Windows apps can run on any device running Windows, which includes tablets, desktops, TVs, and more. With a huge number of device targets and screen s

Screen sizes and breakpoints

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2023-03-25 05:30:02

Windows apps can run on any device running Windows, which includes tablets, desktops, TVs, and more. With a huge number of device targets and screen sizes across the Windows ecosystem, rather than optimizing your UI for each device, we recommended designing for a few key width categories (also called "breakpoints"):

When designing for specific breakpoints, design for the amount of screen space available to your app (the app's window), not the screen size. When the app is running full-screen, the app window is the same size as the screen, but when the app is not full-screen, the window is smaller than the screen.

While most TVs are physically quite large (40 to 65 inches is common) and have high resolutions (HD or 4k), designing for a 1080P TV that you view from 10 feet away is different from designing for a 1080p monitor sitting a foot away on your desk. When you account for distance, the TV's 1080 pixels are more like a 540-pixel monitor that's much closer.

XAML's effective pixel system automatically takes viewing distance in account for you. When you specify a size for a control or a breakpoint range, you're actually using "effective" pixels. For example, if you create responsive code for 1080 pixels or more, a 1080 monitor will use that code, but a 1080p TV will not--because although a 1080p TV has 1080 physical pixels, it only has 540 effective pixels. Which makes designing for a TV similar to designing for a small screen.

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