iPhone 4 Retina Display vs. Galaxy S Super AMOLED... fight! (updated)
By Vlad Savov 
posted June 24th 2010 1:15PM
posted June 24th 2010 1:15PM
Update: Due to the Galaxy S having a separate setting for browser brightness, which we didn't max out in the original investigation, we've gone back and collected some truly 100 percent illuminated pictures. See the gallery after the break. Keep in mind that this shouldn't discredit most of the work done here, as we were more interested in pixel-level detail than brightness.
First thing's first: all the images in our gallery are left entirely untouched, with the first four being 100 percent crops of the original camera output, altered only to insert our watermark and phone notation. The quickest thing to stand out to us when putting this set of photos together was the iPhone's brightness. The Super AMOLED display on the Galaxy S remains pretty much a standard-setting screen, and yet it
Update: Thanks to an arcane browser-specific brightness setting on the Galaxy S, we were originally looking at less than the full force of the S-AMOLED panel. Consequently, we went back to Samsung's offices for another look at the two displays and have now produced the comparison gallery below. It gives a taste both of the displays' capabilities and of the browser rendering being done beneath them. It's important to note that we didn't feel there was any tangible difference in the Samsung display's output beyond the obvious increase in brightness. Ergo, the rest of our observations stand as before.
Viewing angles are pretty much impossible to split, though we're inclined to give the iPhone the thinnest of edges here as it seemed to give us that bit more definition from tight viewpoints. But consider that a nuanced draw rather than any sort of win.
When we brought the pair outside for some time in the sunshine, we were immediately disappointed by a typical turn for the worse by the British weather, but there was enough light to challenge both displays. Should you ever have the somewhat unusual circumstances of having light beaming directly down onto the screen without your noggin casting a helpful shadow, neither display will give you any great usability. But cast that shadow, turn away from the sunlight, do anything to avoid the direct rays, and you'll get some pretty sweet utility out of both. Once again, it's a pretty impossible task to differentiate between the output of the Retina Display and Super AMOLED, though if we have to choose, Samsung will get the nod. This really is a territory where personal preference will determine which the better screen will be, the differences are that minuscule.
The one standout differentiator between the two will have been apparent by gazing upon our gallery: the Retina Display really whoops on the Super AMOLED on the pixel level. Definition still looks ridiculous on the iPhone 4, and Samsung simply can't match it there. You should be mindful, however, that the delta between the two when you stick them right next to your eye is nowhere near as pronounced in real world use. In fact, checking out our giraffe picture comparison, the Super AMOLED seems to exhibit stronger color saturation and sharper definition, in spite of looking pixelated sat next to Apple's smoother curvatures. Stick both at a normal distance away from the user, and it will likely come down to personal preference again. Some of our own staff have found the Galaxy S' display to be oversaturated, whereas this editor felt it was just about spot on. Maybe this is an artifact of us looking at different handsets, but we're inclined to think it's indicative of the role user preference has to play in the final conclusions reached when looking at these screens. Anyhow, enough yapping from us, go check out the videos already.
Epic battle
@ComeShot
I've used both and I have to say, it's pretty damn close.
Android Always WIN.
@VSpike915 If it's pretty damn close, I would go with the Samsung for two reasons:
1) Its widescreen, so the black bars will be either non-existent or much less obtrusive.
2) Its bigger.
@ComeShot
They both looked the same to be honest... of course though, both could not stand to block out the awesome solar-glare of the sun when tilted left or right.
I say.... DRAW!
Let all of us be the judge and release the Galaxy S / Pro already Sammy!!!
@ComeShot This is a KO by the iPhone 4!
@ComeShot
So it boils down to:
- Under a microscope = iPhone wins
- Normal distance = Both equal
@katiedonut
I dont understand the point of super screen close-ups. If you need to zoom in that much to see a difference, holding the phone 20cm away from your eye would mean that awesome 300+ DPI pretty useless in comparison with a 200+ DPI display
@ComeShot
Exactly...both are incredible and most end users will/should be ecstatic with both. It's progress, no matter what way you slice it.
@daftrok wow when did we reach the point where we choose a phone because it's bigger?
everyone is going to hate on the iphone for not being better but I see it as at least it's as good as the best competition, who can complain with that?
@ComeShot : The question is, do you want a bigger unit or better looking unit?
@ComeShot Now make it a bit more interesting. The smaller screen on the iPhone make it brighter by nature as the pixels are more dense. How about comparing it to the Samsung Wave?
@ComeShot
The picture 8 (of 45) explains perfectly why I will make the Galaxy S a winner : There's more page content, and it's bigger.
Sorry Apple, I loved your 3GS, but I can't suffer from eye bleeding anymore when browsing.
@potretr Not in the real world unfortunately :(
@ComeShot
I think we can all agree they both suck in direct sunlight...
We're just not there yet! Maybe in 2020 if we make past that 2012 hump, amirite?
@jaffreywali: its close. iphone has the higher resolution, the galaxy display would save 40% of electricity compared to the iphone display.
@VSpike915
I used both as well. but i think samoled slightly edges it with the rich colours.
@dartox: oh, and there is real black on the galaxy display, iphone shows something like "blue-black" ;)
@ComeShot
somehow useless. It's clear that under a microscope the iPhone 4 display wins, because of the higher pixel density and the fact that it is an IPS display.
However,
OLED has true blacks / LCD not
OLED is power efficient / LCD not, always full backlight
OLED has very vibrant colors / LCD not, more natural, however, no one does print production on a smartphone, so OLED just looks color richer
LCD has its advantages, too, however, especially on a smartphone, OLED is in my opinion the winner.
iPhone just got iPwnd by the Android phone
@ComeShot Engadget picking an apple product to win a "Fight!" again? The world is shocked.
You may as well stop doing these Fight! articles since you always pick the Crapple stuff anyway. BTW how big is the bonus check you're getting for all this iPhone 4 coverage?
@One Love The answer is. You want a better unit. A unit that will not shatter if you drop it from 3 feet. A unit where white is white on you screen, not yellow. A unit that will allow you to make phone calls and browse the internet if you hold it in your hand. And you want the best looking screen on it of course. Hence, you go for the Samsung.
@One Love That's what she said.
@kineticdamage I agree. I think 4'' is the sweet spot.
@ComeShot
Come one people. I own an Android phone with an AMOLED screen and the iPhone wins this one. It's ultra sharp. Not even a contest.
@ComeShot Not really. It proves what I've figured would be the case from the get go. At normal viewing distance theres no difference. You have to put your eye on the screen to see any benefit to the iPhone 4. I'm also wondering about the brightness as well. Was the Samsung turned all the way up? And why no test on contrast? Lets see which one has the best black. Why do the comparisons focus on what you see with your eye on the screen?
I'm waiting for my coworker to bring his iPhone 4 to work so I can check out this screen vs my Incredible. From the looks of it all he is going to have is a little better time in the sunlight. People keep talking about this oversaturated crap but I think most people like it. Thats just vibrant color. People have been to used to looking at washed out screens. If something is blue I want it to be BLUE and so on.
@Tes
AMOLED != SAMOLED
@DizWhiz Also consider that this technology (though useless as mnhthebest says) will eventually put on larger screen formats. Pushing 1080p on 60" + TV starts to get pixelated yea? I may be wrong, but imo smaller pixels will always be a good thing, and not useless. I'm not sure it that'll require 4k or 5k content or something beyond...
@daftrok
Don't forget that the AMOLED uses less power than the IPS display.
@ComeShot
You would think somewhere in the review they would have mentioned power draw. The whole point of the super amoled is to produce a better or equal picture while using up only a fraction of the power. Samsung wins hands down once you factor that in.
@DizWhiz you'd think so until you compare the new display first hand. Pictures really don't do it justice.
Why is there no mention that superamoled uses 30% less power as the iphones screen?
(android ftw? :P)
@mark29 Uh, given that these phones are used for MULTIMEDIA purposes, a bigger screen is kind of important. Also given that the ratio is 1.5 on the iPhone, black bars eat away at my precious movie/episode/clip that I'm watching. So it makes complete sense to choose a bigger 480p 16:9 screen over a smaller 640p 3:2 screen.
@HPe No update or one update vs. Future proof for at least 2-3yrs hint, apple. You lose.
@Xtole Really? From the pictures here there isn't one case where the Galaxy screen outperforms the iPhone in display quality. Not one!
Time to call a spade a spade buddy.
@jaffreywali There's more to a phone then how the screen looks. Man are you shallow
@VSpike915
Lot of people forget that AMOLED is much better in power consumption than Apple's IPS LCD or any other LCD,which is a more important advantage than pixel density, in my opinion.
@daftrok I completely agree about the screen size comment. I use my N1 to watch films/video at the gym. I certainly wouldn't want a smaller screen. If anything, a slightly larger one would be beneficial.
@ComeShot
Heck, even a blind man can tell the iPhone display is better. Just kidding. They're both very good. Consumers are fortunate to have such choices. Smartphones have come a long way.
@kineticdamage You can't be serious. The screens are at different levels of zoom. The Galaxy is clearly zoomed in slightly, and oh darn you can't see the ads on the iPhone. You do know the iPhone can zoom in right?
@VSpike915 Fight?! hahah. That's a slaughter, iPhone 4 all the way. Wasn't even fair.
@dartox 'Cept for the iPhone has a better battery and lasts longer so your argument is mute
I prefer better/true color saturation, deep black and high contrast ratio over brightness (plasma over LCD) and if that comes with better power management, it's a win. Plasma is great but use a lot of power compare to LCD. On the other hand S-AMOLED uses less power than IPS/LCD and looks great. On mobile device S-Amoled is a win, I guess a 300+ PPI S-AMOLED will be the killer display, microscope or not.
@Complex Pants Yea uses less power and the iphone still gets better battery life.
@Tes
I believe there's an "S" in front of these AMOLED, completely new tech on phones.
I have the Moment, and the wife has the EVO. I feel like my phone is old hat now! And her EVO screen is much better in the sun than my Moment, not even close. I believe the EVO is LCD, and the Moment is standard AMOLED.
@Crank
Of course, but how is Apple going to justify a new phone in 12 months? You can't just give yours fans everything at once.
@Crank how bout you beat both the IPS and the OLED for dropping the hard cold facts on both displays. +1+1!!!! Thanks to your input i learned something!
@mark29
Because it's screen is bigger to be precise. For example, it has been stated of the Evo 4G that due to it's 4.3" screen size, the on screen keyboard is even better than the iPhone's. This is the conclusion of several Engadget editors.
Also for gaming, media playback, browsing, bigger is just generally better.
@ComeShot Why do the first 4 look like they were shot with a macro lens or another zoom that is closer and more detailed than the human eye would be typically interpreting.... ? :-/