Galaxy Note 5 OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out
Samsung Galaxy Note 5
Galaxy S6 edge+
Dr. Raymond M. Soneira
President, DisplayMate Technologies
Corporation
Copyright © 1990-2015 by DisplayMate
Technologies Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
This article, or any part
thereof, may not be copied, reproduced, mirrored, distributed or incorporated
into any other work without
the prior written permission of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation
Introduction
The key element for a great Smartphone has always been a
truly innovative and top performing display, and the best leading edge
Smartphones have always flaunted their super high tech displays. It’s the
display performance that determines how good and how beautiful everything on
the Smartphone looks, including camera photos, and also how usable and how
readable the screen remains in high ambient lighting. It is the crown jewel of
the Smartphone.
The Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ are Samsung’s new flagship Smartphones with OLED displays.
They have been releasing two OLED generations every year, each with significant
improvements and enhancements – as a result OLEDs have developed into excellent
high performance displays. This article is the latest edition in our five year
article series that has tracked and analyzed the development of mobile OLED displays
and display technology, from its early beginnings in 2010, when OLED displays
started out in last place, into a rapidly improving and evolving display
technology that now has a commanding first place lead and continues pushing
ahead aggressively…
The Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ are two versions of the latest OLED display technology.
The Galaxy Note 5 has a 5.7 inch high resolution Quad HD 2560x1440 pixel
display with 518 pixels per inch on a hard glass substrate. While its screen
size and resolution remain the same as the
Galaxy Note 4, its display has significantly
improved performance. The Galaxy S6 edge+ display is similar to the Note 5,
with the same screen size and resolution, but it has a curved screen OLED
display that is manufactured on a flexible plastic substrate so that it can
bend around the corners on both the sides of the phone to provide two display
areas that can be viewed and controlled from both the front or the sides, which
is especially useful for viewing notifications and scrolling news items, and
also as a dim night clock on a beside table.
Overview
Our detailed Lab tests
show that there have been a number of significant display
performance improvements for the new Galaxy
Note 5 including much higher peak brightness
with significantly improved screen visibility and readability in high ambient
light, plus significantly higher display power efficiency so it actually uses
less power than the Note 4 in spite of its much higher brightness, and
resulting in a number of new records for Smartphone display performance,
including the best absolute color accuracy of any mobile display that we have
ever tested, and delivering absolutely stunning and beautiful images. We’ll
cover these issues and much more, with in-depth comprehensive display tests,
measurements and analysis that you will find nowhere else.
Samsung provided DisplayMate Technologies with pre-release production
units of the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ so that we could perform our
well known objective and comprehensive DisplayMate Lab tests, measurements, and
analysis, explaining the in-depth display performance results for consumers,
reviewers, and journalists. This article will focus primarily on the Galaxy
Note 5, but we have also included a section with some test results for the
Galaxy S6 edge+.
The Display Shoot-Out
To examine the
performance of the new Galaxy OLED Displays we
ran our in-depth series of Mobile
Display Technology Shoot-Out Lab tests and measurements in order to
determine how the latest OLED displays have improved. We take display quality
very seriously and provide in-depth objective analysis based on detailed
laboratory tests and measurements and extensive viewing tests with both test
patterns, test images and test photos. To see how far OLED and LCD mobile
displays have progressed in just five years see our 2010 Smartphone
Display Shoot-Out, and for a real history lesson see our original 2006 Smartphone
Display Shoot-Out.
Results Highlights
In this Results section we provide Highlights of the
comprehensive DisplayMate Lab tests and measurements and extensive visual
comparisons using test photos, test images, and test patterns that are covered
in the advanced sections. The main Display
Shoot-Out Comparison Table summarizes the Galaxy Note 5 Lab measurements in
the following categories: Screen
Reflections, Brightness
and Contrast, Colors
and Intensities, Viewing
Angles, OLED
Spectra, Display
Power. You can also skip these Highlights and go directly to the Galaxy S6 edge+ Overview, and the Galaxy
Note 5 Conclusions.
Systematically Improving OLED
Displays
Samsung has been systematically improving OLED display
performance twice a year with each Galaxy generation since 2010. With the Galaxy Note 5 there are many significant improvements
over the Galaxy
Note 4 that we tested a year ago, but also with the Galaxy S6 that
we tested 6 months ago. The most impressive improvements for the Galaxy Note 5
are in Peak Brightness and screen readability and viewability in High Ambient
Light, and in its display Power Efficiency, which we discuss in turn below.
2.5K Quad HD 2560x1440
Display
The Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ both have a 5.7 inch Quad HD
2560x1440 pixel display, currently the highest resolution for Smartphones, with
3.7 Mega Pixels, almost double the number on your HDTV. It provides lots of
image detail – it can display four complete HD 1280x720 images at once. The
display has Diamond Pixels (see below) and Sub-Pixel Rendering with 518 pixels
per inch (ppi), providing significantly higher image sharpness than can be
resolved with normal 20/20 Vision at the typical viewing distances of 10 inches
or more for Smartphones, so the display appears perfectly sharp.
There are some significant advantages in going higher
than the visual acuity for 20/20 Vision for typical viewing distances. For
Smartphones they include a closer match to digital photo resolutions, the
ability to display Full HD 1920x1080 images with an additional 1.6 Mega Pixels
left over for displaying additional content at the same time, plus efficient and
simple rescaling (with small integer ratios) of various HD and Quad screen
resolution formats to improve processing efficiency and resulting picture
quality with fewer scaling artifacts.
I was especially glad to see that Samsung decided to keep
the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ resolutions at 2560x1440 pixels with 518
ppi and instead concentrated on increasing the display’s peak brightness and
improving its performance in high ambient light, which has real demonstrable
and easy to see visual benefits that every consumer will immediately
appreciate. We’ll discuss this important issue and how to improve the Next Generation of Mobile Displays below.
Multiple Screen Modes and
Color Management
One very important capability of
the Galaxy Smartphones that is often overlooked by many consumers and
reviewers, is its set of user selectable Screen Modes. Most Smartphones
and Tablets only provide a single fixed factory display Color Gamut and color
calibration, with no way for the user to alter it based on personal
preferences, running applications, or Ambient Light levels. A very important
capability provided by the OLED Galaxy Smartphones is the implementation of
Color Management that provides a number of user selectable Screen Modes, each
with different Color Gamuts and levels of Color Saturation and display
calibration based on user and application preferences. Color
Management with multiple and varying Color Gamuts are a very useful and
important state-of-the-art capability that all displays will need to provide in
the future.
The Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ both have four user
selectable Screen Modes: Adaptive Display, AMOLED Photo, AMOLED Cinema, and the
Basic Screen Mode, which matches the Standard sRGB / Rec.709 Color Gamut that
is used for producing virtually all current consumer content. See this Figure for the Color Gamuts
of the different tested Screen Modes and the Colors
and Intensities section for measurements and details.
Note that the Adaptive Display
mode is the standard and factory default Screen Mode. Use Display Settings menu to switch between the three other
available Screen Modes. We discuss each of the tested Screen Modes next…
Adaptive Display Mode with a
Wide Color Gamut
The Adaptive Display screen mode provides real-time
adaptive processing to dynamically adjust images and videos – for some applications
it will vary the White Point, Color Gamut, and Color Saturation based on the
image content and the color of the surrounding ambient lighting measured by the
Ambient Light Sensor (which measures color in addition to brightness). The
Adaptive Display mode also delivers significantly higher Color Saturation, with
a large 134 percent of the Standard sRGB / Rec.709 Color Gamut, among the
highest that we have ever measured for Smartphones and Tablets. Some people
like the extra saturated and vibrant colors, plus it is useful for special
applications, and for viewing the display in medium to high levels of Ambient
Light, because it offsets some of the reflected light glare that washes out the
on-screen image colors.
AMOLED Photo Mode with an
Adobe RGB Color Gamut
Most high-end digital cameras have an option to use the
Adobe RGB Color Gamut, which is 17 percent larger than the Standard sRGB /
Rec.709 Color Gamut used in consumer cameras. The AMOLED Photo screen mode on
the Galaxy Note 5 provides a very accurate calibration to the Adobe RGB
standard, which is rarely available in consumers displays, and is very useful
for high-end digital photography and other advanced imaging applications. The
measured Absolute Color Accuracy of the AMOLED Photo screen mode for the Galaxy
Note 5 is 1.6 JNCD, which is very high accuracy. See this Figure for an explanation
and visual definition of JNCD and the detailed Color Accuracy Plots
showing the measured Color Errors throughout the Gamut. There are very few
consumer displays that can accurately reproduce the Adobe RGB Gamut, so this is
a significant plus for serious photography enthusiasts. See the Color
Accuracy section and the detailed Color Accuracy Plots for
measurements and details.
Basic Mode with the Standard sRGB / Rec.709 Color Gamut
The Basic screen mode provides a very accurate Color and
White Point calibration for the Standard sRGB / Rec.709 Color Gamut that is
used to produce virtually all current consumer content for digital cameras,
TVs, the internet, and computers, including photos, videos, and movies. The
Color Gamut of the Basic screen mode is very accurate, with a nearly perfect
101 percent of the Standard sRGB / Rec.709 Color Gamut. Even better, the
measured Absolute Color Accuracy for the Note 5 Basic screen mode is an
impressive 1.4 JNCD, the most color accurate display
that we have ever measured for a Smartphone or Tablet, which is visually
indistinguishable from perfect, and is very likely considerably better than
your living room TV. See this Figure for an explanation
and visual definition of JNCD and the detailed Color Accuracy Plots
showing the measured display Color Errors, and also this regarding Bogus Color Accuracy
Measurements. This article on Absolute Color
Accuracy includes an in-depth analysis and comparison of six flagship
Smartphones and Tablets.
Use the Basic screen mode for the best color and image
accuracy, which is especially important when viewing photos from family and
friends (because you often know exactly what they actually should look like),
for some TV shows, movies, and sporting events with image content and colors
that you are familiar with, and also for viewing online merchandise, so you
have a very good idea of exactly what colors you are buying and are less likely
to return them. See the Color
Accuracy section and the detailed Color Accuracy Plots for
measurements and details.
Screen Brightness and
Performance in High Ambient Lighting
Mobile displays are often used under relatively bright
ambient light, which washes out the image colors and contrast, reducing picture
quality and making it harder to view or read the screen. To be usable in high
ambient light a display needs a dual combination of high screen Brightness and
low screen Reflectance – the Galaxy Note 5 has both. For most image content the
Galaxy Note 5 provides over 440 cd/m2 (Luminance, which is a measure
of Brightness sometimes called nits), comparable or higher than most LCD
displays in this size class. Its Screen Reflectance is 4.7 percent, close to
the lowest that we have ever measured for a Smartphone. Our Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light quantitatively
measures screen visibility and image contrast under bright Ambient Lighting –
the higher the better. As a result of its high Brightness and low Reflectance,
the Galaxy Note 5 has a Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light that ranges from
86 to 116, among the highest that we have ever measured.
More importantly, on
the Galaxy Note 5 the Maximum Brightness can go much higher when Automatic Brightness is turned On, so that users
can’t permanently park the Manual Brightness slider to very high values, which
would run down the battery quickly. High screen
Brightness is only needed for High Ambient Light, so turning Automatic
Brightness On will provide better high ambient light screen visibility and also
longer battery running time.
When Automatic Brightness
is turned On, the Galaxy Note 5 produces up to an impressive 861 cd/m2
(nits) in High Ambient Light, where high Brightness is really needed – it is the brightest mobile display that we have ever tested.
As a result of its high Brightness and low Reflectance, the Galaxy Note 5 has a
Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light that ranges from 118 to183, also the highest that we have ever measured for any mobile display.
See the Brightness
and Contrast, the High
Ambient Light and the Screen
Reflections sections for measurements and details.
Super Dimming Mode
The Galaxy Note 5 also has a Super Dimming Mode that
allows the Maximum Screen Brightness to be set all the way down to just 2 cd/m2
(nits) using the Brightness Slider. This is perfect for night use on a beside
table, and useful for working comfortably without eye strain or bothering
others in very dark environments, or affecting the eye’s dark adaptation, such
as when using a telescope. The display still delivers full 24-bit color and the
picture quality remains excellent.
Diamond Pixels
A
high resolution screen shot (provided by Samsung) shows an interesting
design and sub-pixel arrangement for the Galaxy Note 5, which Samsung calls Diamond
Pixels. First of all, the Red, Green, and Blue sub-pixels have very
different sizes – Blue is by far the largest because it has the lowest light
emission efficiency, and Green is by far the smallest because it has the
highest efficiency. The alternating Red and Blue sub-pixel arrangement leads to
a 45 degree diagonal symmetry in the sub-pixel layout. This allows vertical,
horizontal, and particularly diagonal line segments and vectors to be drawn
with reduced aliasing and artifacts. In order to maximize the sub-pixel packing
and achieve the highest possible pixels per inch (ppi), that leads to diamond
rather than square or stripe shaped Red and Blue sub-pixels. But not for the
Green sub-pixels, which are oval shaped because they are squeezed between two
much larger and different sized Red and Blue sub-pixels. It’s a form of
high-tech display art…
Display Power Efficiency
With each successive generation Samsung has been
systematically improving the power efficiency of their OLED displays. We
measured an impressive 21 percent improvement in display power efficiency
between the Galaxy Note 4 and the Note 5. It is the higher display power
efficiency that allows the display brightness to increase without also
increasing the display power – the Note 5 display
actually uses less power than the Note 4 in spite of its much higher
brightness. The Galaxy Note 5 also has an Ultra Power Saving Mode that
lowers the Screen Brightness and also sets the background to Black, both of
which significantly reduce display power and can double the running time on
battery. See the Display
Power section for measurements and details.
Viewing Angle Performance
While Smartphones are
primarily single viewer devices, the variation in display performance with
viewing angle is still very important because single viewers frequently hold
the display at a variety of viewing angles. The angle is often up to 30
degrees, more if it is resting on a table or desk. While LCDs typically
experience a 55 percent or greater decrease in Brightness at a 30 degree
Viewing Angle, the OLED Galaxy Note 5 display shows a much smaller 24 percent
decrease in Brightness at 30 degrees. This also applies to multiple
side-by-side viewers as well, and is a significant advantage of OLED displays.
The Color Shifts with Viewing Angle are also relatively small. See the Viewing
Angles section for measurements and details.
Viewing Tests
The Galaxy Note 5 Basic screen mode provides very nice,
pleasing and very accurate colors and picture quality. Although the Image
Contrast is slightly too high (due to a slightly too steep Intensity Scale),
the very challenging set of DisplayMate Test and Calibration Photos that we use
to evaluate picture quality looked absolutely stunning
and Beautiful, even to my experienced hyper-critical eyes. The Basic screen
mode is the most color accurate mode and is recommended for indoor and low
ambient light viewing of standard consumer content for digital camera, TV,
internet, and computer content, including photos, videos, and movies, and also
for your online purchases in order to see accurate product colors. The Adaptive
Display screen mode has significantly more vibrant and saturated colors. Some
people like that. It is also recommended for viewing in medium to high levels
of ambient light because it offsets some of the reflected light glare that
washes out the image colors.
Galaxy S6 edge+ Overview
Along with the Galaxy Note 5, Samsung is also introducing the Galaxy S6 edge+, which is
almost identical to the Galaxy Note 5 except that it has a very innovative
curved OLED display that extends and bends around to both the right and left
side edges of the phone. It lacks the standard Note S-Pen, which is why it’s
called a Galaxy S6, although the screen size and resolution are the same as the
Note 5. The curved Galaxy S6 edge+ provides two additional configurable display
areas that can be viewed from both the front or the sides, or when the phone is
placed face down.
The
Galaxy S6 edge+ is actually a flexible OLED display manufactured on a flexible
plastic substrate rather than on a traditional perfectly flat and hard screen
like almost all other OLED (and LCD) displays. This allows the display itself
to bend, but it is then placed underneath a hard Gorilla Glass 4 cover for
protection and to maintain its desired shape, which for the Galaxy S6 edge+ is
curved along the entire right and left side edges.
The curved Galaxy S6 edge+ screen provides a rotating
carrousel of edge screens that you can flip through with your finger to see the
time, weather, color coded notifications like incoming and missed calls, messages
and Emails, plus several active news feeds that continuously scroll along the
Edge (including the Twitter, Yahoo Finance, Sports, and Stocks). The curved
Edge screen provides an important User Interface enhancement for Smartphones.
It’s quite functional and useful, and even fun watching and cycling through the
various Edge screens. Since the pixels on OLED displays are all powered
independently, the main and Edge screens can be either turned on and off
together or separately. Monitoring with just the Edge screen turned on
significantly reduces display power and can significantly extend the running
time on battery.
There is a night clock
that will dimly show the time all night long on the Edge screen (using very
little power because only a small section of the OLED screen is active) so it’s
also a nice alarm clock as well.
Galaxy S6 edge+ Conclusions
What
is especially news worthy and significant is that the performance of the OLED
display on a flexible plastic substrate for the Galaxy S6 edge+ is now essentially
the same as on a traditional glass substrate for the Galaxy Note 5, even at
500+ pixels per inch and 2560x1440 resolution. The most important point is that
curved and flexible displays are definitely the wave of the future because they
offer many important visual and functional advantages for both mobile displays
and TVs as explained in our 2014
Innovative Displays and Display Technology article. Follow DisplayMate on Twitter to learn
about our Galaxy Note and upcoming display technology coverage.
Galaxy Note 5 Conclusions: A Very
Impressive Smartphone Display…
The primary goal of this Display Technology Shoot-Out
article series has always been to publicize and promote display excellence
so that consumers, journalists and even manufacturers are aware of and
appreciate the very best in displays and display technology. We point out which
manufactures and display technologies are leading and advancing the
state-of-the-art for displays by performing comprehensive and objective
scientific Lab tests and measurements together with in-depth analysis. We point
out who is leading, who is behind, who is improving, and sometimes
(unfortunately) who is back pedaling… all based solely on the extensive
objective careful Lab measurements that we also publish, so that everyone can
judge the data for themselves as well…
The Conclusions below summarize all the major results.
See the main Display
Shoot-Out Comparison Table for all the DisplayMate Lab measurements and
test details, and see the Results Highlights section
above for a more detailed introduction and overview with expanded discussions
and explanations.
OLED Display Evolution
What is particularly significant and impressive is that
Samsung has been systematically improving OLED display performance with every
Galaxy generation since 2010, when we started tracking OLED
displays. The first notable OLED Smartphone, the Google
Nexus One, came in decidedly last place in our 2010 Smartphone
Display Shoot-Out. In a span of just five years OLED display technology is
now challenging and even exceeding the performance of the best LCDs. The Galaxy
Note 5 continues this impressive systematic improvement in OLED displays and
technology.
The Best Smartphone Display
The Galaxy Note is the flagship product line where
Samsung generally introduces its major OLED display technology improvements and
enhancements. While the Galaxy Note 5 screen
size and resolution remain the same as the Galaxy Note
4, its display has significantly improved performance. Based on our extensive Lab tests and measurements listed
below, the Galaxy Note 5 is the Best performing Smartphone display that we have
ever tested. It takes over from the Galaxy Note 4, which was the previous
record holder for mobile display performance.
The Galaxy Note 5 matches or
breaks new records in Smartphone display performance for:
Highest Absolute Color Accuracy (1.4 JNCD), Highest Peak
Brightness (861 nits), Highest Contrast Rating in Ambient Light (183), Highest
Screen Resolution (2560x1440), Highest (infinite) Contrast Ratio, and Smallest
Brightness Variation with Viewing Angle (24 percent). In addition, almost every
display lab test and measurement shows some improvements compared to the Galaxy
Note 4, the previous record holder, including slightly lower Screen Reflectance
(4.7 percent), an 18 to 23 percent improvement display Brightness, and a 21
percent improvement in display power efficiency, so the Note 5 display actually
uses less power than the Note 4 in spite of its much higher brightness. See the
main Display
Shoot-Out Comparison Table for all of the measurements and details. The Galaxy Note 5 has raised the bar for top display
performance up by another notch.
Galaxy S6 edge+ and Flexible OLED Displays
The Galaxy S6 edge+ is Samsung’s fourth generation of
flexible OLED displays. Its has essentially identical display performance to
the Galaxy Note 5 except for its curved screen. The
curved edge screen provides an important User Interface enhancement for
Smartphones that we have described above. It’s quite functional and useful, and
even fun watching and cycling through the various Edge screens. Flexible
OLEDs are at the cutting edge and future of OLED technology. The current models
are flexible but are maintained permanently curved and rigid under Gorilla
glass – that can and will change in the future, leading to truly
flexible, bendable, and foldable OLED display screens.
Multiple Screen Modes and Color Management
One
very important capability of the Galaxy Smartphones that is often overlooked by
many consumers and reviewers, is its set of user selectable Screen Modes. Most Smartphones only provide a
single fixed factory display color calibration, with no way for the user to
alter it based on personal preferences, running applications, or ambient light
levels. Samsung has implemented Color Management for their OLED Smartphones and
Tablets allowing them to provide multiple Screen Modes with different Color
Gamuts and color calibrations – other Smartphones only provide a single fixed
screen Color Gamut and color calibration. This Figure shows the different
Color Gamuts. Color Management with multiple and
varying Color Gamuts are a very useful and important state-of-the-art
capability that all displays will need to provide in the future. All of the
recent Galaxy models including the Note 5 and S6 edge+ have this important
capability –
see the Next Generation of Mobile Displays
section below.
The Most Accurate Colors
The Galaxy Note 5 Basic screen
mode has the most accurate display colors for reproducing all standard consumer
content (sRGB / Rec.709) of any Smartphone or Tablet display that we have ever
tested, with a measured Absolute Color Accuracy of 1.4 JNCD, which is visually
indistinguishable from perfect, and is very likely considerably better than
your living room TV. The previous record holder was the Galaxy Note 4.
See our detailed Absolute
Color Accuracy Plots and also this regarding Bogus Color Accuracy
Measurements. Good Color Accuracy is especially important when viewing
photos from family and friends (because you often know exactly what they
actually should look like), for some TV shows, movies, and sporting events with
image content and colors that you are familiar with, and also for viewing
online merchandise, so you have a very good idea of exactly what product colors
you are buying and are less likely to return them. Select
the Basic Screen Mode using Display Settings – it is not the default screen
mode for the Galaxy Note 5.
Adobe RGB AMOLED Photo Mode
Most high-end digital cameras have an option to use the
Adobe RGB Color Gamut, which is 17 percent larger than the standard sRGB /
Rec.709 Color Gamut used in consumer cameras. The AMOLED Photo screen mode on
the Galaxy Note 5 provides a very accurate 1.6 JNCD calibration to the Adobe
RGB standard, which is rarely available in consumer displays. It is very useful
for viewing high-end digital photos and other advanced imaging applications.
This is a significant plus for serious photography enthusiasts. Select the AMOLED Photo screen mode using Display Settings –
it is not the default screen mode for the Galaxy Note 5.
Adaptive Display Mode with a
Wide Color Gamut
The Galaxy Note 5 OLED display’s native Wide Color Gamut
Adaptive Display screen mode has significantly more vibrant and saturated
colors with its 134 percent of the Standard (sRGB / Rec.709) Color Gamut, among
the highest that we have ever measured for Smartphones and Tablets. Some people
like the extra saturated and vibrant colors, plus it is useful for special
applications and is recommended for viewing in medium to high levels of ambient
light because it offsets some of the reflected light glare that washes out the
on-screen image colors. Select the Adaptive Display
screen mode using Display Settings – note that Adaptive Display is the factory
default screen mode for the Galaxy Note 5.
The Highest Screen Brightness
and Contrast in High Ambient Light
Mobile displays are often used under relatively bright
ambient lighting, which washes out the image colors and contrast, reducing
picture quality and making it harder to view or read the screen. To be usable
in high ambient light a display needs a dual combination of high screen
Brightness and low screen Reflectance – the Galaxy Note 5 has both. Its screen
Reflectance is 4.7 percent, close to the lowest that we have ever measured for
a Smartphone. When Automatic Brightness is turned On, the Galaxy Note 5 reaches
an impressive maximum screen Brightness of up to 861 nits in high Ambient
Light, where high screen Brightness is really needed – it
is the Brightest mobile display that we have ever tested. As a result of
its high Brightness and low Reflectance, the Galaxy Note 5 has a Contrast
Rating for High Ambient Light that ranges from 118 to 183, also the highest that we have ever measured for any mobile
display, which quantitatively measures screen visibility and image
contrast under bright Ambient Light
Higher Display Power Efficiency
With each successive generation Samsung has been
systematically improving the power efficiency of their OLED displays. We
measured an impressive 21 percent improvement in display power efficiency
between the Galaxy Note 4 and Note 5. It is the higher display power efficiency
that allows the display brightness to increase without also increasing the
display power – the Note 5 display actually uses less
power than the Note 4 in spite of its much higher brightness.
While LCDs remain more power efficient for images with
mostly full screen white content (like all text screens, for example), OLEDs
are now more power efficient for mixed text and image content because they are
emissive displays so their power varies with the overall Average Picture Level
(average Brightness) of the image content.
The Galaxy Note 5 is 37
percent more power efficient than the iPhone 6 Plus for
mixed content, which includes text together with image content like photos,
videos, and movies that generally have a 50 percent (or less) Average Picture
Level, APL. The OLED / LCD Power Efficiency Crossover
is currently at 67 percent APL Average Picture Level: the OLED display on the Galaxy Note 5 is more power efficient for APLs less
than 67 percent, and the LCD display on the iPhone 6
Plus is more power efficient for APLs greater than 67 percent. If this
keeps up then OLEDs may pull ahead of LCDs in total power efficiency in the
near future… See the Display
Power section for measurements and details.
Improving the Next Generation
of Mobile Displays
The Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ both have very high 2560x1440 pixel
resolution and 518 pixels per inch (ppi) displays producing images that look
perfectly sharp (for normal 20/20 human vision) under all normal viewing
conditions, which always includes some ambient lighting that always affects
(and lowers) the visible image contrast and perceived image sharpness
(Modulation Transfer MTF) – displays are almost never viewed in absolute
darkness under perfect viewing conditions with ideal image content. As a result, it is absolutely pointless to further increase
the display resolution and pixels per inch (ppi) for a marketing wild goose
chase into the stratosphere…
With screen size and resolution
already functionally maxed out, Display and Smartphone manufacturers should
instead dedicate their efforts and resources into improving real world display
performance in ambient light, something that every consumer will benefit from,
and will also immediately notice and appreciate – providing a true sales and
marketing advantage…
The most important improvements for both OLED and LCD
mobile displays will come from improving their image and picture quality and
screen readability in real world ambient light, which washes out the screen
images, resulting in reduced image contrast, color saturation, and color
accuracy. The key will be in lowering screen Reflectance and implementing
Dynamic Color Management with automatic real-time modification of the display’s
native Color Gamut and Intensity Scales based the measured Ambient Light level
in order to have them compensate for the reflected light glare and image wash
out from ambient light as discussed in our 2014
Innovative Displays and Display Technology and SID
Display Technology Shoot-Out articles.
The displays, technologies, and
manufacturers that succeed in implementing this new real world high ambient
light performance strategy will take the lead in the next generations of mobile
displays… Follow DisplayMate
on Twitter to learn about these developments and our upcoming display
technology coverage.
DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology
All
Smartphone and Tablet displays can be significantly improved using DisplayMate’s
proprietary very advanced scientific analysis and mathematical display modeling
and optimization of the display hardware, factory calibration, and driver
parameters. We help manufacturers with expert display procurement, prototype
development, testing displays to meet contract specifications, and production
quality control so that they don’t make mistakes similar to those that are
exposed in our public Display Technology Shoot-Out series for consumers. This
article is a lite version of our advanced scientific analysis – before the
benefits of our DisplayMate
Display Optimization Technology, which can correct or improve all of these
issues. If you are a display or product manufacturer and want to significantly
improve display performance for a competitive advantage then Contact DisplayMate Technologies.
Display Shoot-Out Comparison Table
Below we
examine in-depth the OLED display on the Samsung
Galaxy Note 5 based on objective Lab
measurement data and criteria. For comparisons and additional background
information see the Galaxy Note 4
Display Technology Shoot-Out, the Galaxy S6 Display
Technology Shoot-Out, and the OLED Tablet
Display Technology Shoot-Out. For comparisons with the other leading
Smartphone, Tablet and Smart Watch displays see our Mobile Display Technology
Shoot-Out series.
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Categories
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Samsung
Galaxy Note 5
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Comments
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Display Technology
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5.7 inch
OLED with Diamond Pixels
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Organic Light Emitting Diode
Diamond Pixels with
Diagonal Sub-Pixel Symmetry
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Screen Shape
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16:9 =
1.78
Aspect
Ratio
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The Galaxy Note 5 has the same shape as
widescreen TV video content.
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Screen Area
|
13.7
Square Inches
|
A better measure of size than the
diagonal length.
|
|
Display Resolution
|
2560 x
1440 pixels
2.5K Quad
HD
|
Screen Pixel Resolution.
Quad HD can display four 1280x720 HD
images
|
|
Total Number of Pixels
|
3.7
Mega Pixels
|
Total Number of Pixels.
|
|
Pixels Per Inch
|
518 PPI
with Diamond Pixels
Excellent
|
Sharpness depends on the viewing distance
and PPI.
See this on
the visual acuity for a true Retina Display
|
|
Sub-Pixels Per Inch
|
Red
366 SPPI
Green 518
SPPI
Blue
366 SPPI
|
Diamond Pixel displays have only half the
number of
Red and Blue Sub-Pixels as standard RGB
displays.
|
|
Total Number of Sub-Pixels
|
Red 1.8
Million Sub-Pixels
Green 3.7
Million Sub-Pixels
Blue 1.8
Million Sub-Pixels
|
Number of Mega Sub-Pixels for Red,
Green, Blue.
Diamond Pixel displays have only half the
number of
Red and Blue Sub-Pixels as standard RGB
displays.
At High PPI this is generally not visible
due to the
use of Sub-Pixel Rendering.
|
|
20/20 Vision Distance
where Pixels or Sub-Pixels
are Not Resolved
|
6.6
inches for White and Green Sub-Pixels with 20/20 Vision
9.4
inches for Red and Blue Sub-Pixels with 20/20 Vision
|
For 20/20 Vision the minimum Viewing
Distance
where the screen appears perfectly sharp
to the eye.
At 10 inches from the screen 20/20 Vision
is 344 PPI.
|
|
Display Sharpness
at Typical Viewing Distances
|
Display
appears Perfectly Sharp
Pixels are
not Resolved with 20/20 Vision
at Typical
Viewing Distances of
10 to 18
inches
|
The Typical Viewing Distances for this
screen size
are in the range of 10 to 18 inches.
Also note that eye’s resolution is much
lower for
Red and Blue color content than White
and Green.
|
|
Appears Perfectly Sharp
at Typical Viewing Distances
|
Yes
|
Typical Viewing Distances are 10 to 18
inches
for this screen size.
|
|
Photo Viewer Color Depth
|
Full
24-bit Color
No
Dithering Visible
256
Intensity Levels
|
Many Android Smartphones and Tablets
still have some form of 16-bit color
depth in the Gallery Viewer.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 does not have
this issue.
|
|
Overall Assessments
This section summarizes
the results for all of the extensive Lab Measurements and Viewing Tests
performed on the display
See Screen
Reflections, Brightness
and Contrast, Colors
and Intensities, Viewing
Angles, OLED
Spectra, Display
Power.
The
Galaxy Note 5 has four user selectable Screen Modes that are calibrated for different applications and user
preferences.
Here
we provide results for the Adaptive Display mode, which is a dynamic Wide Color Gamut mode, the AMOLED Photo mode,
which
is calibrated for the Adobe RGB Gamut used in high-end digital photography
and other advanced imaging applications, and
the
Basic screen mode, which is calibrated for the sRGB / Rec.709 Standard
that is used for almost all current consumer camera,
photo, video, movie,
web, and computer content.
|
Categories
|
Adaptive
Display
Wide Color
Gamut
|
AMOLED
Photo mode
Adobe RGB
Gamut
|
Basic mode
sRGB/Rec.709
Gamut
|
Comments
|
|
Viewing Tests
in Subdued Ambient Lighting
|
Very Good
Images
Photos and
Videos
have Vivid
Color
and
Accurate Contrast
Wide Color
Gamut Mode
Intentionally
Vivid Colors
|
Very Good
Images
Adobe RGB
Photos
have
Excellent Color
and
Accurate Contrast
Accurate
Pro Photo Mode
|
Very Good
Images
Photos and
Videos
have
Excellent Color
and
Accurate Contrast
Accurate
Std Mode
|
The Viewing Tests examine the accuracy
of
photographic images by comparing the
displays
to an calibrated studio monitor and TV.
|
|
Variation with Viewing Angle
Colors and Brightness
See Viewing
Angles
|
Small Color
Shifts
with
Viewing Angle
Small
Brightness Shifts
with
Viewing Angle
|
Small Color
Shifts
with
Viewing Angle
Small
Brightness Shifts
with
Viewing Angle
|
Small Color
Shifts
with
Viewing Angle
Small
Brightness Shifts
with
Viewing Angle
|
The Galaxy Note 5 display has a
relatively small
decrease in Brightness with Viewing
Angle and
relatively small Color Shifts with
Viewing Angle.
See the Viewing
Angles
section for details.
|
|
Overall Display Assessment
Lab Tests and Measurements
|
Excellent
OLED Display
Wide Color
Gamut Mode
|
Excellent
OLED Display
Accurate
Pro Photo Mode
|
Excellent
OLED Display
Accurate
Std Mode
|
The Galaxy Note 5 OLED Display performed
very well in the Lab Tests and
Measurements.
|
|
|
|
Absolute Color Accuracy
Measured over Entire Gamut
See Figure 2 and Colors
|
Good
Color Accuracy
Colors
More Saturated
Wide Color
Gamut Mode
|
Excellent
Color Accuracy
Color
Errors are Small
Accurate
Pro Photo Mode
|
Excellent
Color Accuracy
Color
Errors are Small
Accurate
Std Mode
|
Absolute
Color Accuracy is measured with a
Spectroradiometer
for 21 Reference Colors
uniformly
distributed within the entire Color Gamut.
See
Figure 2 and Colors
and Intensities for details.
|
|
Image Contrast Accuracy
See Figure 3 and Contrast
|
Very Good
Accuracy
Image
Contrast
Slightly
Too High
|
Very Good
Accuracy
Image
Contrast
Slightly
Too High
|
Very Good
Accuracy
Image
Contrast
Slightly
Too High
|
The
Image Contrast Accuracy is determined by
measuring
the Log Intensity Scale and Gamma.
See
Figure 3 and Brightness
and Contrast for details.
|
|
Performance in Ambient Light
Display Brightness
Screen Reflectance
Contrast Rating
See Brightness
and Contrast
See Screen
Reflections
|
High
Display Brightness
Very Low
Reflectance
High
Contrast Rating
Higher
Brightness with
Auto
Brightness On
|
High
Display Brightness
Very Low
Reflectance
High
Contrast Rating
Higher
Brightness with
Auto Brightness
On
|
High
Display Brightness
Very Low
Reflectance
High
Contrast Rating
Higher
Brightness with
Auto
Brightness On
|
Smartphones
are seldom used in the dark.
Screen
Brightness and Reflectance determine
the
Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light.
See
the Brightness
and Contrast section for details.
See
the Screen
Reflections section for details.
|
|
Overall Display Calibration
Image and Picture Quality
Lab Tests and Viewing Tests
|
Vivid Saturated Colors
Wide Color
Gamut Mode
|
Excellent Calibration
Accurate
Pro Photo Mode
|
Excellent Calibration
Accurate
Std Mode
|
Galaxy Note 5 display has multiple
Screen Modes
that delivers accurately calibrated
colors and images
and a Wide Color Gamut Mode that is
preferred by
some users and for some applications.
|
|
|
Overall Display Grade
Overall
Assessment
|
Overall Galaxy Note 5 Display
Grade is Excellent A
The Best Performing Smartphone
Display that we have ever tested.
|
The Galaxy Note 5 display delivers
excellent
image quality, has both Color Accurate
and
Wide Color Gamut Vivid Color modes, has
high Screen Brightness and low
Reflectance,
has good Viewing Angles, and is an all
around
top performing Smartphone display.
|
|
Wide Color Gamut Mode
Also Best
for Viewing in
High
Ambient Light
|
Accurate
Pro Photo Mode
For Viewing
High-End
Adobe RGB
Photos
|
Accurate
Std Mode
For Viewing
Most Content
Photo Video
Movie Web
|
|
|
Adaptive
Display
Wide Color
Gamut
|
AMOLED
Photo mode
Adobe RGB
Gamut
|
Basic mode
sRGB/Rec.709
Gamut
|
Comments
|
|
Screen Reflections
All display screens are mirrors good enough to use
for personal grooming – but that is actually a very bad feature…
We measured the light reflected from all directions
and also direct mirror (specular) reflections, which are much more
distracting and cause more eye strain. Many
Smartphones still have greater than 10 percent reflections that make the
screen much harder to read even in moderate ambient
light levels, requiring ever higher brightness settings that waste
precious battery power. Hopefully manufacturers
will reduce the mirror reflections with anti-reflection coatings and
matte or haze surface finishes.
Our Lab Measurements include Average Reflectance
for Ambient Light from All Directions and for Mirror Reflections.
Note that the Screen Reflectance is exactly the
same for all of the Screen Modes.
|
Categories
|
Galaxy
Note 5
|
Comments
|
|
Average Screen Reflection
Light From All Directions
|
4.7
percent
for
Ambient Light Reflections
Excellent
|
Measured using an Integrating Hemisphere
and
a Spectroradiometer. The best value we
have
ever measured for a Smartphone is 4.4
percent.
|
|
Mirror Reflections
Percentage of Light Reflected
|
6.1 percent
for Mirror Reflections
Very Good
|
These are the most annoying types of
Reflections.
Measured using a Spectroradiometer and a
narrow
collimated pencil beam of light
reflected off the screen.
|
|
Brightness and Contrast
The Contrast Ratio
is the specification that gets the most attention, but it only applies for
low ambient light, which is seldom
the case for mobile displays. Much more important
is the Contrast Rating, which indicates how
easy it is to read the screen
under high ambient lighting and depends on both
the Maximum Brightness and the Screen Reflectance. The larger the better.
|
Categories
|
Adaptive
Display
Wide Color
Gamut
|
AMOLED
Photo mode
Adobe RGB
Gamut
|
Basic mode
sRGB/Rec.709
Gamut
|
Comments
|
|
Measured Average Brightness
50% Average Picture Level
|
Brightness
456 cd/m2
Very Good
|
Brightness
442 cd/m2
Very Good
|
Brightness
442 cd/m2
Very Good
|
This is the Brightness for typical
screen content
that has a 50% Average Picture Level.
|
|
Measured Full Brightness
100% Full Screen White
|
Brightness
412 cd/m2
Very Good
|
Brightness
402 cd/m2
Very Good
|
Brightness
402 cd/m2
Very Good
|
This is the Brightness for a screen that
is entirely
all white with 100% Average Picture
Level.
|
|
Measured Peak Brightness
1% Full Screen White
|
Brightness
546 cd/m2
Excellent
|
Brightness
523 cd/m2
Excellent
|
Brightness
523 cd/m2
Excellent
|
This is the Peak Brightness for a screen
that
has only a tiny 1% Average Picture
Level.
|
|
Measured Auto Brightness
in High Ambient Light
with Automatic Brightness On
|
Brightness
556 – 861
cd/m2
Excellent
|
Brightness
556 – 861
cd/m2
Excellent
|
Brightness
556 – 861
cd/m2
Excellent
|
Some displays including the Galaxy Note
5 have
higher Brightness in Automatic
Brightness Mode.
|
|
Low Ambient Light
|
|
Lowest Peak Brightness
Super Dimming Mode
Brightness Slider to Minimum
|
2 cd/m2
For Very
Low Light
|
2 cd/m2
For Very
Low Light
|
2 cd/m2
For Very
Low Light
|
This is the Lowest Brightness with the
Slider set to
Minimum. This is useful for working in
very dark
environments. Picture Quality remained
Excellent.
|
|
Black Brightness at 0 lux
at Maximum Brightness Setting
|
0 cd/m2
Outstanding
|
0 cd/m2
Outstanding
|
0 cd/m2
Outstanding
|
Black brightness is important for low
ambient light,
which is seldom the case for mobile
devices.
|
|
Contrast Ratio at 0 lux
Relevant for Low Ambient Light
|
Infinite
Outstanding
|
Infinite
Outstanding
|
Infinite
Outstanding
|
Only relevant for Low Ambient Light,
which is seldom the case for mobile
devices.
|
|
High Ambient Light
|
|
Contrast Rating
for High Ambient Light
The Higher the Better
for Screen Readability
in High Ambient Light
|
88 – 116
Very Good
118 – 183
With Auto
Brightness
Excellent
|
86 – 111
Very Good
118 – 183
With Auto
Brightness
Excellent
|
86 – 111
Very Good
118 – 183
With Auto
Brightness
Excellent
|
Depends on the Screen Reflectance and Brightness.
Defined as Maximum Brightness / Average Reflectance.
Some displays including the Galaxy Note 5 have
higher Brightness in Automatic Brightness Mode.
|
|
Screen Readability
in High Ambient Light
|
Very Good A
Excellent
A+
With Auto Brightness
|
Very Good A
Excellent A+
With Auto Brightness
|
Very Good A
Excellent A+
With Auto Brightness
|
Indicates how easy it is to read the
screen
under high ambient lighting. Depends on
both the Screen Reflectance and
Brightness.
See High
Ambient Light Screen Shots
|
|
Colors and Intensities
The Color Gamut, Intensity Scale, and White Point
determine the quality and accuracy of all displayed images and all
the image colors. Bigger is definitely Not Better
because the display needs to match all the standards that were used
when the content was produced. For LCDs a wider
Color Gamut reduces the power efficiency and the Intensity Scale
affects both image brightness and color mixture
accuracy.
The Galaxy Note 5 Screen Modes are
calibrated for different applications and user preferences.
|
Categories
|
Adaptive
Display
Wide Color
Gamut
|
AMOLED
Photo mode
Adobe RGB
Gamut
|
Basic mode
sRGB/Rec.709
Gamut
|
Comments
|
|
Color of White
Color Temperature in degrees
Measured in the dark at 0 lux
See Figure 1
|
7,409 K
2.3 JNCD
from D65 White
White is
Somewhat Bluish
Intentionally
Bluish Mode
For Some
Applications
the White Point Will Vary
with the
Ambient Lighting
|
6,549 K
0.3 JNCD
from D65 White
Very Close
to Standard
Accurate
Pro Photo Mode
See Figure 1
|
6,588 K
0.4 JNCD
from D65 White
Very Close
to Standard
Accurate
Std Mode
See Figure 1
|
D65 with 6,500 K is the standard color
of White
for most Consumer Content and needed for
accurate color reproduction of all
images.
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.
See Figure 1
for the plotted White Points.
See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD.
|
|
Color Gamut
Measured in the dark at 0 lux
See Figure 1
|
134
percent
sRGB /
Rec.709
Intentionally
Vivid Colors
Wide Color
Gamut Mode
See Figure 1
|
99 percent
Adobe RGB
Very Close
to Standard
Accurate
Pro Photo Mode
See Figure 1
|
101
percent
sRGB /
Rec.709
Very Close
to Standard
Accurate
Std Mode
See Figure 1
|
sRGB / Rec.709 is the color standard for
most
content and needed for accurate color
reproduction.
Many advanced digital cameras use Adobe
RGB.
A Wide Color Gamut is useful in High
Ambient Light
and for some applications. It can be used
with Color
Management to dynamically change the
Gamut.
|
|
Color Accuracy
|
|
Absolute Color Accuracy
Average Color Error at 0 lux
For 21 Reference Colors
Just Noticeable Color Difference
See Figure 2
|
Average
Color Shift
From sRGB
/ Rec.709
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0284
7.1 JNCD
Intentionally
Vivid Colors
Wide Color
Gamut Mode
See Figure 2
|
Average
Color Error
From Adobe
RGB
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0064
1.6 JNCD
Excellent
Accuracy
Accurate
Pro Photo Mode
See Figure 2
|
Average
Color Error
From sRGB
/ Rec.709
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0058
1.4 JNCD
Excellent
Accuracy
Accurate
Std Mode
See Figure 2
|
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.
See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD and for
Accuracy Plots showing
the measured Color Errors.
Average Errors below 3.5 JNCD are Very
Good.
Average Errors 3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are
Good.
Average Errors above 7.0 JNCD are
Poor.
|
|
Absolute Color Accuracy
Largest Color Error at 0 lux
For 21 Reference Colors
Just Noticeable Color Difference
See Figure 2
|
Largest Color Shift
From sRGB
/ Rec.709
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0619
15.5 JNCD
for Cyan-Blue
Intentionally
Vivid Colors
Wide Color
Gamut Mode
See Figure 2
|
Largest Color Error
From Adobe
RGB
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0237
5.9 JNCD
for Cyan-Blue
Very Good
Accuracy
Accurate
Pro Photo Mode
See Figure 2
|
Largest Color Error
From sRGB
/ Rec.709
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0185
4.6 JNCD
for Cyan-Blue
Very Good
Accuracy
Accurate
Std Mode
See Figure 2
|
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.
See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD and for
Accuracy Plots showing
the measured Color Errors.
Largest Errors below 7.0 JNCD are
Very Good.
Largest Errors 7.0 to 14.0 JNCD are
Good.
Largest Errors above 14.0 JNCD are
Poor.
This is twice the limit for the Average
Error.
|
|
Intensity Scale
|
|
Dynamic Brightness
Luminance Decrease with
Average Picture Level APL
|
25 percent
Decrease
Good
|
23 percent
Decrease
Good
|
23 percent
Decrease
Good
|
This is the percent Brightness decrease
with APL
Average Picture Level. Ideally should be
0 percent.
|
|
Intensity Scale and
Image Contrast
See Figure 3
|
Smooth and
Straight
Very Good
Slightly
Too Steep
See Figure 3
|
Smooth and
Straight
Very Good
Slightly
Too Steep
See Figure 3
|
Smooth and
Straight
Very Good
Slightly
Too Steep
See Figure 3
|
The Intensity Scale controls image
contrast needed
for accurate Image Contrast and Color
reproduction.
See Figure 3
|
|
Gamma for the Intensity Scale
Larger has more Image Contrast
See Figure 3
|
2.37
Very Good
Gamma
Slightly Too High
|
2.37
Very Good
Gamma
Slightly Too High
|
2.37
Very Good
Gamma
Slightly Too High
|
Gamma is the log slope of the Intensity
Scale.
Gamma of 2.20 is the standard and needed
for
accurate Image Contrast and Color
reproduction.
See Figure 3
|
|
Image Contrast Accuracy
|
Very Good
|
Very Good
|
Very Good
|
See Figure 3
|
|
Viewing Angles
The variation of
Brightness, Contrast, and Color with Viewing Angle is especially important
for Smartphones because
of their larger screen
and multiple viewers. The typical manufacturer 176+ degree specification for
LCD Viewing Angle
is nonsense because that
is where the Contrast Ratio falls to a miniscule 10. For most LCDs there are
substantial
degradations at less
than ±30 degrees, which is not an atypical Viewing Angle for Smartphones and
Tablets.
Note that the Viewing
Angle performance is also very important for a single viewer because the
Viewing Angle can vary
significantly based on
how the Smartphone is held. The Viewing Angle can be very large if resting on
a table or desk.
The
Viewing Angle variations are essentially identical for all of the Screen
Modes.
|
Categories
|
Adaptive
Display
Wide Color
Gamut
|
AMOLED
Photo mode
Adobe RGB
Gamut
|
Basic mode
sRGB/Rec.709
Gamut
|
Comments
|
|
Brightness Decrease
at a 30 degree Viewing Angle
|
24
percent Decrease
Small
Decrease
Very Good
|
Most screens become less bright when
tilted.
OLED decrease is due to optical
absorption.
LCD decrease is generally greater than 50
percent.
|
|
Contrast Ratio at 0 lux
at a 30 degree Viewing Angle
|
Infinite
Contrast Ratio
Outstanding
|
A measure of screen readability when the
screen
is tilted under low ambient lighting.
|
|
White Point Color Shift
at a 30 degree Viewing Angle
|
Small
Color Shift
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0117
2.9 JNCD Very Good
|
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.
See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD.
|
|
Primary Color Shifts
Largest Color Shift for R,G,B
at a 30 degree Viewing Angle
|
Largest Color Shift
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0267 for Pure Red
6.7 JNCD Very Good
|
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.
See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD.
Same Rating Scale as Absolute Color Accuracy.
|
|
Color Shifts for Color Mixtures
at a 30 degree Viewing Angle
Reference Brown (255, 128, 0)
|
Small
Color Shift
Δ(u’v’)
= 0.0138
3.4 JNCD Very Good
|
JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.
Color Shifts for non-IPS LCDs are about 10
JNCD.
Reference Brown is a good indicator of
color shifts
with angle because of unequal drive
levels and
roughly equal luminance contributions
from Red
and Green. See Figure 2 for the
definition of JNCD.
|
|
Display Power Consumption
The display power was measured using a Linear
Regression between Luminance and AC Power with a fully charged battery.
Since the displays all have different screen sizes
and maximum brightness, the display power values below were also scaled
to the same screen brightness (Luminance) and same
screen area in order to compare their Relative Power Efficiencies.
LCDs are typically more power efficient for images with
mostly white content (like text screens, for example), while OLEDs
are more power efficient for mixed image content
because they are emissive displays so their power varies with the
Average Picture Level (average Brightness) of the image
content. For LCDs the display power is independent of image content.
Below we compare the Relative Display
Power Efficiencies of the Galaxy Note 5 with the Galaxy Note 4 and the LCD
iPhone 6 Plus.
Comparison with the Galaxy Note 4
The Galaxy Note 5 is 21 percent more
power efficient than the Galaxy Note 4. The results are scaled for the same Luminance.
Comparison with LCDs
While LCDs remain more power efficient for images with
mostly white content (like full text screens, for example), OLEDs are now
more power efficient for mixed image content because
they are emissive displays so their power varies with the Average Picture
Level (average Brightness) of the image content. OLEDs
have been rapidly improving in their power efficiency.
The Galaxy Note 5 is 37
percent more power efficient than the iPhone 6 Plus
(scaled to the same screen size and Luminance)
that we tested for mixed screen content, which includes
text together with image content like photos, videos, and movies,
resulting in a 50 percent (or less) Average Picture
Level, APL.
The OLED / LCD Power Efficiency
Crossover is currently at 67 percent APL Average Picture Level:
The OLED display on the Galaxy Note
5 is more power efficient for APLs less than 67 percent, and
the LCD display on the iPhone
6 Plus is more power efficient for APLs greater than 67 percent.
|
|
Categories
|
Galaxy
Note 4
|
Galaxy
Note 5
|
Comments
|
|
Average Display Power
Maximum Brightness at
50% Average Picture Level
|
50%
Average Picture Level
0.85 watts
with 382
cd/m2
|
50%
Average Picture Level
0.95 watts
with 456
cd/m2
0.80 watts
with 382
cd/m2
|
This measures the average display power
for
a wide range of image content.
|
|
Maximum Display Power
Full White Screen
at Maximum Brightness
|
100% Full Screen White
1.80 watts
with 350 cd/m2
|
100% Full
Screen White
1.75 watts
with 412
cd/m2
1.49 watts
with 350
cd/m2
|
This measures the display power for a
screen
that is entirely Peak White.
|
|
Relative Power Efficiency
The Display Power
Compared to Galaxy Note 4
For the same 350 cd/m2
|
100 percent
1.80 watts
with 350 cd/m2
|
121 percent
1.49 watts
with 350 cd/m2
|
This
compares the Relative Power Efficiency
by
scaling the measured Display Power to the
same
screen brightness and same screen area
as
the Galaxy Note 4.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
About the Author
Dr. Raymond Soneira is
President of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation of Amherst, New Hampshire,
which produces display calibration, evaluation, and diagnostic products for
consumers, technicians, and manufacturers. See www.displaymate.com. He is a research
scientist with a career that spans physics, computer science, and television
system design. Dr. Soneira obtained his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from
Princeton University, spent 5 years as a Long-Term Member of the world famous
Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, another 5 years as a Principal
Investigator in the Computer Systems Research Laboratory at AT&T Bell
Laboratories, and has also designed, tested, and installed color television
broadcast equipment for the CBS Television Network Engineering and Development
Department. He has authored over 35 research articles in scientific journals in
physics and computer science, including Scientific American. If you have any
comments or questions about the article, you can contact him at dtso.info@displaymate.com.
DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology
All
Smartphone and Tablets displays can be significantly improved using
DisplayMate’s proprietary very advanced scientific analysis and mathematical
display modeling and optimization of the display hardware, factory calibration,
and driver parameters. We help manufacturers with expert display procurement,
prototype development, testing displays to meet contract specifications, and
production quality control so that they don’t make mistakes similar to those
that are exposed in our public Display Technology Shoot-Out series for
consumers. This article is a lite version of our advanced scientific analysis –
before the benefits of our DisplayMate
Display Optimization Technology, which can correct or improve all of these
issues. If you are a display or product manufacturer and want to significantly
improve display performance for a competitive advantage then Contact DisplayMate Technologies.
About DisplayMate Technologies
DisplayMate Technologies specializes in proprietary advanced
scientific display calibration and mathematical display optimization to deliver
unsurpassed objective performance, picture quality and accuracy for all types
of displays including video and computer monitors, projectors, TVs, mobile
displays such as smartphones and tablets, and all display technologies including
LCD, OLED, 3D, LED, LCoS, Plasma, DLP and CRT. This article is a lite version of our intensive
scientific analysis of Smartphone and Smartphone mobile displays – before the
benefits of our advanced mathematical DisplayMate Display Optimization
Technology, which can correct or improve many of the display deficiencies. We offer DisplayMate display
calibration software for consumers and advanced DisplayMate display diagnostic
and calibration software for technicians and test labs.
For
manufacturers we offer Consulting Services that include advanced Lab testing
and evaluations, confidential Shoot-Outs with competing products, calibration
and optimization for displays, cameras and their User Interface, plus on-site
and factory visits. We help manufacturers with expert display procurement,
prototype development, and production quality control so they don’t make
mistakes similar to those that are exposed in our Display Technology Shoot-Out
series. See our world renown Display
Technology Shoot-Out public article series for an introduction and preview.
DisplayMate’s
advanced scientific optimizations can make lower cost panels look as good or
better than more expensive higher performance displays. If you are a display or
product manufacturer and want to turn your display into a spectacular one to
surpass your competition then Contact
DisplayMate Technologies to learn more.
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OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out
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Article Series Overview and Home Page
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