Resolution reference
2048 × 1536 resolution (QXGA)
Short answer
2048 × 1536 (QXGA, iPad Retina) is a 4:3 landscape resolution with 3,145,728 pixels (3.15 megapixels). A 4:3 frame: the Retina screen of 9.7-inch iPads and many older sensors.
Key takeaways
- 2048 × 1536 is 4:3, landscape, 3,145,728 pixels (3.15 MP).
- A 4:3 frame: the Retina screen of 9.7-inch iPads and many older sensors.
- For video, YouTube's 1440p (2K) tier applies: 16 Mbps at 24-30 fps, about 120 MB a minute.
- Printed at 300 DPI it is 6.8 × 5.1 inches.
2048 × 1536 specifications
| Width × height | 2,048 × 1,536 pixels |
|---|---|
| Also called | 2048x1536, QXGA, iPad Retina |
| Aspect ratio | 4:3, decimal 1.3333 |
| Orientation | landscape |
| Total pixels | 3,145,728 (3.15 megapixels) |
| Compared with 1080p | 1.52× the pixels of 1920 × 1080 |
| Diagonal | 2,560 pixels |
| Rotated | 1536 × 2048 |
| Encoder safe | Yes: both sides are even, as H.264 and HEVC with 4:2:0 color require |
2048 × 1536 compared with common resolutions
| Resolution | Pixels | 2048 × 1536 has |
|---|---|---|
| 720p (1280 × 720) | 921,600 | 3.41× as many |
| 1080p (1920 × 1080) | 2,073,600 | 1.52× as many |
| 1440p (2560 × 1440) | 3,686,400 | 85% as many |
| 4K UHD (3840 × 2160) | 8,294,400 | 38% as many |
2048 × 1536 vs 1920 × 1080 and 2048 × 1536 vs 2560 × 1440
2048 × 1536 has 52% more pixels than 1080p (1920 × 1080). On a 27-inch screen that is 95 vs 82 pixels per inch, so text and fine detail look sharper at 2048 × 1536. A game or encoder has to process 1.52× as many pixels per frame, which costs frame rate on the same graphics card and, at equal quality, file size.
1440p (2560 × 1440) has 17% more pixels than 2048 × 1536. On a 27-inch screen that is 95 vs 109 pixels per inch, so text and fine detail look softer at 2048 × 1536. A game or encoder processes only 85% as many pixels per frame, which helps frame rates and keeps files smaller.
| 2048 × 1536 | 1080p (1920 × 1080) | 1440p (2560 × 1440) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pixels | 3,145,728 | 2,073,600 | 3,686,400 |
| Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| YouTube bitrate, 24-30 fps | 16 Mbps | 8 Mbps | 16 Mbps |
| Desktop space (vs 1080p) | 152% | 100% | 178% |
Where 2048 × 1536 is used
Apple brought 2048 × 1536 to tablets with the third-generation iPad in 2012, the first Retina iPad, doubling the 1024 × 768 of earlier models in each direction. The 9.7-inch iPads that followed, such as the iPad Air 2, kept it at 264 pixels per inch.
- The Retina screen of 9.7-inch iPads such as the iPad Air 2 (264 ppi).
- Older 4:3 camera sensors and tablet screenshots.
- Pillarboxed in 16:9 players and cropped in 9:16 feeds.
Pixel density (PPI) by screen size
Pixel density is the diagonal in pixels (2,560) divided by the screen diagonal in inches. The last column is the distance at which a person with normal vision stops seeing individual pixels (one arcminute of visual acuity).
| Device | Screen | PPI |
|---|---|---|
| iPad Air 2 (9.7-inch) | 9.7 inches | 264 |
| Screen diagonal | PPI | Pixels blend at about |
|---|---|---|
| 13.3 inches | 192 | 18 in (45 cm) |
| 15.6 inches | 164 | 21 in (53 cm) |
| 21.5 inches | 119 | 29 in (73 cm) |
| 24 inches | 107 | 32 in (82 cm) |
| 27 inches | 95 | 3.0 ft (0.9 m) |
| 32 inches | 80 | 3.6 ft (1.1 m) |
Print sizes for a 2048 × 1536 image
| Print resolution | Inches | Centimeters | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 DPI | 6.8 × 5.1 | 17.3 × 13.0 | Photo prints, magazines |
| 240 DPI | 8.5 × 6.4 | 21.7 × 16.3 | Inkjet photo prints |
| 150 DPI | 13.7 × 10.2 | 34.7 × 26.0 | Posters seen from a meter or more |
| 72 DPI | 28.4 × 21.3 | 72.2 × 54.2 | Screen only; too coarse for print |
Free tool:DPI and print size calculator
Video at 2048 × 1536: bitrate and file size
| Frame rate | Bitrate | Per minute | Per 10 minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24-30 fps | 16 Mbps | about 120 MB | about 1200 MB |
| 48-60 fps | 24 Mbps | about 180 MB | about 1800 MB |
Uncompressed, one 2048 × 1536 frame is 9.4 MB as 8-bit RGB, or 4.7 MB in the 8-bit 4:2:0 format video codecs work in. At 30 fps that is 1,132 Mbps of raw video, which is why every delivery format compresses it.
Posting 2048 × 1536 to social platforms
How the frame lands in each common shape, either fitted whole with bars or scaled up to fill and cropped:
| Target frame | Fit with bars | Fill and crop |
|---|---|---|
| 9:16 (TikTok, Reels, Shorts), 1080 × 1920 | 1080 × 810 picture, 58% of the frame is bars | Keeps 42% of the picture (crops the width) |
| 16:9 (YouTube), 1920 × 1080 | 1440 × 1080 picture, 25% of the frame is bars | Keeps 75% of the picture (crops the height) |
| 4:5 (feed portrait), 1080 × 1350 | 1080 × 810 picture, 40% of the frame is bars | Keeps 60% of the picture (crops the width) |
| 1:1 (square), 1080 × 1080 | 1080 × 810 picture, 25% of the frame is bars | Keeps 75% of the picture (crops the width) |
Free tools:Crop video to 9:16Crop video to 16:9Crop an image to 4:5
How to resize to 2048 × 1536
- In an editor, set the sequence or export frame size to 2048 × 1536; if the source has a different shape, choose scale to fill (crop) or scale to fit (bars) rather than stretch.
- With FFmpeg, exact size:
ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf scale=2048:1536 -c:a copy out.mp4 - With FFmpeg, keep the whole picture and add bars:
ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "scale=2048:1536:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=2048:1536:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2" -c:a copy out.mp4 - Upscaling a smaller source to 2048 × 1536 makes the file bigger without adding detail; scale down from a larger master when you can.
| Scale | Size | Pixels |
|---|---|---|
| 25% | 512 × 384 | 196,608 |
| 50% | 1024 × 768 | 786,432 |
| 75% | 1536 × 1152 | 1,769,472 |
| 150% | 3072 × 2304 | 7,077,888 |
| 200% | 4096 × 3072 | 12,582,912 |
Same 4:3 shape:640 × 480
Check a file against 2048 × 1536
Extension and MIME type are labels, not proof of the container. Dimensions and duration come from this browser's media reader. The frame rate is measured by playing the first frames muted; a file faster than your screen's refresh rate reads low. This does not detect codecs, bitrate, corruption or platform upload compatibility. Files and measurements are not sent anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Is 2048×1536 4K?
No. 4K UHD is 3840×2160 (8,294,400 pixels); 2048×1536 has 3,145,728, 38% of that. By its 1536-pixel short side it falls in YouTube's 1440p (2K) quality tier.
What aspect ratio is 2048×1536?
4:3, a width-to-height ratio of 1.3333.
What bitrate should a 2048×1536 video use for YouTube?
YouTube recommends 16 Mbps at 24-30 fps and 24 Mbps at 48-60 fps for its 1440p (2K) tier (SDR). That is about 120 MB per minute at standard frame rates, before audio.
How does 2048×1536 compare with 1080p?
It has 1.52× the pixels of 1920×1080 (3,145,728 vs 2,073,600). Encoding time and file size at equal quality scale roughly with pixel count.
What is 2048×1536 resolution called?
2048 × 1536 is also called QXGA, iPad Retina. A 4:3 frame: the Retina screen of 9.7-inch iPads and many older sensors.
How many megapixels is 2048×1536?
3,145,728 pixels, which is 3.15 megapixels. A 12-megapixel phone photo (4032 × 3024) has 3.9× as many.
How big can I print a 2048×1536 image?
At 300 DPI, the usual photo-print target, 6.8 × 5.1 inches (17.3 × 13.0 cm). At 150 DPI, fine for posters viewed from a distance, twice that: 13.7 × 10.2 inches.
Sources and how we checked
- YouTube Help: Recommended upload encoding settings (checked 2026-10-05)
- Apple Support: iPad Air 2 technical specifications (checked 2026-10-06)
Pixel counts, ratios, PPI, print sizes, data rates and platform fits are computed from the width and height. Device figures are the makers' own; bitrates are YouTube's recommendations. Reviewed October 6, 2026 by the Koldflux team.