Samsung Galaxy S9’s Display Steals the Throne from iPhone X

Samsung’s Galaxy S9 has unseated the iPhone X as having the best smartphone display on the market, according to analysis results published by DisplayMate.

The Android flagship scored top-tier display performance across the board. In fact, the S9’s display has become the first (and only) to receive an “All Green” rating in every category DisplayMate tests for. That allowed it to receive the site’s “highest ever” A+ grade.

The display has matched or set records in peak display brightness, native color gamut, contrast ratio, and screen reflectance. As far as color accuracy, the DisplayMate team wrote that the S9’s 5.8-inch AMOLED panel is “visually indistinguishable from perfect.”

DisplayMate wrote that the S9’s AMOLED panel is the “most innovative and high performance smartphone display” it has ever tested. Despite sharing many similarities with the Galaxy S8’s display technology, the South Korean tech giant was able to modify the hardware to its current award-winning level of picture quality and color accuracy.

Before the S9, the iPhone X occupied the top spot in DisplayMate’s display performance testing for about a year. At the time, the Apple flagship sported the “best performing smartphone display” on the market.

It’s worth noting that Samsung manufactures the OLED panels for Apple’s iPhone X display. As such, DisplayMate also congratulated Samsung for its development and manufacturing work on the iPhone X’s display components. Still, the site insisted that it was Apple’s proprietary “Precision Display Calibration” that allowed it to rise to the top spot.

What’s Apple’s Next Move?

As far as more general findings, DisplayMate concluded that the Galaxy S9 has now cemented OLED as the industry standard for premium-tier smartphone display technology, thanks to its “tremendous performance advantages.”

Apple is largely expected to double the number of flagship OLED devices in 2018. Rumors suggest that the Cupertino tech giant will debut two iPhones with OLED displays this year: a successor to the iPhone X and a new “iPhone X Plus” model with a massive 6.5-inch OLED screen.

The company is also rumored to launch a mid-range 6.1-inch iPhone with an LCD display, as well as a second-generation iPhone SE that is also likely to retain the traditional LCD screen technology. But it’s not a stretch to say that most eyes will be focused on Apple’s OLED smartphones.

As with the iPhone X, Apple is reportedly sourcing the majority of its OLED panels from Samsung for its 2018 flagship lineup. But some reports indicate that Apple is trying to lessen its reliance on the South Korean display manufacturer.

LG Display is rumored to provide at least some OLED panels for the 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus. Apple could also tap other display makers, including Sharp and Japan Display, to bolster its supply of OLED panels.