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Mobile App Development vocabulary · Screens, UI Components and Gestures

Screen density

Meaning in mobile app development, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In mobile app development, screen density means: How many pixels a screen has in a given physical area, measured in dots per inch (dpi); high-density screens need larger image files to look sharp.

In Turkish: ekran yoğunluğu, piksel yoğunluğu

How it is used

To keep sizes consistent, Android uses density-independent pixels (dp) and density buckets such as hdpi, xhdpi and xxhdpi, while iOS uses points and @2x and @3x image assets. Designers hand off sizes in dp or pt, not in raw pixels.

Example sentences

  1. The icons look blurry because we only exported them for one screen density.

  2. Let's use vector images so we don't need a separate file for every screen density.

Common collocations

  • screen density
  • density-independent pixels
  • high-density screen
  • @2x and @3x assets
  • screenOne full view of an app that the user sees at a time, such as the login screen or the settings screen; apps are planned as a set of screens.
  • device fragmentationThe wide variety of devices, screen sizes, hardware and operating system versions an app must work on, which makes testing harder, especially on Android.
  • app iconThe small image that represents an app on the home screen, in the store and in the settings; it is often the first thing users notice.
  • app sizeHow much space an app needs, both as a download from the store and after installation on the device, including its code, images and libraries.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Screens, UI Components and Gestures

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