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The Best Displays in Android Phones
July 26, 2020
AndroidAuthority meticulously test a wide range of smartphone attributes. When it comes to displays, they look at several facets to build up a picture of overall display quality. Pixel density and resolution for image clarity and sharpness play a small part, although today’s 6-inch displays with FHD+ resolutions already push the limits of human perception anyway. Clarity is, essentially, a solved issue these days.
Figure 1: Display Pixel Density
July 26, 2020
AndroidAuthority meticulously test a wide range of smartphone attributes. When it comes to displays, they look at several facets to build up a picture of overall display quality. Pixel density and resolution for image clarity and sharpness play a small part, although today’s 6-inch displays with FHD+ resolutions already push the limits of human perception anyway. Clarity is, essentially, a solved issue these days.
Figure 1: Display Pixel Density
They examine color accuracy by looking at the color error (measured in deltaE2000) across the display’s color space, as well as the white point color temperature. Fewer and smaller errors make for a more realistic viewing experience with no noticeable tint. We’re expecting big improvements in this area following the high-bar set by last year’s Google Pixel 4.
We also examine gamma to ensure a smooth transition from deep blacks and greys to white highlights. 90Hz and 120Hz refresh rates don’t affect image quality, but they do make apps and games feel more responsive. There are bonus points on offer for the added smoothness, but for us, traditional image quality and accuracy come first.
For most of today’s comparisons, phones go head-to-head with their display brightness set to 200 nits — a typical indoor viewing brightness.
Overall, 2020 is a good year to pick up a smartphone with a solid display. There are plenty of options for great-looking panels with exceptional color accuracy in the DCI-P3 color space, which fills much more of the visible spectrum than the old sRGB standard. However, it’s mostly the familiar names that offer the very best mobile displays, including Huawei, LG, OnePlus, and Samsung — even in their more affordable flagship models. To differentiate many of these products, it is necessary to look beyond color to gamma, peak brightness, and sustainable high refresh rates.
Figure 2: OnePlus 8 Pro Color Accuracy
We also examine gamma to ensure a smooth transition from deep blacks and greys to white highlights. 90Hz and 120Hz refresh rates don’t affect image quality, but they do make apps and games feel more responsive. There are bonus points on offer for the added smoothness, but for us, traditional image quality and accuracy come first.
For most of today’s comparisons, phones go head-to-head with their display brightness set to 200 nits — a typical indoor viewing brightness.
Overall, 2020 is a good year to pick up a smartphone with a solid display. There are plenty of options for great-looking panels with exceptional color accuracy in the DCI-P3 color space, which fills much more of the visible spectrum than the old sRGB standard. However, it’s mostly the familiar names that offer the very best mobile displays, including Huawei, LG, OnePlus, and Samsung — even in their more affordable flagship models. To differentiate many of these products, it is necessary to look beyond color to gamma, peak brightness, and sustainable high refresh rates.
Figure 2: OnePlus 8 Pro Color Accuracy
OLED technology rules the roost in 2020. Historically known for oversaturation, today’s OLED displays are very true to life. LCD panels are not in any of the top-ranking smartphone displays in Best of Android: Mid-2020 edition. Instead, a few high-end manufacturers, including OnePlus, make use of Samsung Display’s AMOLED technology. OLED technology has a few benefits, including deep blacks and high peak brightness outdoor viewing and HDR playback. High-quality HDR support should now be expected as standard on all high-end smartphones. The affordable Chinese flagships don’t compete for the Best of Android display crown this year. Handsets like the Realme X3 SuperZoom, Realme X50 Pro 5G, and Poco F2 Pro offer flagship-tier performance, but keep their bill of materials low with more cost-effective displays. They offer passable to decent quality, but this is definitely something to be mindful of when eyeballing the spec-sheets of the industry’s “flagship killers.”
Figure 3: Best Of Android Mid-2020 Display Winner: OnePLus 8 Pro
Figure 3: Best Of Android Mid-2020 Display Winner: OnePLus 8 Pro
The OnePlus 8 Pro offers the best smartphone display available. The phone has held onto that lead against some stiff competition.
Figure 4: OnePlus 8 Pro RGB Balance (sRGB)
Figure 4: OnePlus 8 Pro RGB Balance (sRGB)
The OnePlus 8 Pro offers an exceptionally low average color deltaE2000 of 2.86 in its default display mode. This puts it very close to the threshold where it’s difficult to see screen errors (deltaE2000 2.0) and well into the region of very high performance. This is due to additional calibration that OnePlus performed on its Samsung AMOLED panel, surpassing the default factory settings. The OnePlus 8 Pro also benefits a white balance that’s neither too warm nor cold. OnePlus has really done an exceptional job with the 8 Pro’s display. It’s not perfect though; the display’s gamma curve isn’t ideal, deviating substantially with dark blacks and highlights.
Figure 5: OnePlus 8 Pro Color Error (sRGB)
Figure 5: OnePlus 8 Pro Color Error (sRGB)
Keeping color error to a minimum, the OnePlus 8 Pro offers a very accurate viewing experience. Even more accurate results can be obtained from the phone’s “natural” color setting. Although, again, the gamma curve isn’t flawless with dark greys. Overall color accuracy is great in this setting with an incredible average deltaE of 0.92. Only a handful of colors post an error above 2.0, so in theory it’s unlikely you’ll notice them.
Figure 6: OnePlus 8 Pro Color Error (dE2000)
Figure 6: OnePlus 8 Pro Color Error (dE2000)
Most will probably keep the default settings enabled on the OnePlus 8 Pro, as the DCI-P3 color gamut is much wider and vivacious than sRGB is. Sticklers for image accuracy may elect to enable the narrower color space for its benefits in RGB balance, gamma accuracy, and low color shift across the greyscale. The OnePlus 8 Pro has a fabulous display with excellent colors, but there's still room for improvement with next-gen tech. OnePlus’ 2020 flagship offers a number of other important display features. A peak brightness of 820 nits surpasses the requirements for outdoor visibility and is a boon for watching HDR content. The phone sports a 120Hz refresh rate that can be left on all the time thanks to a dedicated Pixelworks Iris 5 display processor. This handles frame rate upscaling and color management with very low power consumption. Other flagships, such as the Samsung Galaxy S20 series, can’t leave their high refresh rate displays enabled constantly for fear of draining the battery.
$999.00
Second place for Best of Android:
Mid-2020 display goes to the Samsung Galaxy S20 series, followed by the Huawei P40 range in third place. It’s not surprising to see 2020’s Galaxy S20, S20 Plus, and S20 Ultra flagships great display results. Samsung’s range doesn’t quite keep up with the OnePlus 8 Pro’s color accuracy, hovering just north of deltaE 4.0. However, Samsung’s flagships offer good white balance, 700+ nit peak brightness for outdoor viewing, and a smooth gamma curve.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 range also offers a 120Hz refresh rate for a smoother UI experience. However, it isn’t enabled out of the box and has a notably negative effect on the phone’s battery life. It’s a blemish on an otherwise obviously flagship-tier display.
Huawei’s P40 series delivers highly competitive color and gamma accuracy scores just like the Samsung Galaxy S20. These displays look very good too. However, the P40 and P40 Pro are less suited for HDR content and outdoor viewing, owing to their sub-600 nit peak brightness.
Huawei P40 Pro
The P40 series also sport 90Hz displays that help to improve smoothness. However, this mode is dynamic and doesn’t run on every app, and there’s no way to enforce a lock to 90Hz.
The regular OnePlus 8 and LG Velvet deserve an honorable mention here as well. Both provide very impressive color accuracy that actually surpasses the Galaxy S20 and Huawei P40 series handsets. Sadly, the Velvet is let down by its limited peak brightness, while the OnePlus 8 doesn’t quite keep up with the resolution clarity of the industry’s very best. Even so, both of these phones look great and cost a little bit less than our first, second, and third place winners too.
The gaming smartphone segment has grown steadily over the last couple of years, with several OEMs like Asus, Razer, and Nubia offering some compelling devices geared towards mobile gamers. Chinese OEM Lenovo is also expected to join the ranks this year with its new Legion branded gaming smartphone. The device was leaked extensively earlier this year in May and we already know quite a bit about its specifications and design. Lenovo recently confirmed some of the details, like the 144Hz high refresh display and liquid cooling system, via official teasers on Weibo. Now, the company has released more teasers of the device which confirm that it will feature a side-mounted pop-up camera.
$999.00
Second place for Best of Android:
Mid-2020 display goes to the Samsung Galaxy S20 series, followed by the Huawei P40 range in third place. It’s not surprising to see 2020’s Galaxy S20, S20 Plus, and S20 Ultra flagships great display results. Samsung’s range doesn’t quite keep up with the OnePlus 8 Pro’s color accuracy, hovering just north of deltaE 4.0. However, Samsung’s flagships offer good white balance, 700+ nit peak brightness for outdoor viewing, and a smooth gamma curve.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 range also offers a 120Hz refresh rate for a smoother UI experience. However, it isn’t enabled out of the box and has a notably negative effect on the phone’s battery life. It’s a blemish on an otherwise obviously flagship-tier display.
Huawei’s P40 series delivers highly competitive color and gamma accuracy scores just like the Samsung Galaxy S20. These displays look very good too. However, the P40 and P40 Pro are less suited for HDR content and outdoor viewing, owing to their sub-600 nit peak brightness.
Huawei P40 Pro
The P40 series also sport 90Hz displays that help to improve smoothness. However, this mode is dynamic and doesn’t run on every app, and there’s no way to enforce a lock to 90Hz.
The regular OnePlus 8 and LG Velvet deserve an honorable mention here as well. Both provide very impressive color accuracy that actually surpasses the Galaxy S20 and Huawei P40 series handsets. Sadly, the Velvet is let down by its limited peak brightness, while the OnePlus 8 doesn’t quite keep up with the resolution clarity of the industry’s very best. Even so, both of these phones look great and cost a little bit less than our first, second, and third place winners too.
The gaming smartphone segment has grown steadily over the last couple of years, with several OEMs like Asus, Razer, and Nubia offering some compelling devices geared towards mobile gamers. Chinese OEM Lenovo is also expected to join the ranks this year with its new Legion branded gaming smartphone. The device was leaked extensively earlier this year in May and we already know quite a bit about its specifications and design. Lenovo recently confirmed some of the details, like the 144Hz high refresh display and liquid cooling system, via official teasers on Weibo. Now, the company has released more teasers of the device which confirm that it will feature a side-mounted pop-up camera.