Screen Resolution & Screen Size – What To Know for Mobile App Design?

There's a myriad of mobile devices to select from when developing applications for healthcare. When creating digital solutions for clinicians, patients, or healthcare administrators, it's critical to stay current and create the best experience across all devices. Screen size and screen resolution are two fundamental factors to consider before, during, and after developing a mobile HealthTech application. This article explains the differences between the two and provides all the information you need to know in a nutshell.

Explanation of Screen Size and Screen Resolution

The terms "screen resolution" as well as "screen size" are often used interchangeably. They both might seem confusing when designing your mobile healthcare application. But they both are also very important elements that will affect your application layout, particularly when dealing with sensitive medical information or clinical workflows.

What Do Screen Size and Screen Resolution Mean?

• Screen size is the diagonal of the viewable screen (physical measurement of it).
• Screen resolution is the number of pixels on a particular screen size.

While a screen's resolution can be adjusted affecting visual quality, the screen size is fixed and cannot be changed. App developers would be unable to design for every available mobile device on the market as there's plenty of them. Instead of that, designers just divide the style into standardized smartphone or tablet sizes. All of this is about matching visuals to the device.

In healthcare environments, where precision and clarity are paramount, understanding these distinctions becomes even more important.

Why Size and Resolution Are Important for Designing HealthTech Apps

Understanding the size and resolution of mobile applications can help you optimize them for many devices. This includes smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, or any other target devices where your healthcare software should be available.

Moreover, applications that do not respect particular requirements (like Apple's size and screen resolution rules), will not be allowed in app stores. For HealthTech applications that may need FDA approval or must meet specific accessibility standards, these considerations become even more crucial.

Building an app with numerous screen sizes in mind can't be an afterthought in today's digital healthcare environment. For clinical applications where accurate visualization of patient data is essential, proper optimization across devices can directly impact patient care.

Common Terminology Used During Mobile App Design

As previously mentioned, screen resolution and size are two essential components that influence an app's overall layout and structure. Now let's take a look at the most frequent terms that you may hear used to describe size and resolution in healthcare app development.

Pixel

Pixels are the smallest pieces that make a display, which is short for picture elements. The resolution of an image is determined by the number of pixels in it. A pixel has no physical representation itself as it can only convey value through interaction with the size of the screen.

Every pixel has a color, and the picture is made up of all the pixels. A pixel's color can be stored using a mix of red, green, and blue (RGB), but other colors, such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, are also featured (CMYK).

In medical imaging applications, the density and clarity of pixels can significantly impact diagnostic accuracy.

Point

Points are a resolution measurement on iPhones. Depending on the density, a point can include many pixels. Keep in mind that pixels and points are not the same things. This is a measurement unit. App designers often consider points but the design should be in pixels.

For healthcare applications where readability is crucial—such as medication dosage information or vital signs displays—understanding the difference between points and pixels ensures content remains legible across devices.

PPI

Pixel density, often known as pixels per inch (PPI), is a measurement of display resolution that is related to the size in inches. It's not the same as resolution as pixel density refers to the level of detail on the device.

PPI is significant because it indicates how effectively an image will display on a particular screen. Mobile devices have small screens, however, modern smartphones have a higher PPI rating – around 250-800 PPI and up to 4K display. Because higher resolution displays have a higher pixel density, they require images with a larger pixel count.

For healthcare applications displaying medical images or complex data visualizations, higher PPI screens can provide the clarity needed for accurate interpretation.

DPI

When describing the resolutions, the term DPI is often mistakenly used instead of PPI. These are two different units. DPI is short for dots per inch. It describes the amount of ink dots on a printed image while PPI refers to the pixels on the digital display.

Understanding this distinction becomes relevant when healthcare applications need to generate printed materials like patient education resources or clinical reports.

Screen Sizes and Orientations

On the same mobile platform, sizes and resolutions might differ. If you want the application to look consistent on different devices, the user interface has to be scalable.

Aside from that, there are many sorts of screens so there might be a situation when you have to adjust designs for particular screens a bit more – add some extra background, or reduce the spacing. It always depends on the specific design, possibilities that remain consistent with a product's design and your requirements.

The size takes into account factors such as screen orientation, UI components (like navigation), and window configurations.

From Portrait to Landscape

The accelerometer integrated into modern smart devices might be used to align the screen based on the device's orientation, such as when switching between portrait and landscape modes. Because it gives an additional layout with a simple rotation of a device and without pushing unnecessary buttons, capability like that provides enormous flexibility to develop an improved user experience.

In healthcare settings, where clinicians may need to quickly switch between viewing detailed patient data (often better in landscape) to inputting information (often easier in portrait), this adaptability is particularly valuable.

When designing for mobile healthcare devices, consider the environment and situations in which an application will be used—bright hospital corridors, dimly lit patient rooms, or during emergency situations where quick access to information is critical.

Common Display Resolutions in Healthcare Settings

When it comes to the mobile app market, it's always crucial to know which devices are most popular. While there is no single perfect size, some resolutions appear considerably more frequently than others.

When creating healthcare applications, pay special attention to the resolution ranges because these are the ones you can be sure will be used on a variety of devices. Some of the most frequent resolution options are as follows:

• Clinical Workstations: Monitor displays ranging from 1024×768 to 1920×1080
• Clinician Devices: Smartphone displays ranging from 360×640 to 414×896
• Patient-Facing Applications: Tablet displays ranging from 601×962 to 1280×800

Designing a HealthTech App for Mobile Devices

The goal of screen resolution and size optimization is to make an app visually suitable for every Android or iOS device. The user experience is going to be ruined if you develop an app with only one screen in mind. This is something that every mobile digital healthcare product should avoid at all costs.

For healthcare applications where usability directly impacts patient care, these considerations are even more critical. Consider these additional best practices for HealthTech applications:

1. Prioritize Information Hierarchy

On smaller screens, focus on displaying the most critical information first. For example, in a patient monitoring app, vital signs might take precedence over demographic information.

2. Design for Clinical Environments

Healthcare professionals often work under pressure, sometimes wearing gloves or in challenging lighting conditions. Ensure touch targets are appropriately sized and the interface remains readable across environments.

3. Test in Real-World Settings

While simulators are useful, nothing replaces testing on physical devices in actual healthcare environments to ensure your application performs reliably where it matters most.

For your HealthTech app to be successful and make a meaningful impact on patient care, you should become aware of how to design it right across all devices that your users—whether clinicians, patients, or administrators—might use.

At Momentum, we specialize in developing HealthTech applications that perform flawlessly across devices while meeting the unique challenges of healthcare environments. Contact us to learn how we can help you create digital health solutions that make a difference, regardless of screen size.