What constitutes a great phone display? Is it the high resolution and pixel density? These days, it seems that most phones have that figured out with crisp detail on most phones out there.
So is it about the high brightness and contrast that offer good outdoor visibility in the sun outdoors? That is certainly a competitive area as each year we are getting slightly brighter displays.
But then we have other considerations like color accuracy and calibration. Throw in dynamically-adjusted refresh rate based on the content displayed in the mix, and now, you’ve narrowed it down to only the best choices. We have rounded them right below.
Smartphones with the best quality displays:
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
- 6.8-inch 1440p LTPO 12-bit HDR panel
- Granular 1Hz-120Hz dynamic refresh rate @1440p
- Very bright mobile panel
- Anti-glare treatment for amazing outdoor visibility
- Active digitizer with S Pen stylus support
But the real star of the show here is the new anti-reflection coating that just destroys reflection and makes this screen very easy to use outdoors. No other phone is using this technology yet, but we wish they would.
iPhone 16 Pro Max
- Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion technology (adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz)
- Size: 6.9-inch (diagonal) all-screen OLED display
- Resolution: 2868-by-1320-pixel resolution at 460 ppi
The iPhone 16 Pro Max display is similar in quality to the previous generation, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive.
The one key difference is that this newer display can go down to a minimum brightness of 1 nit, which helps tremendously with bedtime use.
Otherwise, you have excellent color accuracy and crispy clear detail.
Pixel 9 Pro XL
- LTPO OLED with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and HDR10+
- Size: 6.8 inches
- Resolution: 1344 x 2992 pixels
- Pixel Density: ~486 ppi
- Aspect Ratio: 20:9
- Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
The new Pixel flagship phone raises the bar with screen quality.
On a 20% white window, we measured brightness reaches nearly 2,700 nits, the brightest on any phone we have tested so far. You don’t get Samsung’s excellent anti-reflective coating, but that boost in brightness certainly helps with outdoor viewing.
- Type: 6.8-inch 2K 120Hz ProXDR Display with LTPO
- Resolution: 3168 x 1440 pixels (QHD+)
- Aspect Ratio: 19.8:9
- Pixel Density: 510 ppi
- Refresh Rate: Adaptive 1-120Hz
- Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
- Other features: 2160Hz PWM dimming for reduced eye strain
The OnePlus 12 delivers excellent display quality at a much lower price than other flagships.
It gets plenty bright, reaching levels similar to that of other flagships, and it uses high-frequency PWM dimming, so users who might have more sensitive eyes, will feel more comfortable using this screen.