Screen resolution and display details
Everything your browser can tell you about the display you are reading this on, measured the moment the page loaded. If you are about to buy a cable, a monitor or a graphics card, these are the numbers you need in front of you.
- Screen resolution—
- Browser window—
- Device pixel ratio—
- Aspect ratio—
- Colour depth—
- Colour gamut—
- Dynamic range—
- Orientation—
- Touch points—
What each number means
Screen resolution is the physical pixel grid your display is currently driving — logical pixels multiplied by the device pixel ratio. This is the number to compare against the specification when you buy.
Browser window is the space this page actually has. It is always smaller than the screen, because of window chrome, browser toolbars and any zoom you have applied.
Device pixel ratio is how many physical pixels the system paints per CSS pixel. Anything other than 1 means scaling is in play.
Aspect ratio is derived from the physical resolution. 16:9 is the common case, 16:10 is typical of laptops and productivity monitors, and 21:9 or 32:9 means an ultrawide.
Colour depth is bits per pixel as reported by the system. Almost every modern display reports 24-bit or 30-bit. A browser cannot see whether the panel is true 8-bit or 6-bit with dithering — only what the system claims.
Colour gamut and dynamic range are capability flags answered by the operating system.
Windows 11
If the resolution above is not the one printed on the box, open Settings → System → Display:
- Display resolution should say (Recommended) next to it. Anything else means the panel is being asked to stretch an image it does not natively have, and text will look soft.
- Scale is what produces a device pixel ratio like 1.25 or 1.5. 125% and 150% are the usual culprits.
- If the maximum resolution offered is lower than the panel supports, the cable is the usual cause. HDMI 1.4 tops out at 4K 30 Hz; you need DisplayPort or HDMI 2.0 and above for 4K 60 Hz.
macOS
Open System Settings → Displays:
- macOS shows scaled sizes rather than raw resolutions. More Space and Larger Text are both scaled modes; only one option per display is the true native resolution.
- On a Mac, a device pixel ratio of 2 is normal and correct on any Retina display.
- Holding Option while clicking Scaled reveals the full list of resolutions, including the native one.
Before you buy a cable or a monitor
Write down the physical resolution and the refresh rate together — they are limited by the same cable bandwidth, and a cable that carries 4K at 60 Hz may not carry 4K at 144 Hz. The refresh rate test is the next step in this check, and the two numbers side by side tell you what you actually need.
Common questions
Why is the resolution here different from the one in my display settings?
Two reasons. The browser reports the resolution the operating system is currently driving, which is not necessarily the panel native resolution — a 4K monitor running at 1440p reports 1440p. And on a scaled display the browser reports logical pixels, which we multiply by the device pixel ratio to get back to physical ones. If the number still looks wrong, your monitor is probably not running at its native resolution, and text will look soft until you fix that.
What is device pixel ratio?
The number of physical pixels the system paints for each logical CSS pixel. A ratio of 1 is a traditional display, 2 is a Retina-class display, and fractional values like 1.25 or 1.5 come from Windows display scaling. It is the number that explains why a screenshot comes out twice the size of what you see.
Can a website see my exact monitor model?
No, and this one does not try. A browser exposes resolution, pixel ratio, colour depth and a few capability flags. It has no access to the model name, the serial number or the EDID data. Everything on this page was read in your browser and stays there.
What does the colour gamut line mean?
It is the browser answering which colour space it believes the display can cover: sRGB, Display P3 or Rec. 2020. It comes from a media query the operating system answers, so it reflects what the system has been told about the monitor rather than a measurement. Treat it as a strong hint, not a calibration result.
Why does it say SDR when I have an HDR monitor?
HDR has to be switched on at the operating system level and supported by the browser before a page can be told about it. On Windows 11 that is Settings, System, Display, Use HDR. On macOS it is automatic on displays that support it. If HDR is off in the system, every page correctly sees SDR.