Nexus 6 screen qhd worth it?

[Camaihofer]

So I was waiting for the s6 and m9 reveal...

S6 is out... I like the m9...but only 1080 display...

Is the quad HD display on the nexus really thst much better?

I bought a Samsung Galaxy s tab a m9nth ago.... And the screen is amazing..

I watch videos, read, surf Web, listen to music... Alot on my phone... It's basically media device that I text from.. Make an occasional call... And send a few emails

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Jeremy8000]

So I was waiting for the s6 and m9 reveal...

S6 is out... I like the m9...but only 1080 display...

Is the quad HD display on the nexus really thst much better?

I bought a Samsung Galaxy s tab a m9nth ago.... And the screen is amazing..

I watch videos, read, surf Web, listen to music... Alot on my phone... It's basically media device that I text from.. Make an occasional call... And send a few emails

Posted via the Android Central App

I'm going to avoid the comparison of screen quality from one manufacturer to another and instead answer purely in terms of resolution.

At phones 6" and below, 1440p displays are noticeably better than their 1080p counterparts, but unless you have them side by side it's not a big difference. If I were to lose my phone for a week and then find it, and without my knowledge someone had replaced the screen with an identically performing (in terms of brightness, contrast, color accuracy) 1080p display, I probably wouldn't notice it right away, and if and when I did it would probably be on viewing web pages.

The difference is there, but not nearly as substantial and noticeable as going from a 720p to 1080p display. There, it is quite visible side-by-side, and you'd probably notice it right off in that 'ninja screen switch' scenario.

If the m9 is 1080p, it's likely because HTC felt that at a 5" screen size there wasn't enough of a benefit to going to the higher resolution to justify the additional cost of the display and the increased battery usage in driving it. At closer to 6", the N6 can justify it a bit more, and has enough juice to get all but the most demanding users through a full day, though I don't think too many people would have been horribly disappointed had they gone with a 1080p display instead.

 

[Greg C]

I'm going to avoid the comparison of screen quality from one manufacturer to another and instead answer purely in terms of resolution.

At phones 6" and below, 1440p displays are noticeably better than their 1080p counterparts, but unless you have them side by side it's not a big difference. If I were to lose my phone for a week and then find it, and without my knowledge someone had replaced the screen with an identically performing (in terms of brightness, contrast, color accuracy) 1080p display, I probably wouldn't notice it right away, and if and when I did it would probably be on viewing web pages.

The difference is there, but not nearly as substantial and noticeable as going from a 720p to 1080p display. There, it is quite visible side-by-side, and you'd probably notice it right off in that 'ninja screen switch' scenario.

If the m9 is 1080p, it's likely because HTC felt that at a 5" screen size there wasn't enough of a benefit to going to the higher resolution to justify the additional cost of the display and the increased battery usage in driving it. At closer to 6", the N6 can justify it a bit more, and has enough juice to get all but the most demanding users through a full day, though I don't think too many people would have been horribly disappointed had they gone with a 1080p display instead.

Very well written... great job...well thought out!

 

[bold1193]

Well said mate!

 

[LeoRex]

If the m9 is 1080p, it's likely because HTC felt that at a 5" screen size there wasn't enough of a benefit to going to the higher resolution to justify the additional cost of the display and the increased battery usage in driving it. At closer to 6", the N6 can justify it a bit more, and has enough juice to get all but the most demanding users through a full day, though I don't think too many people would have been horribly disappointed had they gone with a 1080p display instead.

Well, with the Nexus 6, I think a 1080 screen would not have gone over well.... from a quality standpoint, it would have been a step down from the Nexus 5 that preceded it. Due to the size increase, the Nexus 6's QHD screen is really only about 10% more pixel dense than the 1080 in the Nexus 5. Once they picked 6" as the size, going to QHD was a foregone conclusion.. they HAD to make that choice.

Now, for smaller displays... Once you get down below 5.5", going beyond 1080 is, in my opinion, unnecessary. I had a Nexus 5... and while that display had its own share of quirks, sharpess wasn't one of them... that was a crisp display. A QHD in the low 5's seems like a waste of power and resources.

 

[nokia4life]

the nexus 6 screen to me really isn't all that you can't tell to me its more about saturation of colors that makes it pop. samsung is great for doing this personally i like my nexus 6 but i will be selling it and dropping my funds on the samsung screen tech is better and the camera is better i just wish sammy would get rid of the old icons that have been there since jellybean geesh change that up

 

[Jeremy8000]

Well, with the Nexus 6, I think a 1080 screen would not have gone over well.... from a quality standpoint, it would have been a step down from the Nexus 5 that preceded it. Due to the size increase, the Nexus 6's QHD screen is really only about 10% more pixel dense than the 1080 in the Nexus 5. Once they picked 6" as the size, going to QHD was a foregone conclusion.. they HAD to make that choice.

Now, for smaller displays... Once you get down below 5.5", going beyond 1080 is, in my opinion, unnecessary. I had a Nexus 5... and while that display had its own share of quirks, sharpess wasn't one of them... that was a crisp display. A QHD in the low 5's seems like a waste of power and resources.

Had the Nexus 6 shipped with a 1080 screen, it would not been a step down in resolution from that of the Nexus 5 which preceded it as it bears a 1080 display. If you're referring to other aspects of difference between AMOLED and IPS displays, that's something on which good arguments can be made for either side, but the difference of resolution doesn't impact the strength of either of those arguments.

In opting for a 6" size, there was no precedent to mandate anything higher than 1080 - for the most part, only a select few high-end tablets were running higher than 1080 at the Nexus 6's launch. I suspect their decision to go to 1440 was based primarily on three goals: (a) helping to give it a selling point available on virtually no other phones, even in the flagship level at the time; (b) minimizing vulnerability to criticism from Samsung (the only clear phablet competitor at the time) under the expectation that they would be implementing a 2k display in the next generation Note; and (c) their confidence in the device's ability to sustain a full day of use by the vast majority of potential users while still running the display. A 1080 display at 5.96" would still have been at about 370ppi, which would still have been very, very very sharp.

In terms of PPI, in the ever-advancing war of the numbers, don't forget that each successive battle moves further and further into diminishing returns and increased battery drain. I agree that most N6 users would, looking with hindsight, be dissatisfied because they know, now, that the N6 will get them through a day at 1440, so the phone at 1080 would be a diminution of benefit of a feature with no effective gain in return; before the Nexus 6 had launched, battery life was an unknown and 1080 was still the standard, so, imo and fwiw, I don't think it would have been a big deal.

 

[DLK1]

Had the Nexus 6 shipped with a 1080 screen, it would not been a step down in resolution from that of the Nexus 5 which preceded it as it bears a 1080 display.

Both phone with a 1080p, would make the Nexus 6 a step down. Because the Nexus 6 would have a lower ppi then the Nexus 5. This would have given the Nexus 5 the better display.

 

[anon(5630457)]

I'm always wary of posts that say there's no noticeable difference between QHD and 1080p screens. There's a gulf of differences between the two screens. When I had the Z3v (1080p) back in October and went to the Droid Turbo (QHD) in November, there was a night and day difference between the two screens.

So, to answer your question, yes, the QHD display on the Nexus 6 is so much better than a 1080p screen.

 

[Jeremy8000]

Both phone with a 1080p, would make the Nexus 6 a step down. Because the Nexus 6 would have a lower ppi then the Nexus 5. This would have given the Nexus 5 the better display.

1080 on a 5" has a better display in terms of ppi, but worse in terms of screen size, so take your choice. I wouldn't call it a step down, though - if ppi is your only gauge, then your logic would dictate that a 2" 1080 screen, at over 1100ppi, is a step up as well. There's a point of diminishing returns. 720 at a 6" size is quite noticeably inferior to 1080, whereas 1080 suffers only very slightly next to 1440 (and if a 4k res screen were available, it would almost be undiscernable from 1440).

I'm glad the N6 has 1440, and given the battery life wouldn't want it another way, but if it couldn't have made it through a full day for me at 1440 where it could were it fitted with 1080, I'd have considered 1080 more than sufficient.