High-DPI Pixel Scaling

Cluster focuses on how pixel sizes, DPI/PPI, and scaling behave across screens with varying resolutions like Retina displays, iPhones, and laptops, especially in web rendering where CSS pixels differ from device pixels. Debates cover why content appears smaller on high-density screens and the need for proper handling in apps and browsers.

➡️ Stable 0.6x Web Development
4,552
Comments
20
Years Active
5
Top Authors
#9809
Topic ID

Activity Over Time

2007
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2011
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2013
364
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2015
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2018
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Keywords

PenTile US CSS PPI wikipedia.org W3C GPU OS DPI mozilla.org pixels pixel screen resolution size display nexus inch dpi retina

Sample Comments

speleding Nov 4, 2013 View on HN

The px would look larger on a screen with the lower dpi

err4nt Oct 3, 2015 View on HN

Snall screens dont always have small resolutions. There are more pixels on an iphone than my laptop!

czr80 Dec 12, 2012 View on HN

Aren't HiDPI displays killing pixels?

amelius Jul 7, 2021 View on HN

At retina resolution it shouldn't matter.

Wowfunhappy Feb 28, 2019 View on HN

They're getting more pixels but those pixels are smaller!

coin Jul 31, 2013 View on HN

The article said "8x as much screen space", not pixels

rezonant Feb 22, 2024 View on HN

Because screenshots are in pixels, not inches.

arein3 Nov 3, 2021 View on HN

if you buy a high pixel density display (ex a 15 inch laptop with a 4k display) then you need to be able to map 2 real pixels to 1 logical pixel (what apple did with retina displays)

carlosjobim Aug 21, 2023 View on HN

It doesn't work like that. Web browsers do not count actual pixels when rendering. They adjust high density pixels to the equivalent real life size of low density pixels.

cerebralcow Apr 2, 2016 View on HN

Aren't you missing details about the screen resolution and ppi?