iPhone 5 display "state of the art"

After several weeks on the market the display on the iPhone5 has been thoroughly tested by multiple firms.  The general sentiment is that the new iPhone display blows away both previous models as well as the competition.  The new process of creating the display and touch sensors in a single layer has helped improve brightness, image closeness, all while lowering glare.  This upgraded panel is then placed behind the much improved gorilla glass 2.  Reviewers break down the improvements in several ways.

Pixel Density:

Certainly one of the most important aspects of a high end smartphone display is high pixel density.  Density is ultimately much more important in recreating sharp text and image detail than simply high pixel counts.  AT 326 pixels per inch (ppi), the iPhone 5 comes in ahead of it's closest competitor the Galaxy s3's 306.  However, as Samsung and others argue correctly, ppi is only one component of a great display.

Brightness:

Screen brightness is one of the most relevant measures of a great display.  While a brighter screen is going to make pictures and video more vivid, it's also essential for using a phone outdoors.  A screen that isn't sufficiently bright wont be able to compete with outdoor ambient light.  It's likely that this is one of Apple's primary reasons for using established LCD technology rather than switching to relative newcomer oled.  In tests performed by Cnet, the iPhone5 blows away all previous smartphones in brightness, scoring an impressive 539 nits.  For comparison the iPhone4 scores 390 nits, the Galaxy s3's oled screen scores a paltry 140 nits.



source: Cnet.com

Color gamut and accuracy:

The most noticeable improvements in display quality on the iPhone5 are likely due to it's improved color gamut and accuracy.  The iPhone5 matches the highly rated display of the new iPad here.  In comprehensive tests performed independently by both Display Mate, and AnandTech the iPhone5 realized a virtually perfect 99% of the standard color gamut.  This compares to the iPhone 4's 64%.  The Galaxy s3's color gamut has it's own unique issues according to Display Mate "(The S3's) Color Gamut is quite lopsided, with Green being a lot more saturated than Red or Blue, which adds a Green color caste to many images."

In closing, believe the hype.  The iPhone 5's upgraded display is best in class providing unparalleled realism both indoors and out.  But don't just take our word for it, in Android Authority's article they conclude "The iPhone5 comes out on top... I’m still not sure if you can contest science, but what we can do is say that real life phone usage has nothing to do with it. You can’t decide if a device is better for you just by looking at some numbers".  A convenient thing to say after your device loses on all the numbers.

Source Material:

Display Mate | AnandTech | TheNextWeb | Cnet | Digital Trends