1440p is also called QHD (quad high definition) or WQHD (wide quad high definition) and is a display resolution that measures 2560 x 1440 pixels. This resolution is also commonly referred to as 2K (opens in new tab).
Resolution explains how many pixels a display has in width x height format; the more pixels a display has, the sharper its image quality should be. QHD resolution gets its name for offering four times the definition of standard HD, aka 720p (opens in new tab) (1280 x 720 resolution).
QHD screens are noticeably sharper than Full HD (FHD) aka 1080p (opens in new tab) resolution (1920 x 1080) models, which are much more common and also cheaper than QHD displays. This higher resolution also makes going to screens larger than 27 inches without seeing individual pixels more feasible when shopping for a PC monitor (opens in new tab). However, with laptops (opens in new tab), a QHD screen will eat up more battery than a FHD display.
What About WQHD?
You may also see QHD resolution referred to as WQHD, which stands for wide quad high definition. These two acronyms represent the same resolution; WQHD is a marketing technique to emphasize the wide-screen format of the resolution.
However, vendors will also label ultra-wide monitors as WQHD even though they don’t have 2560 horizontal pixels. This is because they still have 1440 vertical pixels but have more horizontal pixels for a wider aspect ratio than 2560 x 1440’s 16:9 aspect ratio.
Common Display Resolutions
This article is part of the Tom’s Hardware Glossary (opens in new tab).
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