iPhone X Is King of OLED Screens: See for Yourself

We've talked a lot about the infamous notch of the iPhone X, but its 5.8-inch screen is notable for other reasons. With the introduction of its first phone with an OLED panel, Apple joins the ranks of Samsung and LG; In fact, since 2008 Samsung has integrated technology into its phones.

Apple has something to catch up with, and we were interested to see how they compared their efforts with their two closest competitors to OLED displays: the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and the Google Pixel 2 XL. We saw that.
The brightest screen in typical scenarios
In order to have better readability on every phone, I asked for the help of some of my colleagues. The first thing they pointed out is the brightness of the 5.8-inch screen of the iPhone X compared to its competitors with Android.
For testing, we highlight the brightness of each phone with the maximum configuration in manual mode, navigate to a completely blank screen in their respective browsers and record the results with our light meter. The iPhone X led the package to 574 Nits, compared to 438 for Pixel 2 XL and 408 Nits for Note 8. The average for smartphones is 433 Nits.

The fact that the note 8 is not far, may surprise the pioneer here, especially since DisplayMate reported that the device could reach a maximum brightness of 1240 Nits. In fact, Note 8 may be brighter than iPhone X, but only in extremely special conditions where a very small portion of the screen is active. It is likely that owners will never experience this scenario in typical usage. So if you see the content in full-screen mode, the Apple phone actually performs better.

Brightness is a key element on any screen, but it is particularly important with OLED panels, which are often much darker than their LCD counterparts due to the lack of backlighting. Screen Creators have improved over the years in this regard, but the iPhone X seems to be an important step forward compared to the previous standard provider, the Samsung Galaxy S series.

With such a bright screen, you can pick up any part of the content you have on the screen. The darker shades present more details and subtle colors. The edges appear universally sharper. The contrast becomes less dramatic but still attracts attention as the OLED can deliver true blacks. This is perhaps the greatest strength of the iPhone X screen, which gives a deep first impression.

Not very saturated for an OLED, but very natural
Apple has never been someone who offers super bright colors, nor has it offered a variety of display modes on their phones, as many phone manufacturers do. As a result, we were not surprised to discover that the iPhone X has achieved a balance between Note 8 and Pixel 2 in terms of color reproduction.

By comparing a Wonder Woman still image on all three screens, Samsung has confirmed its reputation for super saturated colors in the phone's adaptive display mode. Tom's Guide's Caitlin McGarry noted that she was the least realistic group, while Andrew Freedman commented on the abnormal intensity of the blue sky. However, it can be tempered in favor of a movie, a movie, or a base mode setup.

Users who prefer the eye-catching colors of Note 8 are likely to feel that the Apple OLED version is not much more haunting than the LCD screens offered on the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. The iPhone X covered 123% of the sRGB bandwidth in our tests, compared to 130% Pixel 2 XL and the impressive Note Grade 8 of 204%.

In terms of realism, Pixel 2 XL is a worthier opponent. Google has adapted its original LG 6-inch panel to a sRGB color profile that is quieter than most cell phones. But then the pixel goes too far and tries to achieve real visual effects by darkening the contrast and projecting a beige-colored filter that pervades everything from the skin of Wonder Woman to the sea beyond. (Google says a future software update will increase color saturation but at the expense of accuracy).

Finally, the iPhone X has taken the victory here, because it has made the contrast between sky and water better. The increased brightness also helped illuminate darker details in the scene, like the braids in Wonder Woman's hair.


Better white balance
With its True Tone display, the iPhone X can adjust its white balance to the ambient conditions. But even with True Tone off, our device has found a perfect way between the warmth of Pixel 2 XL and the brilliant change of Grade 8 in our office.

Additional tests also showed that True Tone actually improves color accuracy. With deactivated function, our iPhone X registered a delta E value of 0.28. (The numbers closer to 0 are better). When True Tone is enabled, it has been improved to 0.21. This is similar to the Pixel 2 XL score (0.26) and slightly higher than Grade 8 (0.5).

Higher viewing angles
There is a general complaint about OLED screens: they do not work well when they are out of the center. Most have a blue hue with a decrease in brightness, which can be mild or severe. The three phones in this comparison are subject to this error, but the iPhone X handles these errors best.

Apple's panel can maintain brightness better as it tilts the phone from left to right and top to bottom. Get cooler sounds when you turn it, but not the touch 8 grade and certainly not as big as the 2 XL pixels.

It is not so sharp
This is not a typical usage check, but it has to be said: iPhone X Screen has fewer pixels per inch (PPI 438) than Note 8 (521 ppi) or Pixel 2 XL (538). PPI).

If you squint, you may see an alias around the text and UI elements that are more difficult to identify on the Samsung device. The problem gets a little worse when viewing content in 16: 9 format as pictures and videos in the full-screen view of the iPhone X, which appears at the top and bottom of the frame. The YouTube app on iOS already has a button for it, and it made the preview of the Justice League I saw a bit blurry, though the effect was much more absorbing, even despite the score.

Bottom line
Apple took a long time to get to the OLED, but as always, the company took it out of the park when it finally made the switch. But is it better than the competition? The answer to this question depends on what you want to see.

If you want realism, the extremely bright screen of the iPhone X and its exquisite white balance offer a sense of color accuracy that you simply will not get other phones. But if you want sounds that stand out, the Galaxy Note 8 is still the king. Ironically, Samsung is responsible for producing OLED panels on both phones, but the differences in the frame have led to two of the best smartphone screens of the year, though very different.