The resolutions of smartphone displays settled into a steady state a few years ago – FHD is for mid-rangers and vanilla flagships, the top flagships get QHD. Considering that human eyes haven’t gotten an upgrade in a while, this kind of makes sense. Is display resolution something you take into account when picking a new phone?
Actually, let’s broaden the question, what does the perfect display look like to you? We’re interested in the basics – resolution, refresh rate, flat vs. curved, AMOLED vs. LCD – as well as other features.
Smartphone displays – what matters and what doesn’t?
Let’s get back to the resolution first. We know some of you are ready to jump into the comment section to complain that resolutions are not directly comparable between AMOLED and LCD because of the sub-pixel arrangements. And while that is true, how many actually notice the difference? (why RGB AMOLEDs didn’t catch on is another matter)
Even if you do notice the difference, most phones still default to rendering their UI at FHD (even the Sony Xperia 1 series with its 4K displays), leveraging the higher resolution to reduce aliasing, but not taking full advantage of it.
If the poll widget above isn’t working for you, try casting your vote here.
While they were rare jewels in the early years, AMOLED displays have become quite common. Some are better than others, but all of them are good. Are they? We know some of you still prefer LCDs.
You can also vote here.
In a poll last year, the prevailing opinion was that a high refresh rate is important, even a must for some. Is that still the case? We’re almost certain, but we wanted to how many have jumped from the “nice to have” camp over to “must have”.
You can also vote here.
The fourth question is easy – flat or curved display? Curved displays give the appearance of thinner bezels (and often just look cooler), but flat displays are easier to protect (with a screen protector and even just a case).
You can also vote here.
The final poll accepts multiple answers. Is HDR support important? How about a 10-bit panel? Note that the two are not one and the same as HDR has requirements for bit depth as well as brightness. Also, what about DC dimming? Some makers have adopted high frequency PWM dimming instead.
You can also vote here.
