2880x1800 resolution
2880 × 1800
Retina 15-inch · 8:5 · 5,184,000 pixels · 5.18 megapixels · Laptop
What 2880x1800 is
Exactly twice 1440×900 in each direction, which is the whole idea: four physical pixels per logical one, so an interface drawn for the older size renders identically and four times as finely.
The numbers
| Width | 2,880 px |
| Height | 1,800 px |
| Aspect ratio | 8:5 |
| Total pixels | 5,184,000 |
| Megapixels | 5.18 MP |
| Compared with 1080p | 2.50× the pixels |
| Compared with 4K UHD | 0.63× the pixels |
What 2880x1800 costs to move and to store
A frame is width × height × three bytes of colour, before any compression touches it. At 2880 × 1800 that is 15.55 MB per frame, and video is frames per second:
| Frame rate | Uncompressed | An hour of it |
|---|---|---|
| 24 fps | 373 MB/s | 1.34 TB |
| 30 fps | 467 MB/s | 1.68 TB |
| 60 fps | 933 MB/s | 3.36 TB |
| 120 fps | 1.87 GB/s | 6.72 TB |
Nobody ships that. It is the number codecs exist to get away from — a streamed 2880x1800 feed runs at a few tens of megabits, which is a compression ratio of several hundred to one, and it is why a still frame from a stream looks worse than a photograph of the same scene.
How close you have to sit for 2880x1800 to be worth it
The eye resolves about one arcminute of detail. Past a certain distance the pixels merge whatever the panel does, and a higher resolution stops being visible rather than stopping being better. That distance is the pixel pitch divided by the tangent of one arcminute:
| Screen | Pixels merge beyond |
|---|---|
| 13.3 in monitor or laptop | 0.34 m (1.1 ft) |
| 15.6 in monitor or laptop | 0.4 m (1.3 ft) |
| 24 in monitor or laptop | 0.62 m (2 ft) |
| 27 in monitor or laptop | 0.69 m (2.3 ft) |
| 32 in monitor or laptop | 0.82 m (2.7 ft) |
| 43 in television | 1.11 m (3.6 ft) |
| 55 in television | 1.41 m (4.6 ft) |
| 65 in television | 1.67 m (5.5 ft) |
| 75 in television | 1.93 m (6.3 ft) |
Sitting further back than the figure for your screen, 2880x1800 and the next resolution down look the same. That is the whole argument about 4K televisions in ordinary living rooms: the resolution is real and the seating position usually is not close enough to show it.
Pixel density at common screen sizes
A resolution on its own says nothing about sharpness — the same 2880x1800 panel is dense on a laptop and coarse on a television. Density is the diagonal in pixels divided by the diagonal in inches.
| Diagonal | Pixel density | |
|---|---|---|
| 13.3 in | 255 PPI | High density — the OS will scale the interface |
| 15.6 in | 218 PPI | High density — the OS will scale the interface |
| 24 in | 142 PPI | Sharp |
| 27 in | 126 PPI | Comfortable at native size |
| 32 in | 106 PPI | Comfortable at native size |
Other laptop resolutions
| Resolution | Name | Ratio | Megapixels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1280×800 | WXGA | 8:5 | 1.02 MP |
| 1366×768 | HD (laptop) | 16:9 | 1.05 MP |
| 1440×900 | WXGA+ | 8:5 | 1.30 MP |
| 1600×900 | HD+ | 16:9 | 1.44 MP |
| 1920×1200 | WUXGA | 8:5 | 2.30 MP |
| 2560×1600 | WQXGA | 8:5 | 4.10 MP |
| 3200×1800 | QHD+ | 16:9 | 5.76 MP |
| 3024×1964 | Laptop 14-inch HiDPI | 3:2 | 5.94 MP |
Closest in total pixels
- 3440×1440 — UWQHD
- 2732×2048 — Tablet 12.9-inch
- 3200×1800 — QHD+
- 1440×3200 — QHD+ phone
- 3024×1964 — Laptop 14-inch HiDPI
- 3840×1600 — UWQHD+
- 3840×1080 — DFHD
- 2560×1600 — WQXGA
Frequently asked questions
What is the aspect ratio of 2880x1800?
8:5.
How many pixels is 2880x1800?
5,184,000 pixels, or 5.18 megapixels.
Is 2880x1800 higher resolution than 1080p?
2880x1800 has 2.50× as many pixels as a 1920×1080 frame.
What size screen suits 2880x1800?
Pixel density is what decides that. 255 PPI at 13.3 in, 218 PPI at 15.6 in, 142 PPI at 24 in, 126 PPI at 27 in, 106 PPI at 32 in. Below roughly 110 PPI text starts to look coarse; above about 200 the operating system will usually scale the interface rather than render it at native size.