Samsung Galaxy S4 screen a ‘major enhancement and improvement’ on S3, says display expert

Photo: Gizmodo

Display calibration and testing specialist DisplayMate has described the Galaxy S4 screen as a major improvement on the S3, citing it as a good reason to consider trading up …

The Galaxy S4 display is a major enhancement and improvement over the Galaxy S III – a good reason to consider trading up. The screen has Full HD 1920×1080 resolution with more than double the number of pixels and with 44 percent higher Pixels Per Inch than the Galaxy S III. It is 25 percent brighter (and up to 68 percent brighter with Automatic Brightness) and the display is 20 percent more power efficient. The Galaxy S4 also has 5 user selectable Screen Modes and delivers much better picture quality and color accuracy.

The detailed test results cover color gamut and accuracy, brightness, power efficiency and performance in high ambient lighting. DisplayMate also compared the S4’s OLED screen to the LCD screen of the iPhone 5, highlighting the strengths & weaknesses of each and overall declaring it a tie.

The iPhone 5 is now more than half way through its product cycle, which is important to keep in mind for our comparison. However, high-end LCDs like the iPhone 5 are a very mature and refined display technology, so other than screen size, resolution, and the Pixels Per Inch not much is likely to change in the next generation, no matter what Apple decides to do. The iPhone 5 is significantly brighter than the Galaxy S4, particularly for screens with mostly peak white backgrounds. Its color calibration is a bit better, although the Galaxy S4 has a more accurate White. The Galaxy S4 has a much bigger screen, higher resolution, higher PPI, much darker blacks, and better screen uniformity than the iPhone 5. They each have their own particular strengths and weaknesses, but if you scan our color coordinated Comparison Table, both displays are quite good and comparable overall – so it’s currently a tie.