Here's what to look for when choosing a smartphone display

The processor, RAM and storage are important in a
smartphone, but what good is all of that if you can’t visually
experience the results in the way it should be seen. The display of a
smartphone is just as important as the hardware inside, if not more. The
display is what you interact with most on a smartphone and a high-end
display goes on to augment the experience even further. These are the
things you should keep in mind about getting the best visual experience —
Display Type
The first thing to note about displays is the technology behind it.
Is it an OLED panel? An LCD? Or a TFT display? Most high-end
smartphones will come with an OLED or AMOLED display, while some
continue to use IPS LCD displays. The primary difference between the two
is that an OLED/AMOLED has pixels that individually light up on their
own while in an LCD panel, there is a backlight that lights up the
entire display, no matter what’s being projected on it. As a result,
OLED panels are more battery efficient and can offer true blacks (since
part of the display is not being used at all) which offers the best
contrast ratio. LCD displays, on the other hand, can be used to jack up
the brightness with a stronger backlight. High brightness is the primary
requirement of HDR technology, which gives LCDs a natural edge. When
choosing a display, decide based on your usage. If you stream videos a
lot, an OLED panel will offer a better viewing experience due to its
higher colour saturation.
Brightness
This is a no-brainer. You need a bright display. It’s the first
thing that will strike you when you pick up any smartphone. Anything
around 600 nits is good enough, but there are smartphones that push the
brightness to over 1000 nits. High brightness is particularly useful
when you are using the phone outdoors in the open sun, and it also aids
in the display of HDR content.
You should also keep in mind the minimum brightness. While LCD
displays can push up the brightness higher than OLED, the backlight
prevents the brightness from falling below a certain level of
illumination. OLED displays are more comfortable to use in the dark as
they can go as dim as 1 nit.
Colour gamut
In order to determine the exact colour gamut of your display, you
will need scientific equipment. However, suffice to say that if your
phone has a panel capable of producing a minimum 98% of the DCI-P3
colour space, you should be fine. If you are a stickler for colour
accuracy, we recommend looking at phones which also offer an sRGB
setting in the display mode, as the sRGB colour space is what is most
commonly used on the internet to display images and other content.
Resolution and aspect ratio
There are smartphones with 4K displays and there are smartphones
with HD displays. Most high-end smartphones will offer a 2K or a QHD
display. The exact resolution will vary based on the dimensions and the
aspect ratio. With screens going bezel-less, the aspect ratio has been
standardized to 19.5:9 which allows for two perfect squares when the
screen is divided in the middle.
Refresh rate
This year, the refresh rate on smartphones also became a high
priority. It used to be something to look out for in PC monitors, but
the refresh rate of a smartphone display is equally important. Refresh
rate is the number of times the screen can refresh itself in a second.
The higher the refresh rate, the smoother everything appears to be.
Videos shot at high frame rates are rendered especially well and so are
the games that support high-frame rates like PUBG Mobile. Right now, the
maximum refresh rate that is offered on a smartphone display in India
is 90Hz. There are screens with a 120Hz refresh rate, but they are yet
to launch in the country.
Touch response
Equally important is the touch response or the sensitivity. Touch
is the default input to interact with the smartphone and a fluid touch
response only aids in making the experience better. Touch latency of
less a 1ms is ideal for gaming and fast typing.
Glass protection
What good is a bright and vibrant display if it cracks easily? The
protection on top of the display is just as important as everything
else. Most high-end smartphones are protected by toughened Gorilla Glass
made by Corning. This specially made glass keeps the panel from
shattering when dropped on a hard surface, and also helps prevent
scratches. However, it should be kept in mind that nothing that’s made
of glass is indestructible. It’s the degree to which it can protect
itself that varies. In the case of smartphones, look for a display that
has at least Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top of it.