See how phone screens have evolved, iPhone 6S Plus display is 514 TIMES better than the Nokia 5110's

If you were among the 160 million people who owned a Nokia 5110, you probably cherished it for its changeable covers and didn't bat an eyelid at its small and basic screen.

But now there's an interactive infographic that highlights just how far phone screen resolution has come in just under two decades.
In fact, it shows that Apple's iPhone 6S Plus is 514 times clearer than the popular Nokia handset in terms of screen resolution.




Click image to open interactive version (via Gocompare).

The infographic was commissioned by price comparison website GoCompare and charts technological progress from the classic Nokia 5110 to Apple's latest Retina display.


Many consumers may remember the Nokia 5110 as the first fashionable smartphone, which started the trend for changeable covers during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

But it had a rather basic monochrome screen, just 84 x 48 pixels or 65 pixels per inch (PPI) to show contacts and who was calling.

The resolution was just good enough to show 90 characters in a text message and play a game of snake. It was one of the first handsets to boast the now iconic game.

In 2004, Motorola bought out its Razr V3 handset, which was a huge hit thanks to its slim shape and extra small screen on the top of the flip phone handset, to show who was calling before a user picked up.



The handset was the bestselling 'clamshell' phone of all time, shifting 130 million handsets in just one year.

As well as its ground-breaking looks, the phone boasted a main screen of 176 x 220 pixels or 129 PPI - a big step forward at nine times the resolution of the Nokia handset.

Fast-forward two years and the Blackberry Pearl 8100 changed the game again.

As well as its Qwerty keyboard, the Blackberry had a screen boasting 420 x 260 pixels or 161 PPI - 15 times the resolution of the Nokia 5110.

Then on 9 January 2007, Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone.





It had a single 'home' button and Multi-Touch display with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels or 163 PPI.

This was 38 times the resolution of the Nokia screen, meaning effectively 38 could be fitted in the new handset.

In the new era of handsets, companies raced to develop larger and clearer screens and slimmer bodies for their phones.

In 2011, Samsung brought out the Samsung Galaxy S2 with a 480 x 800 pixel or 218 PPI screen – the clearest yet.

In resolution terms, 95 Nokia 5110s could be fit into its shining display.



It was the best-selling Android phone of the era and was seen as one of the first true rivals to the iPhone.

The release of Motorola's Moto X 1st generation saw another leap forward just two years later, with a screen of 720 x 1280 pixels or 316 PPI – equivalent to the resolution of 228 Nokia screens.

It was the first phone to be developed by Motorola after it was acquired by Google.

Earlier this year, Apple unveiled its latest handset, the iPhone 6S Plus.

This current offering has a large Retina display with 1080 x 1920 pixels or 401 PPI, which is a staggering 514 Nokia screens in terms of resolution.

Samsung and LG are among the leading companies developing curved and flexible displays, so the next big trend may be for bendy or roll-up phones.

For anyone feeling nostalgic for their old Nokia, there is a surprise on the last page of the infographic, in the form of a playable retro game if users click on the world 'Nokia'.