What is screen resolution?
Screen resolution is the number of pixels a display shows, written as width × height. A Full HD screen is 1920 × 1080: 1,920 pixels across and 1,080 down, about 2.1 million pixels. More pixels on the same size of screen give sharper text and images.
Why are there two different numbers?
Windows and macOS enlarge everything on sharp screens so text isn't tiny. A laptop with a 1920 × 1080 panel set to 125% scaling tells websites it is 1536 × 864. The big number at the top is the real panel resolution: the browser's size multiplied by the scaling factor.
How do I find my screen resolution on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android?
- Windows 10 and 11: right-click the desktop, choose Display settings and look at Display resolution.
- macOS: open the Apple menu, then System Settings and Displays.
- Android: Settings, then Display, then Screen resolution (only on some phones).
- iPhone: there is no setting for it; look up your model or open this page.
What do 720p, 1080p, 1440p and 4K mean?
The number is the vertical pixel count of a 16:9 screen. 720p is 1280 × 720 (HD), 1080p is 1920 × 1080 (Full HD), 1440p is 2560 × 1440 (QHD or 2K) and 4K is 3840 × 2160 (UHD). 4K has four times as many pixels as 1080p.
Questions
What is the most common screen resolution?
On desktop and laptop computers, 1920 × 1080 (Full HD) is the most common resolution. Phones vary much more because every model has its own screen.
Is the refresh rate exact?
It is an estimate based on how often your browser draws frames. On battery saver or in a background tab it can read lower than your monitor's real rate.
I have two monitors. Which one is shown?
The one this browser window is on. Drag the window to the other monitor and the numbers update.
The number is a bit off from my monitor's spec.
With fractional scaling such as 125% or 175%, rounding can make the real-pixel value differ by a pixel or two. Your system settings show the exact value.
What is a good screen resolution for gaming?
1920 × 1080 is the easiest on graphics cards and allows high frame rates, 2560 × 1440 is a popular balance of sharpness and speed, and 4K needs a powerful graphics card.