The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has beaten the Galaxy S8 to claim the best smartphone display crown. According to DisplayMate, the Note 8's Super AMOLED display has been tested to achieve peak brightness of 1200 nits. The Galaxy S8 announced in March maxed out at 1000 nits of brightness while the LCD display on Apple's iPhone 7 has a maximum brightness of 625 nits.
The report notes that Samsung has improved brightness levels on the Note 8 by 22 percent, thus providing improved visibility under direct sunlight. The display has also been found covering wider gamut than Galaxy S8 series. DisplayMate says the Note 8 uses a new high saturation 'Deep Red' OLED display to cover 112 percent of DCI-P3 and 141 percent of sRGB colour gamuts.
In terms of specifications, the Galaxy Note 8 features a larger 6.3-inch display certified by UHD Alliance for Mobile HDR Premium, allowing the device to play all the latest content produced for 4K UHD Premium TVs. The display is also found to be more colour accurate and offer improved viewing angles. "The Galaxy Note8 is the latest model in a new generation of OLED Smartphones that have a Full-Screen Display design. It is the most innovative and high-performance Smartphone display that we have ever lab tested, earning DisplayMate’s highest ever A+ grade," the report adds.
While Samsung has improved the display hardware significantly, it has also changed the software features. The always-on display on the Galaxy Note 8 is no longer software dependent and uses hardware to keep the display information updated at times. The feature is seen to benefit the battery life of the smartphone.
While Sony has already jumped to 4K resolution for the display on its Xperia XZ Premium, Samsung is sticking with the 1440p resolution. The new findings from DisplayMate only highlight that a 2960 x 1440p panel with natural colour enhancements will offer optimal performance for smartphone users. Samsung continues to be the undisputed leader in mobile displays and with Note 8, it has once again set the benchmark for the industry.