the same resolution, different sizes and pixel densities result in different results. Some phones will have "xxx PPI" written in the screen parameter table, which generally appears with the resolution.

PPI is the pixel density, which represents how many pixels are in each inch of the screen. The higher the value, the more delicate the picture. There is a simple calculation formula, for example: a 6.67-inch 1920x1080 screen, its PPI is about 330; if you change to the same size of the domestic manufacturers' 2K screen (3216x1440), then the PPI should be about 528. This is also one of the reasons why in the conventional perception, the higher the resolution, the better the picture quality.

But the iPhone is different, they are used to using pixel density as a standard to set the screen, rather than the overall number of pixels related to the resolution. When Jobs released the iPhone 4 that year, he proposed a concept: they put 960x640 pixels in a 3.5-inch screen, so that the pixel density of this screen reached 330 PPI.

Then it is said that for mobile phones, within the normal viewing distance, the screen pixel density can reach more than 300 PPI, and the human retina cannot distinguish the pixels. This kind of high-resolution screen that exceeds the limit of human eye recognition is the beginning of what is commonly known as the "retina screen". Since then, Apple's successive product screens have remained above 326 PPI and formed their own product standard.

This bitterly hurt the Android camp at that time, and could only iterate on products that did not meet the retina screen standards to 1080P to stabilize the situation. Later, mobile phone screens developed from LCD to OLED, and Apple set a pixel density standard (458 PPI) that meets OLED screens, and has adhered to it to this day. But the problem is that it is well known that the size of Android phones of the same level is mostly wider than Apple. Therefore, in the case of the same resolution, Android's pixel density is bound to be inferior to that of a small size iPhone.

Just like there are 50 children on both sides, one side (Android) is in a 100 square meter classroom, the other party (Apple) is in a 50 square meter classroom, which side has a greater density of students. In this case, Android wants to make PPI this part of the parameter not worse than Apple, and the size can not be reduced, it can only increase the resolution. With a big wave of the hand, the 2K road of Android's flagship mobile phone begins. Even in the early years, even some mobile phone brands that sold less than 2,000 yuan in the main cost performance wanted to join in the fun.

However, in the following years, the mobile phones of the Android camp moved forward, and the situation has quietly reversed. From the perspective of pixel density, the vast majority of manufacturers have caught up with or even surpassed Apple. For example, Xiaomi 12 Pro (522 PPI), OnePlus 10 Pro (525PPI) and so on. But the iPhone 13 Pro Max still adheres to the standard of 458 PPI, and it is even inferior to its own little brother. Obviously Apple first proposed the standard concept of pixel density, why has it not been self-motivated in recent years, but has been surpassed by Android?

The second reason: this stuff is not so necessary. Because the PPI and the display effect are not exactly linear proportional to each other. For example, from 200 PPI to 326 PPI, this change in the visual experience is very obvious. It's like suddenly switching from 720P to 1080P is like opening up a new world. However, the higher this parameter goes, the more the direct change in the perceptual experience will gradually decrease.

Unless you put the screen in front of your eyes, a little bit of careful observation, or a dozen times the screen magnification can naturally see the difference. But any normal person, no one will use a mobile phone like this. And unnecessarily increasing the number of screen pixels will also increase the power consumption of mobile phones. The battery life of Apple's mobile phone is not originally an advantageous subject, why is it uncomfortable to find it in a hurry.

The third reason: Apples are too unique. As far as the current high-end flagship mobile phone camp is concerned, the iPhone is still the only one. Performance can not be beaten, other manufacturers want to call the iPhone can only take other ways. What photography, fast charging, battery capacity, screen quality have become the track of "cornering overtaking", so these years have not had time to pull Apple off the horse, and they have been exhausted.

For Apple, they are simply not willing to pay more for something that is "enough and does not affect sales". When Android is changing OLED screens, the iPhone is still sticking to the LCD screen. Don't you want money to customize your screen? Does it cost money to re-do the system adaptation? People can even save the cost of the charger, let alone the mobile phone screen such a big expenditure?

Is it possible that this so-called 2K mobile phone screen concept is basically a conspiracy designed by Android manufacturers? According to the industry standard for film and television, 2048x1080 is 2K at full frame. From this standard point of view, Apple mobile phones have long used 2K screens. Even if you just need to stretch the 1920x1080 screen a little longer, they are also completely 2K screens. But does this really seem to be contrary to people's conventional perceptions? The problem is that even the manufacturers themselves have not formed a uniform resolution standard.

In this way, the 2K and 2.5K screens repeatedly promoted by domestic manufacturers are more like marketing concepts that are biased to create their own benefits. Compared with the complexity of the standard of resolution, it also involves the definition of different screen proportions, pixel arrangement and other factors, and choosing to use PPI as the standard for the screen of its own products has become the safest and least controversial practice. After all, when the size is the same, the PPI number itself is bigger and better. Playing with concepts? In fact, Apple is the real connoisseur.