Galaxy Note9 OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out

 

Dr. Raymond M. Soneira

President, DisplayMate Technologies Corporation

 

Copyright © 1990-2018 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 and Overview

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 is the display performance that determines how good and how beautiful everything on the Smartphone looks, including the camera photos and all of your Apps, and also how readable and how usable the screen is in high ambient lighting. The Display is the crown jewel of the Smartphone!

 

The Galaxy Note9 is Samsung’s newest flagship Smartphone with the latest most advanced state-of-the-art OLED Display with a Full Screen design. With mobile OLED display technology advancing faster than ever, there are many important new display performance enhancements and improvements. The Galaxy Note9 has the latest dual-edge curved screen Flexible OLEDs, which are developed and manufactured by Samsung Display, and were first introduced for the Galaxy Note4 Edge in 2014. Every new OLED generation has provided significant enhancements and improvements.

 

Record Setting Display Performance Improvements for the Galaxy Note9

OLED has evolved into a highly refined and mature display technology that now produces the best and highest performance displays for Smartphones.

 

OLED Display Performance continues to provide major Record Setting improvements with every new generation. For the Galaxy Note9, Samsung has concentrated on significantly raising the on-screen Absolute Picture Quality and Absolute Color Accuracy of the OLED display by implementing Precision Factory Display Calibration, moving the overall Galaxy Note9 display performance up to Record Setting Outstanding levels, and setting many new Display Performance Records, including Absolute Color Accuracy at a very impressive 0.5 JNCD that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and almost certainly considerably better than your existing Smartphone, 4K UHD TV, Tablet, Laptop and computer monitor.

 

This shift in emphasis from primarily improving the Display Hardware Performance to enhancing the overall display Picture Quality and Color Accuracy is an important step that DisplayMate Technologies has been pushing for many years in our Display Technology Shoot-Out article series, so it’s great to see manufactures improving and then competing on these metrics.

 

In addition, the Galaxy Note9 OLED Hardware Performance has also been significantly improved, for example with a 27% Brightness increase in the High Brightness Mode over the Galaxy Note8, providing much higher screen visibility and readability in High Ambient Light.

 

As a result of the continuing improvements in display performance, we have added a new set of Advanced Color Accuracy tests and have also Raised the Performance Bar in order to receive DisplayMate’s Very Good Ratings for our Color Accuracy and Intensity Scale measurements and results, which are highlighted in Green in the Measurement Results Table.

 

Even with our new tougher grading standards and new tests, the Galaxy Note9 receives 100% All Green Very Good to Excellent Ratings in All Categories, earning DisplayMate’s highest ever A+ grade.

 

Why OLED

LCDs are a great cutting edge high performance display technology for Tablets to TVs, but for small handheld Smartphones, OLED displays provide a number of major advantages over LCDs including: being much thinner, much lighter, without needing a bezel providing a rimless edge-to-edge design. They can be made flexible and into curved screens, plus they have a very fast response time, better viewing angles, and an always-on display mode. For LCDs the display power of the Backlight is fixed for all pixels and is independent of the image content, but for OLEDs the display power instead is variable and decreases with the image content because dimmer pixels use less power (and black pixels use none). OLEDs are not only more power efficient than LCDs for most image content, but they now provide much higher peak Brightness than LCDs because the maximum display power can be delivered to just the sub-pixels that are needed for producing the displayed image.

 

As a result, OLED displays now have tremendous performance advantages over LCDs, so high-end and flagship Smartphones need OLED displays in order to compete at state-of-the-art performance levels, securing OLED as the definitive premier display technology for Top Tier Smartphones in the foreseeable future over the next 3-5 years. With the continuing improvements in OLED hardware performance, picture quality, and precision accuracy, it will be much harder for new display technologies to challenge OLED.

 

In this article we Lab test, measure, analyze, and evaluate in-depth the display on the Galaxy Note9. This is an independent scientific objective Lab test and analysis of OLED displays written for consumers and journalists. It is the latest edition in our eight year article series that has Lab tested, 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.

 

Some of the Galaxy Note9 Display Highlights

These are just a few of the Galaxy Note9 Display Highlights that we will be covering in detail throughout the article:

 

· Record Very High Absolute Color Accuracy (0.5 JNCD) that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect and significantly higher than on the Galaxy Note8.

 

· Record High Brightness Mode that is up to 27% Brighter and 32% Higher Contrast than the Galaxy Note8 in High Ambient Light.

 

· Record Peak Luminance that is Independent of the on-screen image content APL.

 

· Record Color Accuracy and Intensity Scales that are Independent of the on-screen image content APL.

 

· Record Small Shifts in Brightness and Color with Viewing Angle, including White, which is the most used background color.

 

· Record Setting Galaxy Note9 matches or sets many new Smartphone Display Performance Records, earning DisplayMate’s highest ever A+ grade.

 

· Highlights: The Highlights and Performance Results section below has detailed information and analysis on the Galaxy Note9 display.

 

· Data: The Display Shoot-Out Lab Measurements Comparison Table has all of the detailed measurements and test details.

 

· Conclusions: You can also go directly to the Galaxy Note9 Conclusions section which summarizes all of the features, functions and results.

 

We’ll cover all of the these display performance topics and much more, with in-depth expert comprehensive display tests, measurements and analysis that you will find nowhere else.

 

 

Article Overview

This article has the following major sections:

 

· Galaxy Note9 Highlights and Performance Results

 

· Galaxy Note9 Conclusions

 

· The Future of OLED Smartphones

 

· Improving the Next Generation of Mobile Displays

 

· The Galaxy Note9 Lab Measurements Comparison Table

 

 

The Display Shoot-Out

To examine the performance of the new Galaxy Note9 OLED Display 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 six years see our 2010 Smartphone Display Shoot-Out, and for a real history lesson see our original 2006 Smartphone Display Shoot-Out.

 

Samsung provided DisplayMate Technologies with pre-release production units of the Galaxy Note9 so that we could perform our well known objective and comprehensive DisplayMate Lab tests, measurements, and analysis, explaining in-depth the new display performance results for consumers, reviewers, and journalists as early as possible.

 

 

 

 

Galaxy Note9 Highlights and Performance Results

In this section we review and explain the principal results from the extensive DisplayMate Lab Tests and Measurements

in the following categories:  Display Specifications,  Overall Assessments,  Screen Reflections,  Brightness and Contrast,

Colors and Intensities,  Absolute Color Accuracy,  Viewing Angles,  OLED Spectra,  Display Power.

 

Lab Tests and Measurement Data Table

See the Display Shoot-Out Lab Measurements Comparison Table for the complete set of DisplayMate Lab Tests and Measurements.

 

Main Topics Covered

This Highlights and Performance Results section has detailed information and analysis on the Galaxy Note9 display for the main topics listed below.

You can skip this section and go directly to the Galaxy Note9 Conclusions.

 

· Large Full Screen Display

 

· 3K High Resolution Display

 

· Record Very High Absolute Color Accuracy

 

· Record Peak Luminance that is Independent of the on-screen Image Content APL

 

· Record Color Accuracy and Intensity Scales that are Independent of the Image Content APL

 

· Four Selectable Screen Modes and Color Gamuts

 

· Adaptive Display Screen Mode with User Adjustable White Point

 

· Adaptive Display Screen Mode in Ambient Light

 

· Screen Performance in High Ambient Light

 

· Record High Brightness Mode

 

· High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR Display

 

· Front and Back Dual Ambient Light Sensors

 

· Interactive Personalized Automatic Brightness

 

· Vision Accessibility Display Modes

 

· Night Mode Blue Light Filter for Better Night Viewing

 

· Super Dimming Mode

 

· Enhanced Always On Display Mode

 

· Diamond Pixels

 

· Record Viewing Angle Performance

 

· Viewing Tests Performance

 

· Display Power Efficiency

 

· Display Related Enhancements

 

· Large 6.4 inch Full Screen Display with a Wide Aspect Ratio of 18.5 : 9

The Galaxy Note9 has a large 6.4 inch full screen display that fills almost the entire front face of the phone from edge-to-edge. The Home button and Navigations buttons are incorporated within the touchscreen display.

 

The display also has a form factor with a taller height to width Aspect Ratio of 18.5 : 9 = 2.06, which is 16% larger than the 16 : 9 = 1.78 on most Smartphones (and widescreen TVs) because the display now has the same overall shape as the entire phone. It is taller in Portrait mode and wider in Landscape mode. This provides extra space for Notifications and for displaying multiple Apps and content simultaneously on-screen side-by-side.

 

The main screen has rounded corners and is curved along both the left and right edges, which provides two additional user configurable Edge Screen areas that can be viewed from both the front or the sides, and even when the phone is placed face down. This is particularly helpful for status messages, notifications, memos, an Edge Clock, and a Night Clock in the Always On Display mode, which we cover below.

 

· 3K High Resolution Quad HD+ 2960x1440 Display with 570 pixels per inch

As a result of its larger display size and larger Aspect Ratio, the Galaxy Note9 has a 3K Higher Resolution Quad HD+ display with 2960x1440 pixels and 516 pixels per inch, with 4.3 Mega Pixels, more than double the number on your HDTV. It can display more than four complete HD 1280x720 images at once. The display has Diamond Pixels (see below) and Sub-Pixel Rendering with 516 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.

 

The Galaxy Note9 uses Sub-Pixel Rendering, which further improves image sharpness because the individual Red, Green and Blue Sub-Pixels are treated as independent addressable image elements and are not bound together into fixed Pixels, so the closest sub-pixel is used when rendering the image. In some cases Sub-Pixel Rendering can make the screen appear to have up to 3 times the resolution of traditional Pixel Rendering. As a result, for Smartphones it is absolutely pointless to further increase the display resolution and pixels per inch (ppi) up to 4K (3940x2160 pixels) for a silly marketing wild goose chase into the stratosphere, with no visual benefit for humans!

 

· Multiple Screen Modes and Color Management

One very important capability of the Galaxy Smartphones that is often overlooked by many consumers and reviewers, is the set of user selectable Screen Modes that are available under Display Settings, which we cover and measure each one in detail below. 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 content, 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 manufacturers will need to provide in the future.

 

· Record Very High Absolute Color Accuracy for Each of the Calibrated Screen Modes

All of the recent Galaxy OLED Smartphones have supported multiple Color Gamut Standards for different content, including DCI-P3, Adobe RGB, and sRGB / Rec.709. For each of the Screen Modes we carefully measure the Absolute Color Accuracy using an advanced series of spectroradiometer measurements with 41 Reference Colors that provide a detailed map of the Color Accuracy throughout the entire Color Gamut for each Screen Mode. Absolute Color Accuracy is measured in terms of Just Noticeable Color Differences, JNCD. See this Figure for an explanation and visual definition of JNCD and the detailed Color Accuracy Plots showing the measured Color Errors for the 41 Reference Colors for each of the Color Gamuts.

 

The Galaxy Note9 is the Most Color Accurate Display that we have ever measured. It is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and almost certainly considerably better than your existing Smartphone, living room HDTV, Tablet, Laptop, and computer monitor. Each of the Calibrated Screen Modes are covered and measured individually below.

 

In order to see the high Color Accuracy, the Display Setting for the Screen Mode needs to match the Color Gamut for the content that is being viewed. All of the reviewers that continue to rant about the poor Color Accuracy of the Galaxy OLED displays have failed to set the proper Screen Mode for their content, which is very accurate as shown in our extensive Lab Measurements and Viewing Tests.

 

See our detailed Absolute Color Accuracy Plots with 41 Reference Colors for the 3 calibrated Screen Modes and also this regarding Bogus Color Accuracy Measurements.

 

· Record Peak Luminance that is Independent of the on-screen Image Content APL

On almost all existing OLED displays the Peak Brightness (Luminance) changes with the Average Picture Level APL of the on-screen image, increasing by up to 50 percent or more between High APL and Low APL. This High Brightness effect can be very useful in improving screen readability in High Ambient Light, and also to highlight certain on-screen image content. But the changing display Brightness can distort the brightness relationships when viewing photos, in videos, and other images.

 

As a result, Samsung has been reducing this variation in Peak Brightness for all the Screen Modes except Adaptive Display, which takes advantage of this High Brightness effect. On the Galaxy Note8, the Luminance variation was 38 percent. But on the Galaxy S9 the Luminance variation went down to only 6 percent, and on the Galaxy Note9 it is down to just 2 percent, which is impressive. But as we discuss next, the real reason for doing this is to improve the Absolute Color Accuracy and Absolute Contrast Accuracy of the display...

 

· Record Color Accuracy and Intensity Scales that are Independent of the on-screen Image Content APL

The Absolute Color Accuracy and Intensity Scale of the display should not change as the on-screen image content changes. As we discussed above, the first step is to make sure that the Peak Brightness (Luminance) of the display does not change with the Average Picture Level APL of the on-screen image because High Accuracy is impossible when that occurs.

 

With the continuing improvements in display performance we have added a new set of advanced tests that measure the variations in the Absolute Color Accuracy and the Intensity Scales with changing Average Picture Level APL, comparing the Shifts between Low APL and 50% High APL. Previous generation displays with large Peak Luminance changes with APL will show large Shifts in the Intensity Scale and large Shifts in Absolute Color Accuracy (more than a factor of 3 higher than on the Galaxy Note9).

 

Figure 3 shows the variation in the Intensity Scales between Low APL and 50% APL. Any change in the Intensity Scale will affect the Absolute Color Accuracy. There is only a small Shift in the Intensity Scales, with the Average Gamma varying from 2.21 for Low APL to 2.24 for 50% APL. As a result, we expect the Absolute Color Accuracy to only show small variations with APL.

 

Figure 4 shows the variation in the Absolute Color Accuracy between Low APL and 50% APL for the Cinema, Photo, and Basic Calibrated Screen Modes. The Color Shifts with APL are small, with an Average Color Shift of just 0.7 JNCD and the Largest Color Shifts only 1.2 to 1.5 JNCD for all the Calibrated Screen Modes. The White Point Shifts with APL are just 0.2 JNCD.

 

All the Shifts with APL are small, ranging from Very Good to Excellent. See this Figure for an explanation and visual definition of JNCD and the Color APL Shifts section for measurements and details.

 

· Four Selectable Screen Modes and Color Gamuts

The Galaxy Note9 has four user selectable Screen Modes: Adaptive Display, AMOLED Cinema, AMOLED Photo, and the Basic Screen Mode, which matches the Standard sRGB / Rec.709 Color Gamut that is used for producing most current consumer content. See this Figure for the Color Gamuts of all the tested Screen Modes and the Colors and Intensities section for the measurements and details. Note that the Adaptive Display screen mode is the standard and factory default Screen Mode. Use Display Settings to switch between the other available Screen Modes. We discuss each of the four tested Screen Modes next…

 

	Color Gamuts Click to Enlarge		Color Accuracy Click to Enlarge

 

· AMOLED Cinema Screen Mode with a Very Accurate Standard DCI-P3 Color Gamut

The Galaxy Note9 has the newest Standard Wide Color Gamut called DCI-P3 for Digital Cinema Initiative, which is being used for 4K Ultra HD TVs and in Digital Cinema for the movie industry. So the Galaxy Note9 can display the latest high-end 4K video content. The DCI-P3 Gamut is 26 percent larger than the Rec.709 Gamut used in 2K Full HD TVs, both are compared in this accurately colorized Figure. The larger DCI-P3 Color Gamut and wider range of more saturated colors are also useful in many advanced imaging applications, including HDR High Dynamic Range.

 

The measured Color Gamut of the AMOLED Cinema screen mode is a Very Accurate 103 percent of the Standard DCI-P3 Color Gamut, and the measured Absolute Color Accuracy is a Record Setting Very Accurate 0.5 JNCD, which is the Most Color Accurate Display we have ever measured, and is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and almost certainly considerably better than your existing Smartphone, living room HDTV, Tablet, Laptop, and computer monitor.

 

The Galaxy Note9 is one of the first displays to reach full 100% of the DCI-P3 as the result of using a new high saturation “Deep Red” OLED. See the Color Accuracy section and the detailed Color Accuracy Plots for the measurements and details. Select the AMOLED Cinema screen mode using Display Settings – it is not the default screen mode for the Galaxy Note9.

 

· AMOLED Photo Screen Mode with a Very Accurate Standard 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 Note9 provides a very accurate Color and White Point calibration to the Adobe RGB standard, which is rarely available in consumer displays, and is very useful for high-end digital photography and other advanced imaging applications.

 

The measured Color Gamut of the AMOLED Photo screen mode is a Very Accurate 99 percent of the Standard Adobe RGB Color Gamut, and the measured Absolute Color Accuracy is a Very Accurate 0.7 JNCD, which is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect. See the Color Accuracy section and the detailed Color Accuracy Plots for the measurements and details. Select the AMOLED Photo screen mode using Display Settings – it is not the default screen mode for the Galaxy Note9.

 

· Basic Screen Mode with a Very Accurate 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 most current consumer content for digital cameras, TVs, the internet, and computers, including photos, videos, and movies. The measured Color Gamut of the Basic screen mode is a Very Accurate 103 percent of the Standard sRGB / Rec.709 Color Gamut, and the measured Absolute Color Accuracy is a Record Setting Very Accurate 0.5 JNCD, which is the Most Color Accurate Display we have ever measured, and is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and almost certainly considerably better than your existing Smartphone, living room HDTV, Tablet, Laptop, and computer monitor.

 

Use the Basic screen mode for the best color and image accuracy for most current consumer content, 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 the measurements and details. Select the Basic screen mode using Display Settings – it is not the default screen mode for the Galaxy Note9.

 

· Adaptive Display Screen Mode with the Largest Color Gamut

The Adaptive Display screen mode provides real-time Adaptive processing that can 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 screen mode also provides significantly higher Color Saturation, with a large 142 percent of the Standard sRGB / Rec.709 Color Gamut and 113 percent of the Standard DCI-P3 Color Gamut, the highest that we have ever measured for Smartphones and Tablets (tied with the Galaxy S9), and the result of a new high saturation “Deep Red” OLED in the Galaxy Note9. Some people like the more saturated and Vivid Colors, plus it is useful for special applications, and especially when using the Galaxy Note9 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. We examine the change in the Color Gamut with Ambient Light below. See the Color Accuracy section for the measurements and details. Select the Adaptive Display screen mode using Display Settings – it is the factory default screen mode for the Galaxy Note9.

 

· Adaptive Display Screen Mode with a User Adjustable White Point

The default White Point for the Adaptive Display screen mode has an intentionally bluish 7,515 K Color Temperature. A new feature on the Galaxy Note9 is a user adjustable White Point with Color Balance slider controls that allow users to change color of White for the Adaptive Display screen mode. The slider controls allow the White Point Color Temperature to range from 6,700 K, which is close to the Standard D65 White, up to 8,500 K, which has a strong bluish tint that some people like. So with the Galaxy Note9 you can set the Color of White that you prefer.

 

· Adaptive Display Screen Mode Offsets the Loss of Color Saturation and Color Gamut in Ambient Light

The Adaptive Display screen mode is particularly useful in moderate to high levels of Ambient Light because its larger Native Color Gamut offsets some of the loss of Color Saturation and Color Gamut that occurs when using the other calibrated Standard Screen Modes. This Figure shows the measured decrease in two Color Gamuts with increasing Ambient Light, from 0 lux, which is perfectly dark, up through 2,000 lux, which corresponds to typical outdoor daylight in shade.

 

At 500 lux, which corresponds to typical office lighting, the measured on-screen Color Gamut for the Basic screen mode falls to 87%. At 1,000 lux, which corresponds to very bright indoor lighting or outdoor daylight with an overcast sky, the measured on-screen Color Gamut falls to 75%, and at 2,000 lux the measured on-screen Color Gamut falls to 57%. This loss of color saturation and wash out in Ambient Light is well known to all display users.

 

The way to improve the display color accuracy and performance in Ambient Light is to start with a larger Color Gamut, like the Adaptive Display screen mode, which is shown on the right in this Figure compared to the Basic screen mode on the left. At 1,000 lux the Adaptive Display screen mode provides a much better match to the sRGB / Rec.709 Color Gamut than the Basic screen mode. The Adaptive Display screen mode also provides a good match to the DCI-P3 Color Gamut at 500 lux. So the Adaptive Display screen mode provides more accurate on-screen colors in moderate to high Ambient Lighting than the other calibrated Screen Modes, which are designed and calibrated for Low Ambient Light. Applying Dynamic Color Management based on the current Ambient Light lux level in the future will able to further improve color accuracy over a wide range of Ambient Light levels, which we discuss further in the Conclusion.

 

· Screen Brightness and Performance in High Ambient Lighting

Mobile displays are often used under relatively bright ambient lighting, which washes out the image color saturation 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 Note9 has both. This is extremely important for screen readability, picture quality, and color accuracy in ambient light.

 

With Automatic Brightness turned Off and the Brightness slider set Manually to Maximum, the Galaxy Note9 produces between 363 cd/m² and 544 cd/m² (nits), based on the Screen Mode and the Average Picture Level APL of the image content, among the very brightest that we have ever measured for a Smartphone with Automatic Brightness turned Off. See the Screen Brightness section for the measurements and details.

 

The measured Galaxy Note9 Screen Reflectance is 4.4 percent, 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 Note9 has a Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light that ranges from 84 to 121, among the very highest that we have ever measured for a Smartphone. See the Screen Reflectance section for the measurements and details.

 

· Record High Brightness Mode with Automatic Brightness On

On the Galaxy Note9 the Maximum Screen 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 Note9 has a High Brightness Mode that produces between 710 cd/m² and 1,050 cd/m² (nits) in High Ambient Light, which is where high Brightness is really needed, and is considerably Brighter than with Manual Brightness when Automatic Brightness turned Off.

 

The 710 cd/m² is for an All White Full Screen 100% Average Picture Level APL image, which is the most challenging image for an OLED display because all the pixels are at full power. This is 27% Brighter than on the Galaxy Note8, and a Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light that is 32% higher than on the Galaxy Note8 because of its lower Screen Reflectance of 4.4 percent. This is a Record Setting Brightness for OLED displays with 100% Average Picture Level APL images.

 

The Peak Brightness of 1,050 nits is less than the 1,240 nits on the Galaxy Note8, but that is only for very low APL, and there are very few Apps and images that take advantage of the higher Low APL Peak Luminance. See the Brightness and Contrast, the High Ambient Light and the Screen Reflections sections for the measurements and details.

 

· HDR High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR Display

The Galaxy Note9 can play 4K High Dynamic Range content made for 4K UHD TVs. High Dynamic Range (HDR) is the newest performance enhancement feature developed for the latest 4K Ultra HD TVs. HDR provides expanded the Color, Contrast, and Brightness of video content. In order to provide HDR, the Galaxy Note9 has the required Digital Cinema DCI-P3 Wide Color Gamut, plus perfect Blacks and an Infinite Contrast Ratio from its OLED display, and a peak Brightness of over 1,000 nits that is needed for High Dynamic Range. The Galaxy Note9 can play the latest streamed mobile HDR videos, and its built-in video processor also allows it to provide an Expanded Dynamic Range for standard video content that produces an HDR-like effect.

 

· Front and Back Dual Ambient Light Sensors for Improved Automatic Brightness Settings

Other Smartphones and Tablets have just a single Ambient Light Sensor on the front of the screen that measures the amount of light falling on the front of the screen. When Automatic Brightness is turned On, the display Brightness is adjusted based on this single measured value. But that is only part of the story because the phone is often in the shadow of your head, so the front ambient light level is often reduced there. However, your eyes are generally more adapted to the surrounding ambient light level that is behind and around the phone, which needs to be taken into account in setting the proper screen Brightness, particularly with the most common back lighting situations that exist when holding the phone.

 

I proposed dual Ambient Light Sensors back in 2010, with an article that described “How Automatic Brightness Should Work.” The Galaxy Note9 (together with the Galaxy Note8 and Galaxy S9) are the only Smartphones to have a second Ambient Light Sensor on the back that also measures the surrounding ambient light behind the phone and then uses both measured values to adjust the display Brightness based on the front and back lighting. The Galaxy Note9 Automatic Brightness Control has also been enhanced to provide improved response and transition times with changing ambient light levels to give your eyes the proper amount of time to adjust to the new levels.

 

· Interactive Personalized Automatic Brightness Control that Works Well

The Galaxy Note9 has an Interactive Personalized Automatic Brightness Control that learns and stores the display brightness settings that you make for varying ambient light levels, so from then on you get your own customized personal visual brightness preferences instead of some pre-programmed manufacturer settings found in other Smartphones, Tablets, and TVs. I proposed this back in 2010, with an article that described “How Automatic Brightness Should Work.” The Galaxy Note9 and Galaxy S9 are the first Smartphones, Tablets, or TVs to do Automatic Brightness correctly.

 

When Automatic Brightness is turned On (under Display Settings), if you adjust the Brightness Slider, the Galaxy Note9 will remember your setting along with the current Ambient Light level that is measured by its Ambient Light Sensors (ALS). From then on the Galaxy Note9 will automatically adjust the screen Brightness by measuring the current ambient light level and then adjusting the display Brightness based on the settings that you have previously made, so you’ll get a customized screen Brightness setting that you’ve previously trained it to produce for the current level of ambient light – and you can continue to tweak and adjust it as needed. Other smartphones operate using the antiquated opposite approach based on factory defaults that works backwards and poorly, which often results in users disabling Automatic Brightness.

 

· Vision Accessibility Display Modes

The Galaxy Note9 has a number of Vision Accessibility display modes to help people with vision impairments.

 

A new Color Lens mode provides 12 types of color filtering with selective transparency to improve the readability of text. A new Color Adjustment mode allows display colors to be adjusted interactively based on their visual similarity and appearance using a simple finger drag and place method.

 

Other Vision Accessibility display modes include Font Size,  Font Zoom,  Font Style,  Custom Downloadable Fonts,  High Contrast Fonts,  Inverted Negative Colors,  Area Magnification, and Screen Magnification.

 

· Night Mode Blue Light Filter for Better Night Viewing

The Night Mode Blue Light Filter on the Galaxy Note9 is designed to change the color balance of the display in order to reduce the amount of Blue light produced by the display, which some recent research indicates can affect how well users sleep afterwards. In a separate article we explain and analyze the Blue Light issue for displays. The Galaxy Note9 includes a user adjustable slider (called Filter Opacity) to vary the amount of Blue light produced by the display and a timer that allows the Blue Light Filter to be turned on and off automatically every day. The measured variation in the display light spectrum with the adjustable Blue Light Filter is shown in this Figure and below.

 

As the Blue Light Filter Opacity setting is increased, the amount of Blue light emitted by the display decreases. When that happens, White and all screen colors take on an increasing yellowish tint and color cast. At the Middle setting the measured White Color Temperature decreases to 4,500 K, and at the Maximum setting it decreases to 2,500 K, the Color Temperature of traditional incandescent lighting, which is yellowish. With the Blue Light Filter turned On and the Opacity at its Maximum setting, the measured Blue Light component from the Galaxy Note9 is reduced by 80 percent. Turning down the screen Brightness will further decrease the amount of Blue Light. The measured display spectra for several of the Blue Light Filter settings are included in this Figure and below.

 

	Display Spectra Click to Enlarge

 

· Super Dimming Mode

The Galaxy Note9 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 provides full 24-bit color and the picture quality remains excellent.

 

· Enhanced Always On Display Mode

The Galaxy Note9 has an Always On Display mode that takes advantage of the very low power capability of an OLED display when most of the image pixels are black, because every sub-pixel is independently powered, and therefore doesn’t use any power when black. The AOD mode is super power efficient and typically requires only 3 to 5 percent of the maximum display power. So when the phone is off (in standby) it is possible to always display some text and graphics on a black background all day and all night without a significant power drain that would reduce the battery running time. The Always On Display mode uses only 50 to 100 mW (milli-Watts) in normal daytime ambient light, and much less in the dark mode at night. For moving AOD content, such as in an Analog Clock with a second hand, the display is updated via Integrated Circuit hardware rather than App software, resulting in lower power consumption. A new feature on the Galaxy Note9 allows you to a add personal photo to the Always On Display.

 

The Always On Display produces an illuminated main screen image 24 hours a day so you can always discreetly check it with just a glance. It shows various personalized clock and calendar screens, plus status messages, memos, notifications, and images on the main screen when the phone is off (in standby). It measures the ambient light and provides 4 Brightness levels from night and day. It will stay off when the phone display is face down, or if it senses a dark confined space like a pocket or handbag. The day mode has a measured Luminance of 40 cd/m² (nits) on a black background, which is very readable but not distracting for normal indoor ambient lighting, and is visible outdoors if you shade the screen with your hand. The night mode is entered for very low Ambient Light lux levels and runs like the Super Dimming Mode down to as low as 1 nit, so it makes a great Night Clock that won’t disturb you if it’s on your bedside table.

 

· Diamond Pixels

A high resolution screen shot (provided by Samsung) shows an interesting design and sub-pixel arrangement for the Galaxy Note9, 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…

 

· Record 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 the phone 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 Note9 display shows a much smaller 27 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.

 

All displays have Color Shifts with Viewing Angle:

The Color Shift of White, which is the most used background color is particularly noticeable on many OLED and LCD displays. The Galaxy Note9 has a very small White Shift of just 1.3 JNCD at 30 degrees, which is unlikely to be noticed, and is the tied with the Galaxy S9 as smallest for any OLED display that we have ever tested. The largest Color Shifts for all of the Screen Modes on the Galaxy Note9 are all relatively small with Very Good to Excellent ratings. See the Viewing Angles section for the measurements and details.

 

· Viewing Tests Performance

The three calibrated Standard Screen Modes on the Galaxy Note9 provide 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 Absolute Color Accuracy on the Galaxy Note9 is the Most Color Accurate Display we have ever measured. It is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and almost certainly considerably better than your existing Smartphone, living room HDTV, Tablet, Laptop, and computer monitor, as demonstrated in our extensive Absolute Color Accuracy Lab Measurements.

 

In order to see the Galaxy Note9 High Color Accuracy, the Display Setting for the Screen Mode needs to match the Color Gamut for the content that is being viewed. All of the reviewers that continue to rant about the poor Color Accuracy of the Galaxy OLED displays have failed to set the proper Screen Mode for their content.

 

For indoor and low ambient light viewing use the Basic screen mode for most standard consumer content including 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. Use the AMOLED Cinema screen mode for viewing the newest DCI 4K Ultra HD TV and Digital Cinema content and videos, including HDR content, and the AMOLED Photo screen mode to view high-end digital camera photos that are based on the Adobe RGB Gamut. The Adaptive Display screen mode provides significantly more Vivid and Saturated Colors, which some people prefer.

 

The Adaptive Display screen mode 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, which is demonstrated in this Figure for ambient light levels up through 2,000 lux.

 

· Display Power Efficiency

Since 2013 the Display Power Efficiency of the Galaxy series of Smartphones has improved by a very impressive 60%.

The Galaxy Note9 has approximately the same high Display Power Efficiency as the Galaxy Note8 and Galaxy S9.

 

While LCDs remain more power efficient for images with mostly full screen white content (like all text screens on a white background, for example), OLEDs are more power efficient for typical mixed image content because they are emissive displays so their power varies with the Average Picture Level (average Brightness) of the image content over the entire screen.

 

For LCDs the display power is fixed and independent of the image content. But for OLEDs, the display power decreases with the type of image content. Black pixels and sub-pixels don’t use any power so screens with Black or dark backgrounds are very power efficient for OLEDs. Photos and videos also have relatively low Average Picture Levels and so require much less power on OLEDs than LCDs. Currently, OLED displays are more power efficient than LCDs for Average Pictures Levels of 65 percent or less, and LCDs are more power efficient for Average Picture Levels above 65 percent. Since both technologies are continuing to improve their power efficiencies, the crossover will continue to change with time.

 

The Galaxy Note9 also has 4 user adjustable Performance Modes and 3 adjustable Power Saving Modes that reduce the Display Power by lowering the screen Brightness and setting the background to Black, which can significantly reduce display power and more than double the running time on battery. All of our tests and measurements were performed in the High Performance Mode with the Power Saving Mode Off. See the Display Power section for the measurements and details.

 

· Display Related Enhancements

 

· The Galaxy Note9 is IP68 water resistant in up to 5 feet of water for up to half an hour, which means you can comfortably view the display in typical wet indoor and outdoor conditions – even carefully use it in a tub or shower, and it should be fine if you accidentally drop it in a sink or toilet.

 

· The Galaxy Note9 can be used with Polarized Sunglasses in both the Portrait and Landscape orientations unlike LCDs, which generally work in only one of the two orientations.

 

· The Galaxy Note9 has the new Gorilla Glass 5, which provides much higher resistance to breakage.

 

· The Galaxy Note9 accepts a microSD card, which makes it easier to add large photo and video files.

 

 

 

 

 

Galaxy Note9 Conclusions:   A Record Setting 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…

 

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. As a result of the improvements with each new generation, in a span of just eight years mobile OLED display technology now has a commanding first place lead and continues pushing ahead aggressively. The Galaxy Note9 continues the impressive improvements in mobile OLED displays and technology. As a result, OLEDs have developed into excellent Smartphone displays that now significantly outperform the best LCD Smartphones. With the continuing improvements in OLED hardware performance, picture quality, and precision accuracy, it will be much harder for new display technologies to challenge OLED.

 

Summary of the Galaxy Note9 Display Functions, Features, and Performance Records:

The Galaxy Note9 has many major and important state-of-the-art display performance enhancements, features and functions, including setting many new Display Performance Records, which are summarized here.

 

See the Display Shoot-Out Lab Measurements Comparison Table section below for the complete set of detailed DisplayMate Lab measurements and tests.

 

See the Highlights and Performance Results section above for a detailed overview with expanded discussions and explanations.

 

See the Display Assessments section below for the Evaluation details.

 

The Galaxy Note9 has the following State-of-the-Art Display Performance Functions and Features:

The most significant improvements from the Galaxy Note8 are highlighted in Red below.

 

· A curved screen Flexible OLED display that is manufactured on a flexible plastic substrate so that it can bend around corners on both sides of the phone to provide two curved Edge Display areas that can be viewed and controlled from both the front or the sides.

 

· A large 6.4 inch Full Screen Display that fills almost the entire front face of the Galaxy Note9 from edge-to-edge. The Home button and Navigations buttons are now incorporated within the touchscreen display.

 

· A display form factor with a taller height to width Aspect Ratio of 18.5 : 9 = 2.06, which is 16% larger than the 16 : 9 = 1.78 on most Smartphones (and widescreen TVs) because the display now has the same overall shape as the entire phone. It is taller in Portrait mode and wider in Landscape mode. This provides extra space for Notifications and for displaying multiple Apps and content simultaneously on-screen side-by-side.

 

· Record Very High Absolute Color Accuracy (0.5 JNCD) that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and almost certainly considerably better than your existing Smartphone, UHD TV, Tablet, Laptop, and computer monitor.

 

· Record Peak Luminance that is Independent of the on-screen Image Content APL.

 

· Record Color Accuracy and Intensity Scales that are Independent of the Image Content APL.

 

· 4 Color Gamuts and 3 Calibrated Screen Modes with Very High Absolute Color Accuracy based on our extensive Lab Measurements.

 

· A full 100% DCI-P3 Color Gamut and Digital Cinema mode that is also used for 4K Ultra HD TVs, so the Galaxy Note9 can display the latest high-end 4K video content. The DCI-P3 Gamut is 26 percent larger than the Rec.709 Gamut that is used in 2K Full HD TVs.

 

· A larger Native Color Gamut with a new high saturation “Deep Red” OLED, resulting in a very impressive 113% of DCI-P3 and 142% of sRGB / Rec.709 Gamuts that also provides much better on-screen Colors in High Ambient Light.

 

· A 3K High Resolution 2960 x 1440 Quad HD+ display with 516 pixels per inch, and Diamond Pixels with Sub-Pixel Rendering.

 

· A Video Enhancer that provides HDR-like Expanded Dynamic Range for all videos that don’t have HDR coding.

 

· Record High Brightness Mode with Full Screen Peak Display Brightness of 710 nits, which is 27 percent higher than the Galaxy Note8, and significantly improves screen visibility in very high Ambient Light, and also provides the high screen Brightness needed for HDR.

 

· High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR Display

 

· Front and back Dual Ambient Light Sensors for significantly improved Automatic Brightness settings.

 

· A Night Mode with a Blue Light Filter that allows the user to adjust and reduce the amount of blue light from the display for better night viewing and improved sleep.

 

· User Adjustable White Point with Color Balance slider controls that can change the color of White for the Adaptive Display screen mode.

 

· Enhanced Always On Display mode and Personalized Auto Brightness Control.

 

· Record Small Color Shifts and Brightness Shifts with Viewing Angle, including White, which is the most used background color.

 

· Vision Accessibility Display Modes to help people with vision impairments.

 

· The Galaxy Note9 can be used with Polarized Sunglasses in both the Portrait and Landscape orientations unlike LCDs, which generally work in only one of the two orientations.

 

· A strong curved Gorilla Glass 5 protecting the display.

 

The Galaxy Note9 matches or sets new Smartphone Display Performance Records for:

 

· Highest Absolute Color Accuracy  (0.5 JNCD)  – Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

 

· Smallest Change in Peak Luminance with the Image Content APL  (2 percent).

 

· Smallest Shift in Color Accuracy and Intensity Scale with the Image Content APL  (0.7 JNCD).

 

· Highest Peak Display Brightness  (1,050 nits with 710 nits at 100% APL).

 

· Largest Native Color Gamut  (113% DCI-P3 and 142% sRGB / Rec.709).

 

· Highest Contrast Ratio  (Infinite).

 

· Lowest Screen Reflectance  (4.4 percent).

 

· Highest Contrast Rating in Ambient Light  (239).

 

· Smallest Brightness Variation with Viewing Angle  (27 percent at 30 degrees).

 

· Smallest Color Variation of White with Viewing Angle  (1.3 JNCD at 30 degrees).

 

· Highest Screen Resolution 3K (2960x1440)  –  4K Does Not appear visually sharper on a Smartphone.

 

The Best Smartphone Display

OLED has evolved into a highly refined and mature display technology that now produces the best and highest performance displays for Smartphones.

 

OLED Display Performance continues to provide major Record Setting improvements with every new generation.

 

For the Galaxy Note9, Samsung has concentrated on significantly raising the on-screen Absolute Picture Quality and Absolute Color Accuracy of the OLED display by implementing Precision Factory Display Calibration, moving the overall Galaxy Note9 display performance up to Record Setting Outstanding levels, and setting many new Display Performance Records, including Absolute Color Accuracy at a very impressive 0.5 JNCD that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and almost certainly considerably better than your existing Smartphone, 4K UHD TV, Tablet, Laptop and computer monitor.

 

With consumers now spending rapidly increasing amounts of time watching content on their Smartphones, the shift in emphasis from primarily improving Display Hardware Performance to enhancing the overall display Picture Quality and Color Accuracy is an important step that DisplayMate Technologies has been pushing for many years in our Display Technology Shoot-Out article series, so it’s great to see manufactures improving and then competing on these metrics.

 

The Galaxy Note9 is the most innovative and high performance Smartphone display that we have ever Lab tested, breaking and establishing many new Display Performance Records that are listed above. The Galaxy Note9 delivers uniformly consistent all around Top Tier Display Performance and receives All Green (Very Good to Excellent) Ratings in All of the DisplayMate Lab Test and Measurement Categories – only the second display we have ever tested to get All Green in All Categories – the Galaxy S9 was the first. The level of display performance and excellence has been increasing each year, and the Galaxy Note9 has now raised the bar significantly higher.

 

Data Tables:    See the Display Shoot-Out Lab Measurements Comparison Table section below for all of the measurements and details.

 

Highlights:       See the Highlights and Performance Results section above for expanded discussions and explanations.

 

Assessments:  See the Display Assessments section below for the evaluation details.

 

OLED displays now have tremendous performance advantages over LCDs, so high-end and flagship Smartphones need OLED displays in order to compete at state-of-the-art performance levels, securing OLED as the definitive premier display technology for Top Tier Smartphones in the foreseeable future over the next 3-5 years. With the continuing improvements in OLED hardware performance, picture quality, and precision accuracy, it will be much harder for new display technologies to challenge OLED.

 

Based on our extensive Lab Tests and Measurements, the Galaxy Note9 has an Impressive Display that establishes many new Display Performance Records, earning DisplayMate’s Best Performing Smartphone Display Award, and receiving our highest ever A+ grade.

 

Follow DisplayMate on Twitter to learn about our upcoming Smartphone display technology coverage.

 

The Future of OLED Smartphones

The Galaxy Note9 is the latest in a new generation of OLED Smartphones. OLEDs have now evolved and emerged as the premium mobile Smartphone display technology. More than two dozen manufacturers already make OLED Smartphones, and the new Full Screen Display design using a flexible OLED will be the new Flagship for all the upcoming future Top Tier Smartphones.

 

LCDs are a great cutting edge high performance display technology for Tablets to TVs, but for small handheld Smartphones, OLED displays provide a number of major advantages over LCDs including: being much thinner, much lighter, without needing a bezel providing a rimless edge-to-edge design. They can be made flexible and into curved screens, plus they have a very fast response time, better viewing angles, and an always-on display mode. Many of the OLED performance advantages result from the fact that every single sub-pixel in an OLED display is independently directly electrically powered to emit light, so only the active image sub-pixels draw power based on their individual brightness levels. OLEDs can also provide better color accuracy, image contrast accuracy, and screen uniformity because of variations in the Backlights of LCDs.

 

As the result of their very versatile power management capabilities, OLEDs are not only more power efficient than LCDs for most image content, but they now deliver much higher peak Brightness than LCDs because the maximum power can be delivered to just the sub-pixels that are needed for producing the current displayed image. However, for mostly all white screen content LCDs are likely to remain brighter and more power efficient for a while.

 

OLED displays are also manufactured on flexible substrates that can bend, which allows the screens to be curved and rounded and provides a number of innovative new screen geometries. The most popular one is expanding the front main screen so that it extends around to both the right and left sides of the phone by bending around the corners like on the Galaxy Note9, and earlier models starting with the original Galaxy Edge and Galaxy Round.

 

As a result, OLED displays now have tremendous performance advantages over LCDs, so high-end and flagship Smartphones need OLED displays in order to compete at state-of-the-art performance levels, securing OLED as the definitive premier display technology for Top Tier Smartphones in the foreseeable future over the next 3-5 years. With the continuing improvements in OLED hardware performance, picture quality, and precision accuracy, it will be much harder for new display technologies to challenge OLED.

 

The main production and availability issue for the next several years will be that the demand for high performance OLED displays will significantly exceed the manufacturing capacity as we discuss in Flagship 2017 OLED Smartphones. Follow DisplayMate on Twitter to learn about these developments and our upcoming display technology coverage.

 

Improving the Next Generation of Mobile Displays

The Galaxy Note9 has a very high resolution 3K 2960x1440 pixel display with 516 pixels per inch (ppi) producing images that look perfectly sharp with normal 20/20 Vision under all normal viewing conditions, which always includes some ambient light that always lowers the visible image contrast and perceived image sharpness (Modulation Transfer MTF). Note that displays are almost never viewed in absolute darkness under perfect viewing conditions with ideal image content. Some clueless reviewers have been pining for 4K 3840x2160 Smartphones, which would require almost double the pixels, memory, and processing power of the 2960x1440 display on the Galaxy Note9, but there would be no visual benefit for humans! 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 no visual benefit for humans!

 

With screen size and resolution already functionally maxed out, manufacturers should instead dedicate their efforts and resources into improving real world display performance in ambient light by using advanced technology to restore and compensate for the loss of color gamut, color saturation, and image contrast due to 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 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 the Screen Reflectance and implementing Dynamic Color Management with automatic real-time modification of the display’s native Color Gamut and Dynamic Intensity Scales based on the measured Ambient Light level in order to have them compensate for the reflected light glare and image wash out that causes a loss of color saturation and image contrast from ambient light as discussed in our 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, Tablet, Monitor and TV 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, display performance improvement and optimization, 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 Lab Measurements Comparison Table

Below we examine in-depth the OLED display performance of the Samsung Galaxy Note9 based on objective Lab measurement data

and criteria in the following sections:  Display Specifications,  Overall Assessments,  Screen Reflections,  Brightness and Contrast,

Colors and Intensities,  Absolute Color Accuracy,  Viewing Angles,  OLED Spectra,  Display Power.

 

For additional background and comparison information see this earlier article covering the Galaxy Note8 Display Technology Shoot-Out.

For comparisons with the other leading Smartphone displays see our Mobile Display Technology Shoot-Out series.

 

Detailed Test and Measurement Comparisons between the Galaxy Note9 and Galaxy Note8

You can directly compare the data and measurement results for the Galaxy Note9 with the Galaxy Note8 display in detail

by using a Tabbed web browser with our comprehensive Lab measurements and analysis for each of the displays.

For each Tab click on a Link below. The entries are mostly identical with only minor formatting differences,

so it is easy to make detailed side-by-side comparisons by simply clicking through the Tabs.

 

Samsung Galaxy Note9 Lab Measurements Comparison Table

 

Samsung Galaxy Note8 Lab Measurements Comparison Table

 

 

Categories	Samsung Galaxy Note9				Comments
Display Technology	6.4 inch Diagonal  /  16.2 cm Diagonal Excluding the Rounded Corners Flexible OLED with Diamond Pixels				Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode Diamond Pixels with Diagonal Sub-Pixel Symmetry
Screen Shape	18.5 : 9 = 2.06 New Higher Aspect Ratio Most Smartphones and Widescreen TVs have 16 : 9 = 1.78				Height to Width Aspect Ratio Galaxy Note9 display screen is 16% longer than most Smartphones and widescreen 16:9 TV content.
Screen Size	2.79 x 5.74 inches 7.09 x 14.57 cm				Display Width and Height in inches and cm.
Screen Area	16.0 square inches  /  103.3 square cm				A better measure of size than the diagonal length.
Supported Color Gamuts	Adaptive Display  –  Wide Native Color Gamut Cinema mode  –  DCI-P3 Standard Color Gamut Photo mode  –  Adobe RGB Standard Color Gamut Basic mode  –  sRGB / Rec.709 Standard Color Gamut				The Galaxy Note9 supports 4 Color Gamuts including the new wider DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is used in 4K Ultra HD TV content.
Display Resolution	2960 x 1440 pixels New 3K  Quad HD+				Screen Pixel Resolution. Quad HD can display four 1280x720 HD images.
Total Number of Pixels	4.3 Mega Pixels				Total Number of Pixels.
Pixels Per Inch PPI	516 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  365 SPPI  Green  516 SPPI    Blue  365 SPPI				Diamond Pixel displays have only half the number of Red and Blue Sub-Pixels as RGB Stripe displays.
Total Number of Sub-Pixels	Red  2.1 Million Sub-Pixels Green  4.3 Million Sub-Pixels   Blue  2.1 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 RGB Stripe 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	6.7 inches / 16.9 cm  for White and Green Sub-Pixels with 20/20 Vision  9.4 inches / 23.9 cm  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	Galaxy Note9 Display appears Perfectly Sharp Pixels are not Resolved with 20/20 Vision at Typical Viewing Distances of      10 to 18 inches 25 to 46 cm				The Typical Viewing Distances for this screen size are in the range of 10 to 18 inches or 25 to 46 cm.   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 or 25 to 46 cm for this screen size.
Photo Viewer Color Depth	Full 24-bit Color No Dithering Visible 256 Intensity Levels				Some Smartphones and Tablets still have some form of 16-bit color depth in the Gallery Viewer. The Samsung Galaxy Note9 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 Note9 has four user selectable Screen Modes that are provided for different content, applications and user preferences. Here we provide results for the Adaptive Display screen mode, which is a dynamic Wide Color Gamut mode, the AMOLED Cinema mode, which is calibrated for the new DCI-P3 Gamut that is also used in 4K Ultra HD TVs, 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 Gamut that is used for most current consumer photo, video, web, and computer content.   The Basic and Photo modes are listed in the same column because their measurements are all essentially identical except for the Color Gamut and Color Accuracy measurements, which are listed separately below.
Categories	Adaptive Display Widest Color Gamut	Cinema mode DCI-P3 Gamut for Digital Cinema		Basic mode sRGB/Rec.709 Gamut   Photo mode Adobe RGB 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	Excellent Images Photos and Videos have Excellent Color and Accurate Contrast   Accurate Cinema mode		Excellent Images Photos and Videos have Excellent Color and Accurate Contrast   Accurate Basic mode Accurate Photo mode	The Viewing Tests examine the accuracy of photographic images by comparing the displays to a 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 Note9 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 Cinema mode		Excellent OLED Display Accurate Basic mode Accurate Photo mode	The Galaxy Note9 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 Intentionally Vivid Colors	Excellent Color Accuracy Color Errors are Very Small Accurate Cinema mode		Excellent Color Accuracy Color Errors are Very Small Accurate Basic mode Accurate Photo mode	Absolute Color Accuracy is measured with a Spectroradiometer for 41 Reference Colors uniformly distributed within the entire Color Gamut.   See Figure 2 and Colors for details.
Image Contrast Accuracy   See Figure 3 and Contrast	Very Good Accuracy Image Contrast Slightly Too High	Excellent Accuracy Image Contrast Very Accurate		Excellent Accuracy Image Contrast Very Accurate	The Image Contrast Accuracy is determined by measuring the Log Intensity Scale and Gamma.   See Figure 3 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 for Ambient Light   Higher Brightness with Auto Brightness On	High Display Brightness Very Low Reflectance   High Contrast Rating for Ambient Light   Higher Brightness with Auto Brightness On		High Display Brightness Very Low Reflectance   High Contrast Rating for Ambient Light   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	Intentionally Vivid Colors Wide Color Gamut Mode	Excellent Calibration Accurate Cinema mode		Excellent Calibration Accurate Basic mode Accurate Photo mode	Galaxy Note9 display has multiple Screen Modes that deliver 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 Note9 Display Grade is Excellent A+ Best Performing Most Accurate Smartphone Display that we have ever tested. Samsung continues systematically improving OLED Displays				The Galaxy Note9 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 Cinema mode For Viewing 4K UHD TV DCI-P3 Cinema Content		Accurate Basic mode Accurate Photo mode For Viewing Most Content Photo Video Movie Web
Categories	Adaptive Display Widest Color Gamut	Cinema mode DCI-P3 Gamut for Digital Cinema		Basic mode sRGB/Rec.709 Gamut   Photo mode Adobe RGB 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. Manufacturers should 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. We use an Integrating Hemisphere and a highly collimated pencil light beam together with a Spectroradiometer. Note that the Screen Reflectance is exactly the same for all of the Galaxy Note9 Screen Modes.   The Galaxy Note9 has the lowest Screen Reflectance level that we have ever measured for a Smartphone. These results are extremely important for screen readability, picture quality, and color accuracy in ambient light.   For Comparison the Galaxy Note8 has 4.6 percent Average Reflectance and 5.7 percent Mirror Reflections.
Categories	Galaxy Note9				Comments
Average Screen Reflection Light From All Directions	4.4 percent for Ambient Light Reflections Excellent				Measured using an Integrating Hemisphere and a Spectroradiometer. The lowest value we have ever measured for a Smartphone is 4.4 percent.
Mirror Reflections Percentage of Light Reflected	5.6 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. The lowest value we have ever measured for a Smartphone is 5.6 percent.
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 for High Ambient Light, 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. The display’s actual on-screen Contrast Ratio changes with the Ambient Light lux level and is proportional to the Contrast Rating.
Categories	Adaptive Display Widest Color Gamut	Cinema mode DCI-P3 Gamut for Digital Cinema		Basic mode sRGB/Rec.709 Gamut   Photo mode Adobe RGB Gamut	Comments
Home Screen Peak Brightness Measured for White	Brightness 480 cd/m2 Very Good	Brightness 374 cd/m2 Very Good		Brightness 374 cd/m2 Very Good	The Peak Brightness for White on the Home Screen.
Measured Average Brightness 50% Average Picture Level	Brightness 454 cd/m2 Very Good	Brightness 376 cd/m2 Very Good		Brightness 373 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 410 cd/m2 Very Good	Brightness 378 cd/m2 Very Good		Brightness 376 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% Average Picture Level	Brightness 532 cd/m2 Excellent	Brightness 372 cd/m2 Very Good		Brightness 370 cd/m2 Very Good	This is the Peak Brightness for a screen that has only a tiny 1% Average Picture Level.
Dynamic Brightness Change in Luminance with Average Picture Level APL	23 percent Decrease Intentionally Large	2 percent Decrease Excellent		2 percent Decrease Excellent	This is the percent Brightness decrease with APL Average Picture Level. Ideally should be 0 percent.
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 remains 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 Brightness Mode Automatic Brightness in High Ambient Light
Measured High Brightness Mode 50% Average Picture Level	High Brightness Mode 825 cd/m2 Excellent	High Brightness Mode 825 cd/m2 Excellent		High Brightness Mode 825 cd/m2 Excellent	This is the Brightness for typical screen content that has a 50% Average Picture Level.
Measured High Brightness Mode 100% Full screen White	High Brightness Mode 710 cd/m2 Excellent	High Brightness Mode 710 cd/m2 Excellent		High Brightness Mode 710 cd/m2 Excellent	This is the Brightness for a screen that is entirely all white with 100% Average Picture Level.
Measured High Brightness Mode 1% Average Picture Level	High Brightness Mode 1,050 cd/m2 Excellent	High Brightness Mode 1,050 cd/m2 Excellent		High Brightness Mode 1,050 cd/m2 Excellent	This is the Peak Brightness for a screen that has only a tiny 1% Average Picture Level.
High Ambient Light Contrast Rating
Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light   The Higher the Better for Screen Readability in High Ambient Light	93 – 121 With Manual Brightness Very Good   161 – 236 High Brightness Mode Excellent	85 – 86 With Manual Brightness Very Good    161 – 236 High Brightness Mode Excellent		84 – 85 With Manual Brightness Very Good   161 – 236 High Brightness Mode Excellent	Depends on the Screen Reflectance and Brightness. Defined as Maximum Brightness / Average Reflectance.   The display’s actual on-screen Contrast Ratio changes with the Ambient Light lux level and is proportional to the Contrast Rating.
Screen Readability in High Ambient Light	Very Good  A With Manual Brightness      Excellent  A+ With Auto Brightness On	Very Good  A With Manual Brightness       Excellent  A+ With Auto Brightness On		Very Good  A With Manual Brightness       Excellent  A+ With Auto Brightness On	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   Figure 1 Color Gamuts Click to Enlarge   Figure 2 Color Accuracy Click to Enlarge   Figure 3 Intensity Scales Click to Enlarge   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.   The Galaxy Note9 Screen Modes are factory calibrated for different content, applications and user preferences. The Galaxy Note9 has the new wider DCI-P3 Color Gamut and improved Color and Contrast Accuracy.
Categories	Adaptive Display Widest Color Gamut	Cinema mode DCI-P3 Gamut for Digital Cinema		Basic mode sRGB/Rec.709 Gamut   Photo mode Adobe RGB Gamut	Comments
Color of White Color Temperature in degrees   Measured in the dark at 0 lux   See Figure 1	7,515 K 2.5 JNCD from D65 White   User Adjustable from 6,700 K to 8,500 K White is Somewhat Bluish Intentionally Bluish Mode   For Some Applications the White Point Will Vary with the Ambient Lighting	6,535 K 0.1 JNCD from D65 White   Very Close to Standard Accurate Cinema mode     See Figure 1		6,535 K 0.1 JNCD from D65 White   Very Close to Standard Accurate Basic mode Accurate Photo 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. White Point accuracy is more critical than other colors.   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	113 percent DCI-P3 Cinema Gamut Intentionally Vivid Colors Wide Color Gamut Mode   142 percent sRGB / Rec.709 Gamut Intentionally Vivid Colors Wide Color Gamut Mode   See Figure 1	Cinema mode 103 percent DCI-P3 Cinema Gamut Very Close to Standard Accurate Cinema mode   See Figure 1		Basic mode 103 percent sRGB / Rec.709 Gamut Very Close to Standard Accurate Basic mode   Photo mode 99 percent Adobe RGB Gamut Very Close to Standard Accurate Photo mode   See Figure 1	Most current consumer content uses sRGB / Rec.709.   Many advanced digital cameras use Adobe RGB.   The new 4K UHD TVs and Digital Cinema use DCI-P3.   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.   See Figure 1
Absolute Color Accuracy
Absolute Color Accuracy Average Color Error at 0 lux   For 41 Reference Colors Just Noticeable Color Difference   See Figure 2	Adaptive Display mode Average Color Error From sRGB / Rec.709 Δ(u’v’) = 0.0334 8.3 JNCD Intentionally Vivid Colors Wide Color Gamut Mode   See Figure 2	Cinema mode Average Color Error From DCI-P3 Δ(u’v’) = 0.0019 0.5 JNCD Excellent Accuracy Accurate Cinema mode   See Figure 2		Basic mode Average Color Error From sRGB / Rec.709 Δ(u’v’) = 0.0021  0.5 JNCD Excellent Accuracy Accurate Basic mode   Photo mode Average Color Error From Adobe RGB Δ(u’v’) = 0.0029  0.7 JNCD Excellent Accuracy Accurate Photo mode   See Figure 2	JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.   See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD and for the Accuracy Plots showing the measured Color Errors.   Color Errors below 3.5 JNCD are Very Good. Color Errors  3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are Good. Color Errors above 7.0 JNCD are Poor.
Absolute Color Accuracy Largest Color Error at 0 lux   For 41 Reference Colors Just Noticeable Color Difference   See Figure 2	Adaptive Display mode Largest Color Error From sRGB / Rec.709 Δ(u’v’) = 0.0575 14.4 JNCD for Blue Intentionally Vivid Colors Wide Color Gamut Mode   See Figure 2	Cinema mode Largest Color Error From DCI-P3 Δ(u’v’) = 0.0046 1.2 JNCD for Magenta Excellent Accuracy Accurate Cinema mode   See Figure 2		Basic mode  Largest Color Error From sRGB / Rec.709 Δ(u’v’) = 0.0056 1.4 JNCD for Red-Yellow Excellent Accuracy Accurate Basic mode   Photo mode  Largest Color Error From Adobe RGB Δ(u’v’) = 0.0123 3.1 JNCD for Green Very Good Accuracy Accurate Photo mode   See Figure 2	JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.   See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD and for the Accuracy Plots showing the measured Color Errors.   Color Errors below 3.5 JNCD are Very Good. Color Errors  3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are Good. Color Errors above 7.0 JNCD are Poor.
Changes of Absolute Color Accuracy with Average Picture Level APL Shifts in Absolute Color Accuracy with Image Content from Low 1% APL to High 50% APL
Shift in the Color of White   Just Noticeable Color Difference   See Figure 4	Adaptive Display mode is Intentionally Variable	White Point Color Shift from Low to High APL Δ(u’v’) = 0.0007 0.2 JNCD Excellent   See Figure 4		White Point Color Shift from Low to High APL Δ(u’v’) = 0.0008 0.2 JNCD Excellent   See Figure 4	JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference   See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD. See Figure 4 for the measured Color Shifts.   Color Shifts below 3.5 JNCD are Very Good. Color Shifts  3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are Good. Color Shifts above 7.0 JNCD are Poor.
Average Color Shift   For 41 Reference Colors Just Noticeable Color Difference   See Figure 4	Adaptive Display mode is Intentionally Variable	Average Color Shift from Low to High APL Δ(u’v’) = 0.0028 0.7 JNCD Excellent   See Figure 4		Average Color Shift from Low to High APL Δ(u’v’) = 0.0027 0.7 JNCD Excellent   See Figure 4	JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.   See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD. See Figure 4 for the measured Color Shifts.   Color Shifts below 3.5 JNCD are Very Good. Color Shifts  3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are Good. Color Shifts above 7.0 JNCD are Poor.
Largest Color Shift   For 41 Reference Colors Just Noticeable Color Difference   See Figure 4	Adaptive Display mode is Intentionally Variable	Largest Color Shift from Low to High APL Δ(u’v’) = 0.0061 1.5 JNCD for Red Excellent   See Figure 4		Largest Color Shift from Low to High APL Δ(u’v’) = 0.0050 1.2 JNCD for Red Excellent   See Figure 4	JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference   See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD. See Figure 4 for the measured Color Shifts.   Color Shifts below 3.5 JNCD are Very Good. Color Shifts  3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are Good. Color Shifts above 7.0 JNCD are Poor.
Intensity Scale and Image Contrast Accuracy
Dynamic Brightness Change in Luminance with Average Picture Level APL	23 percent Decrease Intentionally Large	2 percent Decrease Excellent		2 percent Decrease Excellent	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 Excellent Very Accurate   See Figure 3		Smooth and Straight Excellent Very Accurate   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	2.21 Excellent Gamma Very Accurate		2.21 Excellent Gamma Very Accurate	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	Excellent		Excellent	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 Galaxy Note9 Screen Modes.   The Galaxy Note9 is effectively tied with the Galaxy S9 for the smallest White Point Color Shift with Viewing Angle of any OLED display that we have ever tested.   The Galaxy Note9 display has a Brightness (Luminance) fall off with Viewing Angle that is much smaller than the best LCD displays.
Categories	Adaptive Display Widest Color Gamut	Cinema mode DCI-P3 Gamut for Digital Cinema		Basic mode sRGB/Rec.709 Gamut   Photo mode Adobe RGB Gamut	Comments
Brightness Decrease at a 30 degree Viewing Angle	27 percent Decrease Small Decrease Very Good				Most screens become less bright when tilted. 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’) = 0.0053  1.3 JNCD  Excellent				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’) = 0.0156 for Pure Blue 3.9 JNCD  Very Good				JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference. See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD. Largest Color Shifts below 5.0 JNCD are Very Good
Color Shifts for Color Mixtures at a 30 degree Viewing Angle Reference Brown (255, 128, 0)	Small Color Shift Δ(u’v’) = 0.0070 1.8 JNCD  Excellent				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 Spectra The Display Spectra for the Screen Modes and for the Night Mode Blue Light Filter are measured in Figure 5 below.   The Blue Light Filter is designed to change the color balance of the display in order to reduce the amount of Blue Light produced by the display, which some recent research indicates can affect how well users sleep afterwards.       Figure 5 Display Spectra Click to Enlarge     Display Power Consumption The display power was measured using a Linear Regression between Luminance and AC Power with a fully charged battery. All of our measurements were performed in the Galaxy Note9 High Performance Mode with the Power Saving Mode Off.   Since the displays can have different screen sizes and maximum brightness, the display power values below are also scaled to the same screen Brightness (Luminance) and same screen area in order to compare their Relative Power Efficiencies.   Comparison with LCDs While LCDs remain more power efficient for images with mostly full screen white content (like all text screens on a white background, for example), OLEDs are more power efficient for typical mixed image content because they are emissive displays so their power varies with the Average Picture Level (average Brightness) of the image content over the entire screen. For OLEDs, Black pixels and sub-pixels don’t use any power so screens with Black backgrounds are very power efficient for OLEDs. For LCDs the display power is fixed and independent of image content.   Currently, OLED displays are more power efficient than LCDs for Average Pictures Levels of 65 percent or less, and LCDs are more power efficient for Average Picture Levels above 65 percent. Since both technologies are continuing to improve their power efficiencies, the crossover will continue to change with time.   Comparison with the Galaxy Note8 Below we compare the Relative Display Power Efficiencies of the Galaxy Note9 with the Galaxy Note8. The results are scaled for the same Luminance and Screen Area.   The Galaxy Note9 has approximately the same Relative Display Power Efficiency as the Galaxy Note8.
Categories	Galaxy Note8		Galaxy Note9		Comments
Average Display Power Maximum Brightness at 50% Average Picture Level	50% Average Picture Level    1.20 watts with 525 cd/m2 15.7 inch2 Screen Area		50% Average Picture Level   1.10 watts with 454 cd/m2 16.0 inch2 Screen Area		This measures the Average Display Power for a wide range of image content.
Relative Power Efficiency 50% Average Picture Level Compared to Galaxy Note8 For the same Note8 525 cd/m2 For the same Screen Area	Relative Average Power 100%    1.20 watts  with the same 525 cd/m2 with the same 15.7 inch2 Screen Area		Relative Average Power 104%   1.25 watts  with the same 525 cd/m2 with the same 15.7 inch2 Screen Area		This compares the Relative Power Efficiency by scaling the measured Display Power to the same Screen Brightness and same Screen Area as the Galaxy Note8.
Maximum Display Power Full White Screen at Maximum Brightness	Maximum Power Full Screen White    2.05 watts  with 423 cd/m2 15.7 inch2 Screen Area		Maximum Power Full Screen White   2.10 watts  with 410 cd/m2 16.0 inch2 Screen Area		This measures the Maximum Display power for a screen that is entirely Peak White.
Relative Power Efficiency Maximum Display Power Compared to Galaxy Note8 For the same Note8 423 cd/m2 For the same Screen Area	Relative Maximum Power 100%   2.05 watts  with the same 423 cd/m2 with the same 15.7 inch2 Screen Area		Relative Maximum Power 104%   2.13 watts  with the same 423 cd/m2 with the same 15.7 inch2 Screen Area		This compares the Relative Power Efficiency by scaling the measured Display Power to the same Screen Brightness and same Screen Area as the Galaxy Note8.

 

 

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.

 

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Article Links:  Galaxy Note8 OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out

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