Database Users

Not all Nexus S SAMOLED Displays are the same

Hi everyone,
I'm starting this thread to show you guys that not all Nexus S AMOLEDS are the same. I purchased a Nexus S on launch day from one store, and my brother bought a nexus S from another best buy store. We were comparing each others phones, and mine turned out to be darker than his, specifically the whites. We compared our screens at full brightness, and we set the same backgrounds, and his was noticeably better looking. So I went and exchanged mine, the new one I got still suffered from having darker whites, but it was not as bad as the first one, so when we compared them again, his was still better. I took a few pictures of the new one i got compared with his (on right). It may not look like much, but if you look at it in person, it's very noticeable when they are next to each other. I think you guys should compare your nexus s with a display model at a store, or with someone else to see what I'm talking about. I think it's easiest to see what i'm talking about if you look at the search widget. Like I said the first one I had was worse, but I'm comparing the newly exchanged one (left) with my brothers (right).
http://i.imgur.com/iAbJW.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0wlmy.jpg
http://imgur.com/mtqCZ.jpg
http://imgur.com/k0deb.jpg

mine is bright enough for me. thats really all i care about.

tekkitan said:
mine is bright enough for me. thats really all i care about.
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I agree with you
It's like my mom says not everything can be 100% perfect

Yeah I know what you're speaking of. I started a thread here about it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=877497

I went through this when I bought dual monitors for my computer. It is nearly impossible to find two monitors exactly the same. You will not know the difference unless you keep comparing it to others.

momohammed20 said:
Hi everyone,
http://i.imgur.com/iAbJW.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0wlmy.jpg
http://imgur.com/mtqCZ.jpg
http://imgur.com/k0deb.jpg
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in your pix... no to wallpapers are alike

tks989 said:
in your pix... no to wallpapers are alike
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lol thats true. it made me laugh lol
download a solid white wallpaper. set the brightness to the highest. if one of them is cool blue white then this is good screen. if its warm yellowish white, then its a bad screen.
also there is the issue with pinkish disaplay. download a solid gray wallpaper. set the brightness to the lowest, if the gray turns to pink a little. you have a defective screen no matter what others tell you. if it stays gray " like my old Samsung Galaxy S " then you have a perfect screen.
AND there is also the grid pattern matrix you can see on the lowest brightness on the same gray wallpaper. ALL of them are more visible on the Super Amoled screens, just try to get one that is not very noticable.
if you got all those 3 perfectly " with no dead pixels or stuck pixels. then your phone worth alot.
i sold my galaxy S USED more than i bought it NEW because of these effects when i mentioned them to the buyer and he saw with his own eyes the difference. plus it didnt have single scratch on the whole phone so it was like a brand new.

nit picking, there basically the same

rashad1 said:
nit picking, there basically the same
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No one's nitpicking. It's a matter of what you're willing to settle for. I paid my 580.00 for a phone to display the colors correctly. I didn't pay that much for the display to change colors just because I lower the brightness.

rashad1 said:
nit picking, there basically the same
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it's hard to show what i'm talking about in the picture, but in person (picture was taken with iphone 4, so it wont show that much), it is very noticeable if the two are side by side.

tks989 said:
in your pix... no to wallpapers are alike
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ya, after i took pics, i realized they were not on the same page on the home screen.

This is a very common issue on the Galaxy S phones too. Different suppliers are used in the manufacturing process resulting in some screens with warmer color temps, and others with cooler ones. The Engadget review of the Nexus S specifically called out a warmer temp by the way.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Dumb question, but did you verify that the brightness levels in settings are set to the same values? Or at least compared the two phones when at the lowest and highest settings?

vroomr4 said:
Dumb question, but did you verify that the brightness levels in settings are set to the same values? Or at least compared the two phones when at the lowest and highest settings?
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ya, i actually made sure they were both brightest, and when they are both on the lowest, you can tell one of them displays brighter whites. But the first one I had was worse than the one I have in the pictures on the left, it's hard to notice that you have a screen that does not produce nice whites, unless you see another nexus s that does a better job.

I actually like the ones on the left, the ones on the right crush the blacks, resulting in basically everything washed out, even if it "looks" better to you, it isn't from a calibrator prospective.

The Evo 4G had the same thing going on with its display. HTC used 2 different Manufacturers for the screen, One Novatec, One Was Epson. I believe the Novatec panel had darker colors (warmer?) resulting in more of a purplish color on blacks (what ll_l_x_l_ll calls pink for whatever reason) While the epson didnt have any purplish tone, but most say had a washed out look.
I would say though that on the nexus S, probably 99% of them are going to have a little purplish effect on the lowest brightness setting. If the OPs brothers phone has no purplish color, that would be the first i have seen. Ive seen many many demo units, several video reviews, and even the 2.3 rom ported to other galaxy S phones, and they all have the "purplish" display.
All my whites on my phone are really white, and blacks are really black.
Only be concerned if your screen looks like this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=882862
That would definatley warrant an exchange, because they are NOT supposed to look like that.
My Screen looks better than his I9000 though too, but that could be his camera too washing out the colors a bit

Psosmith82 said:
The Evo 4G had the same thing going on with its display. HTC used 2 different Manufacturers for the screen, One Novatec, One Was Epson. I believe the Novatec panel had darker colors (warmer?) resulting in more of a purplish color on blacks (what ll_l_x_l_ll calls pink for whatever reason) While the epson didnt have any purplish tone, but most say had a washed out look.
I would say though that on the nexus S, probably 99% of them are going to have a little purplish effect on the lowest brightness setting. If the OPs brothers phone has no purplish color, that would be the first i have seen. Ive seen many many demo units, several video reviews, and even the 2.3 rom ported to other galaxy S phones, and they all have the "purplish" display.
All my whites on my phone are really white, and blacks are really black.
Only be concerned if your screen looks like this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=882862
That would definatley warrant an exchange, because they are NOT supposed to look like that.
My Screen looks better than his I9000 though too, but that could be his camera too washing out the colors a bit
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Yeah my camera isn't great, it was poor light but it was enough to show the difference.
My i9000 screen is pretty incredible, I'd be impressed if I saw one better.
Oddly though, you say that if it turns blue when the brightness is turned right up, it's a good screen - my Nexus S does that. But it's yellow when the brightness is low.
Personally I think I'm going to take your advice in another thread. I'm going to return this phone for a refund, enjoy using my i9000 for a while as it's now apparent that the screen is excellent (I never really had GPS issues either, so I'm pretty lucky), and go around stores when they have stock to find a screen that compares favourably against my i9000. I'm in a nice position that I can do a side-by-side comparison each time.

momohammed20 said:
it's hard to show what i'm talking about in the picture, but in person (picture was taken with iphone 4, so it wont show that much), it is very noticeable if the two are side by side.
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bazinga.
hit under the belt.

Why not load up Google site in the browser to do your comparison? That way its identical.

lol
So, I guess not many of you have ever messed around with the LCD monitor in front of you (if you have one).
Mine I can set to be a cool white or a warm white.
Here is the real problem... Your brother is smarter than you. You see, there is a difference maybe in the screens. But instead of him *****ing about it, he likely just said his was better. Thus leaving you with the **** screen.
The tables could have been turned if you would have said "HAHA your screen is broken, and mine is better" the second you found the screens were different. Then it would be him here all upset about the screen.
The things people ***** about on this form are just crazy. And no, I don't care about how much you spent on your phone. When you buy any product you should only have a expectation that it is usable, not perfect. And thats mostly because perfect is mostly opinion when it comes to things like this.
Also, this is a phone, not a pro display marked for having the most accurate color production.
What kills me most is the people who take phones back over and over for problems that only exist in their heads. All you are doing is raising the cost of phones and keeping them high for everybody else.

Super amoled plus display is Amazing :) :) :) :) :)

Ive had so many phones over the past year it unbelievable but the screen on the galaxy s2 is so much better than what they mention in reviews. Theres no friggin way this comes second to the iphone retina display, Resolution isnt everything.
I took a picture in the dark the other day without the flash by mistake so when i clicked to preview the image i though for a moment that my screen had turned of because of how true the blacks were. . Im sticking to Samsung for as long as they make phones because i am impressed with what they make, just a shame really that apple are having there products banned in some country's
Give your opinion It will be nice to see what all you think aswell?

dav08094194 said:
Ive had so many phones over the past year it unbelievable but the screen on the galaxy s2 is so much better than what they mention in reviews. Theres no friggin way this comes second to the iphone retina display, Resolution isnt everything.
I took a picture in the dark the other day without the flash by mistake so when i clicked to preview the image i though for a moment that my screen had turned of because of how true the blacks were. . Im sticking to Samsung for as long as they make phones because i am impressed with what they make, just a shame really that apple are having there products banned in some country's
Give your opinion It will be nice to see what all you think aswell?
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Click to collapse
yup! top notch screen. When they add high def to it..it will be scary!

Galaxy Note has the same type of screen, but with 1280 resolution

schriss said:
Galaxy Note has the same type of screen, but with 1280 resolution
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Click to collapse
Super AMOLED, not Super AMOLED Plus.
Quite a big difference, actually.

This display remindes me of old ferrari engines. The sound and the rev fantastic, a pleasure to drive, but some of them had early problems and the lifetime where actually quite low compared to others.
This display has great things, vivid colors, contrast and real blacks, the viewing angle... but some have yellowish tint or blue, strange paterns on grey or similar colours, and if you go and see the displays of S2 exposed on stores that stay on during days you can see the display doesnt live long withou shadows and yellow spots, and the known ghost problem...

Well, I don't experience any of these yet. Read that color tint was software problem. Anyway, my display needs to last 1-2 years max. After that I will be using new device.

schriss said:
Well, I don't experience any of these yet. Read that color tint was software problem. Anyway, my display needs to last 1-2 years max. After that I will be using new device.
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The colour tint isn't a software problem, but it can be "masked" by software so that it's not noticeable. Either way though, you're right. It is a great screen and other than resolution I can't see anything better about. It'll last me my contract for sure.

Lovely display. Better than anything out there. So happy to be an owner of S-AMOLED Plus.

I come from HTC Desire Z with Super LCD Plus screen. We used to compare it to my friend's iPhone 4 and found them to perform very close, with Desire Z having slightly richer colors.
But this Super Amoled Plus display is out of this world!

schriss said:
Galaxy Note has the same type of screen, but with 1280 resolution
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Click to collapse
Too big for me... I like how the 4.3" size fits perfect in my hand and let me do things. Adding 1inch makes the phone really big... I saw a review and the guy could barely hold it in his hand.

When I take a black photo and show it on the phone in the dark I can see the screen light up a little. Is this how it is supposed to be or is it just my phone?

yqed said:
Too big for me... I like how the 4.3" size fits perfect in my hand and let me do things. Adding 1inch makes the phone really big... I saw a review and the guy could barely hold it in his hand.
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Click to collapse
Yes it's not small, but some time ago I thought SGS2 is too big and I bought HTC Desire Z instead, yet I'm using SGS2 now ;-) Second - I have seen people holding the new Galaxy Tab 7.7 in one hand. I do realize Note is big, but it is still pocketable, while any other tab would not be. All my keys, money, IDs and devices need to fit in my pockets or belt case. That way I always have important stuff on me, no need for any bags which I could forget.
And because I rarely make any phone calls, using device mainly for web browsing or other things, I keep thinking about Galaxy Note

evenelia said:
When I take a black photo and show it on the phone in the dark I can see the screen light up a little. Is this how it is supposed to be or is it just my phone?
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same happens here too, and also with every AMOLED screen. i guess amoled blacks aren't really superblack

schriss said:
Yes it's not small, but some time ago I thought SGS2 is too big and I bought HTC Desire Z instead, yet I'm using SGS2 now ;-) Second - I have seen people holding the new Galaxy Tab 7.7 in one hand. I do realize Note is big, but it is still pocketable, while any other tab would not be. All my keys, money, IDs and devices need to fit in my pockets or belt case. That way I always have important stuff on me, no need for any bags which I could forget.
And because I rarely make any phone calls, using device mainly for web browsing or other things, I keep thinking about Galaxy Note
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Click to collapse
Galaxy S2 seems like normal size for me. Galaxy Note might not be that big.

Galaxy Note is gonna rock.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

Limpperi said:
same happens here too, and also with every AMOLED screen. i guess amoled blacks aren't really superblack
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Click to collapse
When you take a picture that is too dark, camera tries to adjust the brightness of the picture and add more exposure/brightness. If the picture is really black, your gs2 will show real black. The only phone display in the world that shows real black.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

pachi72 said:
Galaxy Note is gonna rock.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
for around 700-800 euros it bloody should rock too mate its an exspensive bit of kit its more high end tab prices then high end phone prices from what i have read on gsm arena

I guess I have big hands, I can easily hold and operate S2 with either hand. So I guess I can probably do the same with Note, albeit a bit awkwardly.
Also it's not true black. Make a black pic with photoshop, load it on your screen and go to a dark room, and you'll see.

jzmtl said:
I guess I have big hands, I can easily hold and operate S2 with either hand. So I guess I can probably do the same with Note, albeit a bit awkwardly.
Also it's not true black. Make a black pic with photoshop, load it on your screen and go to a dark room, and you'll see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download "Screen test" from market. There is a pure black picture to check dead/stuck pixels. On my screen in complete darkness it is so perfectly black that i cant see my phone.

Super Amoled Plus is indeed amazing with its vibrant colours and contrast. What's more amazing is that at 4.3 inches it's really the perfect size (at least for me) as it is the maximum screen size where you can hold the phone nice and easy with one hand.

Galaxy S2 screen quality

I've just got a new S2. I thought my Desire was good but this is fantastic.
However an iPhone-owning friend took a look and said "the screen's not very white is it?" I compared it to his and he was right - very grey. But the brightness was set to auto, so I turned it up and it was a lot whiter. But then he said "it's very green". And there is a greenish tint.
So I compared it two two other (about 3 months old) S2s that people have at work (using the *#0*# tests).
And my screen is definitely inferior: less white and more off-colour. Yes I did check that the screen modes were the same (eg standard/dynamic/movie) and that the brightnesses were the same. None of the phones had screen protectors on.
I know sometimes there are differences in screens, often because they're sourced from more than one manufacturer. But I thought Samsung made these screens?
So in essence, the screen on my phone seems to be worse than others, and markedly less good than my pal's iphone - for which I will get no end of ribbing!
Is this a common trait? Am I seeing things? Should I return it?
Love the phone otherwise. FYI it's brand new on Virgin Mobile in the UK and is running 2.3.4.

astromark said:
I've just got a new S2. I thought my Desire was good but this is fantastic.
However an iPhone-owning friend took a look and said "the screen's not very white is it?" I compared it to his and he was right - very grey. But the brightness was set to auto, so I turned it up and it was a lot whiter. But then he said "it's very green". And there is a greenish tint.
So I compared it two two other (about 3 months old) S2s that people have at work (using the *#0*# tests).
And my screen is definitely inferior: less white and more off-colour. Yes I did check that the screen modes were the same (eg standard/dynamic/movie) and that the brightnesses were the same. None of the phones had screen protectors on.
I know sometimes there are differences in screens, often because they're sourced from more than one manufacturer. But I thought Samsung made these screens?
So in essence, the screen on my phone seems to be worse than others, and markedly less good than my pal's iphone - for which I will get no end of ribbing!
Is this a common trait? Am I seeing things? Should I return it?
Love the phone otherwise. FYI it's brand new on Virgin Mobile in the UK and is running 2.3.4.
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Click to collapse
Try updating to one of the 2.3.5 based roms and I would definitely recommend trying out supercurio's "Voodoo Screen" app from the market(combine this with the movie preset found in settings->display->screen mode) as well. Just compared my SGS2 to an iPhone 4S and I'm really glad I didn't make the switch, as while the latter does have an edge when it comes to screen resolution, the former more than makes up for it with its 4.3 inch super amoled plus display. The iPhone's browser was a little bit faster, and the camera better, but I still I preferred the SGS2. Once it gets ICS it'll be absolutely amazing.

No don't set the screen to the movie preset AND use Supercurio's app at the same time !
But You'r right set it to the movie preset the screen will be more color-respective

Supercurio's app is great although still in progress. I'm also used Screen Adjuster to compensate for the greenish hue (red is set to +2 and blue to +5.
I ran into another application yesterday here on xda that let's you adjust sharpness and hue... let me see if I can find it again.
Edit: this app. Haven't tried it yet. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1366280
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

minidou-77 said:
No don't set the screen to the movie preset AND use Supercurio's app at the same time !
But You'r right set it to the movie preset the screen will be more color-respective
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Click to collapse
Why not? Looks a lot better than it does on standard.

You have to understand that the screen technologies used in each phone is different.
The iPhone uses an IPS screen.
The Galaxy S II uses a Super AMOLED Plus screen. It's not very good at handling whites, but it has the advantage that it doesnt need any power to show black pixels (unlike the iPhone), so its more black and more efficient at showing blacks.

Great replies, thanks all.
Since posting stijnr, I've got Screen Adjuster on, and interestingly my settings aren't a million miles from yours, red +4, blue +6. One thing I do miss from the Desire is the optical track button - I'm finding adjusting things that need a little bit of input to be quite tricky on the touchscreen.
Toss3 you made me laugh, not intentionally I'm sure! I will flash a new rom at some point - god knows how many I got through on the Desire - but I will spend a few weeks appreciating this stock ROM! Best thing about Virgin Mobile is it's non-branded and as Samsung shipped it. Not even any logos on the case.
Good point kwazi on the different screen technologies. But that doesn't explain different S2s having different display characteristics. Anyway I'd rather have this larger screen - the iphone screen may be beautiful but it looks very... small these days for what is a premium handset.
I'll check out some other S2s in stores in the next couple of days. If this is what they're shipping I'll live with it. If it's a 50/50 chance of the other screen I might try my luck.

Most of the viewing on our smartphones involves looking at whites, webpages for example, NOT blacks. And the Iphone 4 displays superior whites than the Galaxy s II.

I've gotten to the point where I think I would be happier with an regular lcd screen.
While the tech is nice in Super Amoled Plus, the quality and consistency of the display that's being manufactured is all over the place.

astromark said:
I've just got a new S2. I thought my Desire was good but this is fantastic.
However an iPhone-owning friend took a look and said "the screen's not very white is it?" I compared it to his and he was right - very grey. But the brightness was set to auto, so I turned it up and it was a lot whiter. But then he said "it's very green". And there is a greenish tint.
So I compared it two two other (about 3 months old) S2s that people have at work (using the *#0*# tests).
And my screen is definitely inferior: less white and more off-colour. Yes I did check that the screen modes were the same (eg standard/dynamic/movie) and that the brightnesses were the same. None of the phones had screen protectors on.
I know sometimes there are differences in screens, often because they're sourced from more than one manufacturer. But I thought Samsung made these screens?
So in essence, the screen on my phone seems to be worse than others, and markedly less good than my pal's iphone - for which I will get no end of ribbing!
Is this a common trait? Am I seeing things? Should I return it?
Love the phone otherwise. FYI it's brand new on Virgin Mobile in the UK and is running 2.3.4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're comparing apples to oranges here. iPhone uses IPS technology, while Galaxy S 2 uses SAMOLED +. You're going to see differrnces between them. Personally, I wouldn't worry about the differences, or even see them as drawbacks; as each display has it's strengths and weaknesses. Industry standard resolution for most smartphones is 800x480, which is quite good on a screen size of 4" or larger.
Next time your friend pokes you about your display, remind him that his iPhone is still 3g device.
Sent from my Samsung SGH-i777 using XDA Premium.

wrenchmonkey26 said:
You're comparing apples to oranges here.
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no, he's comparing apples and desserts, not oranges!

I compared SGS and SGSII with auto brightness and manual lowest setting.
SGS brightness with auto or lowest setting is at cca 50% brightness level on SGSII, I think Samsung sets brightness range quite down for saving battery life and users dont have to use Screen Filter app in the night
But imho auto brightness is low for me - at the edge of usability.

I remember when I first got this phone about 10 months ago, the greenish/blueish tint was so very much visible on the screen. Even when the screen is off, I can see a shade of blue on the reflection of the screen. But then it gradually "wear off" until the green tint disappear completely after about a week later. I don't know if it really disappear or just me being used to it. Or maybe after I update it to 2.3.4, 2.3.5, 2.3.6, I just can't tell. But I certainly feel it's not there anymore.

[Q] [???] WTF with the amoled matrix???

Prerequisites for the test:
1. Wallpaper with black background;
2. Screen Filter from Market with 6-8% of brightness;
3. Camera shoot settings: ISO 100, 30 sec, manual focus.
Result:

There have been reports of black spots when displaying dark grey or black backgrounds. It's a phenomenon that's been around on amoled displays for a couple years. Not a big deal unless you do a lot of black and dark grey viewing.

EX3cutor said:
Prerequisites for the test:
1. Wallpaper with black background;
2. Screen Filter from Market with 6-8% of brightness;
3. Camera shoot settings: ISO 100, 30 sec, manual focus.
Result:
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Click to collapse
I have no idea if that is supposed to be normal with the SuperAMOLED screens but when I had my Galaxy S1, I really had to look hard in a totally dark room to even see a slight faint glow.. it was extremely uniform and no black blotches, same goes for my Samsung Wave.
Incoming wall of text-
The Galaxy S2 was a combo breaker though, I had a total of 3 replacements the first one really had great blacks.. in a totally dark room I had to put the phone THAT close to my face even to see the faint glow, but that screen had some yellow tinting, 2nd and 3rd replacement had random blotch spots and the 3rd one was even noticeable even with minimal ambient light.
My Galaxy Note also has those blotches but they are very very small and I cant see them with my normal movie viewing in my room before I sleep, Try to have it replaced if it bothers you, it looks like an eyesore for me but dont let my expectations be yours.

EarlZ said:
My Galaxy Note also has those blotches but they are very very small and I cant see them with my normal movie viewing in my room before I sleep, Try to have it replaced if it bothers you, it looks like an eyesore for me but dont let my expectations be yours.
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Click to collapse
I think they all do this. I see this every now and then in a very dark room.
I guess try not to have a seizure and have your eyes lock open for 30 seconds, and you'll be alright. jk
- Frank

I've had this on SGS2 , now I have it on my Note
It's not a big deal for me , I saw these spots twice in a month,so it doesn't bather me , the screen looks amazing all the time

ChodTheWacko said:
I think they all do this. I see this every now and then in a very dark room.
I guess try not to have a seizure and have your eyes lock open for 30 seconds, and you'll be alright. jk
- Frank
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Click to collapse
I dont know if all the notes are affected with this but my Galaxy S1, Samsung Wave and first Galaxy S2 didnt have this issue. Absolutely deep dark blacks as if they were really off with extremely minimal but uniform glow. I was devastated to see it on my 2nd and 3rd S2.
It maybe normal for some but since my expectation was set high with the Galaxy S1 and Wave its not normal for me but on my note its so minimal that its not worth the risk of replacement.
But you know if all of us would be vigilant in not accepting these things, samsung might just step up the quality control with this but IDK if its worth the inconvenience.

EarlZ said:
I dont know if all the notes are affected with this but my Galaxy S1, Samsung Wave and first Galaxy S2 didnt have this issue. Absolutely deep dark blacks as if they were really off with extremely minimal but uniform glow. I was devastated to see it on my 2nd and 3rd S2.
It maybe normal for some but since my expectation was set high with the Galaxy S1 and Wave its not normal for me but on my note its so minimal that its not worth the risk of replacement.
But you know if all of us would be vigilant in not accepting these things, samsung might just step up the quality control with this but IDK if its worth the inconvenience.
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Click to collapse
i'm kind of feeling the same way. my galaxy s doesn't have any of these blotches or glowing blacks. i bought and returned a galaxy s2 LTE because of this reason. just purchased a note and am awaiting shipment. I hope it is something i can live with. i watch a lot of videos / netflix before falling asleep, and that is when it is really noticeable.

Well if you had an LCD the backlight glow would be much more than that is.
Go look at an iPad in the dark with a "black" screen, then come back and complain about the Note (remember, everything Apple does is the best of the best).
Yes mine glows too, and I have a 2 inch dark line by the left edge seen in pitch dark room too. The larger these panels get, the harder they are to get "perfect". If they only released truly perfect panels, the Note would probably cost $1600 as the reject rate would be super high.
MyZune HD had this too (that is the first time I "freaked out" about it, then realized that most do this and it isn't too bad when displaying something). I just chalk it up to OLED tech being kind of new still. As long as it isn't noticeable in images, and as long as I don't have any bad pixels I don't freak out about it anymore.

rnewton01 said:
i'm kind of feeling the same way. my galaxy s doesn't have any of these blotches or glowing blacks. i bought and returned a galaxy s2 LTE because of this reason. just purchased a note and am awaiting shipment. I hope it is something i can live with. i watch a lot of videos / netflix before falling asleep, and that is when it is really noticeable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have it replaced if it bothers you, if you decide to just live with it then it means your OK with samsung selling you faulty or out of spec products.
DaveC1964 said:
Well if you had an LCD the backlight glow would be much more than that is.
Go look at an iPad in the dark with a "black" screen, then come back and complain about the Note (remember, everything Apple does is the best of the best).
Yes mine glows too, and I have a 2 inch dark line by the left edge seen in pitch dark room too. The larger these panels get, the harder they are to get "perfect". If they only released truly perfect panels, the Note would probably cost $1600 as the reject rate would be super high.
MyZune HD had this too (that is the first time I "freaked out" about it, then realized that most do this and it isn't too bad when displaying something). I just chalk it up to OLED tech being kind of new still. As long as it isn't noticeable in images, and as long as I don't have any bad pixels I don't freak out about it anymore.
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True the bigger the panels the more defects it can possibly have, hence the 4" SGS1 and 3.5" Samsung wave never had these issues.
But we also have to consider that the blotches are out of spec and considering that the screen is one of the best selling feature on the screen but its also its biggest weakness to have such issues even how minor it is.

EarlZ said:
But you know if all of us would be vigilant in not accepting these things, samsung might just step up the quality control with this but IDK if its worth the inconvenience.
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It's a tough line to draw, isn't it?
Part of the problem here is the Note is a new device, and I do hope enough people accept its quirks for it to succeed. I'm not asking anyone too, but I do hope they do. If there was a viable alternative then I would be more willing to be picky. But as I said in another thread, choose what device gives you the overall best experience, and live with its deficiencies.
Currently the note is that device for me, so I can ignore stuff like this. (helps that it doesn't happen much.). If this issue is really detracting from your enjoyment - then by all means, return it.
But the main point of my post was - this is a common problem, so I wouldn't return it expecting to get a better one.
- Frank

ChodTheWacko said:
It's a tough line to draw, isn't it?
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Very tough especially no other device comes remotely close.
ChodTheWacko said:
Part of the problem here is the Note is a new device, and I do hope enough people accept its quirks for it to succeed. I'm not asking anyone too, but I do hope they do.
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Acceptance is a double edge sword, we accept the quirks at the same time Samsung can just slack on QC.
ChodTheWacko said:
If there was a viable alternative then I would be more willing to be picky. But as I said in another thread, choose what device gives you the overall best experience, and live with its deficiencies.
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Yeah, no other alternative device.. LG could pull off something like this but their software end is gonna suck big time!
ChodTheWacko said:
But the main point of my post was - this is a common problem, so I wouldn't return it expecting to get a better one.
- Frank
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Not everyone has the same level of expectation though, on my end Im just luck the black spots are extremely small that Id have to really look for them.

I think the important thing here is the extremely low Screen Filter settings the OP used. I don't think you can really pick fault with a device when you're using it at a brightness well below normal use or the manufacturers intentions.

So I got to play with an S4 today...

... Not enough to make me regret my purchase of the HTC One.
My previous phone was a S3, which I absolutely loved and had me seriously excited about the S4. However, holding the one I knew which one to go for. Had my one for about 2 weeks now, and I love it but had that niggling worry that I'd regret my decision.
Today, that worry was cleared up.
The Samsung rep visited us today with an s4. and I got to play with it for a short while. Yes, the ability to interact with the screen without touching it is pretty cool, but apart from the lock screen I started getting frustrated with it (kept touching the screen). The health app is very nice, and laid out really well, but like many of the other features, its just not something I need or want.
The actual UI felt laggy, like it was running slower that 24fps. Switching through home pages on both devices at the same time and it just looked smoother on the One. The Samsung rep said he felt otherwise but he is paid to say that
The screen on the S4, in my opinion is much nicer than the one on my One. Granted, the One has quite a dark coloured interface and the S4 has a very colourful vibrant interface, but I just felt the colours were much more alive than on the One.
The build quality is nice on the S4, with all completely uniform gaps around the device, where as the one has gaps etc. However, the S4 does indeed feel cheap to hold. The texture of the plastic doesn't feel amazing, the weight is nice but just lacks that... premium feel.
I know most of these points (if not all) have been covered on reviews etc. but I thought it might be nice to put my 2 pence in as a HTC One owner and previous Samsung user. I do not regret my purchase and still feel I have bought the better device for my own needs and wants.
raty

cool story bro

For balance just to say my One has no gaps, perfect build.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium

Post on s4 forums .

To be fair I'd love a display with a bezel like the S4 but wouldn't sacrifice the quality of the screen in the One for a S4 display.

The thing is..the screen on the S4 is OLED so the colours will look far more vibrant but, they wont be accurate and its a pentile display. I am quite keen to get my hands on an S4 just to see what its like.

I would say the HTC One is like a Rolls Royce Phantom and the S4 like a Nissan GTR.

Goof choice. I was on deciding which phone to get for a month. Chose the HTC one . Boom sound is awesome. Sense is pretttyyyyy compared to touchwiz. For 649 vs 750 for a s4, it was a no brainer for me. Also im going to sell hundreds of s4 throughout this year anyways lol
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium

gavinfabl said:
I would say the HTC One is like a Rolls Royce Phantom and the S4 like a Nissan GTR.
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I hope note as I would prefer the GTR
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium

Some nice info there mate! I think the only thing i prefer on the S4 is the AMOLED display.
Can i ask a question? Before i do, i know the S4 has improved ALOT on the PPI on the display, however, when i had the S3 i also had my One X, when holding them together, the screen on the One X was such much clearer! Much harder to see the Pixels, but on the S3 the pixels stood out like a sore thumb? Was this something you noticed on the S4 compared to the One? Or have they dramatically improved on this and its now similar to HTC? This is something i would like to know.

My HTC One has no gaps at all.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

dobknobby said:
Some nice info there mate! I think the only thing i prefer on the S4 is the AMOLED display.
Can i ask a question? Before i do, i know the S4 has improved ALOT on the PPI on the display, however, when i had the S3 i also had my One X, when holding them together, the screen on the One X was such much clearer! Much harder to see the Pixels, but on the S3 the pixels stood out like a sore thumb? Was this something you noticed on the S4 compared to the One? Or have they dramatically improved on this and its now similar to HTC? This is something i would like to know.
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I was curious about this too, as I had hopes AMOLED had been improved. But honestly I see the same flaws as on earlier iterations:
Dirty whites (turquoise), even in film mode (early measurements reported accurate color temperature, but if you look at it, it is clear that RGB balance is off) - most colorimeters can't measure OLED correctly.
Quite a bit dimmer than the best LCD displays
Discoloration with off axis viewing
Are you sure you prefer the AMOLED screen? I have had an AMOLED for the last 2 years and I can't look at them anymore. AMOLED were OK when LCD's were dimmer, but now the gap is huge.
Honestly, if you can, try browsing the same web pages in parallel on the S4 and the One. It is literally "night and day". It doesn't need to be outdoor. Even in the store the HTC One's screen strikes you as the more vibrant one. I will likely be measuring the S4's screen myself because I don't believe those early measurements that showed a 6500K color temperature. The screen has a green push even in film mode...
---------- Post added at 02:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:53 AM ----------
ratykat said:
The actual UI felt laggy, like it was running slower that 24fps. Switching through home pages on both devices at the same time and it just looked smoother on the One. The Samsung rep said he felt otherwise but he is paid to say that
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I also saw that!!! I was very surprised by this considering my S2 had a smooth experience. I don't know if the overclocking created voltage throttling but it was as you said, laggy and reminded me of the HTC One X when it first started. The browsing experience was horrible.

Are people here actually really paying attention to the S4 screen characteristics?
Firstly, pentile is IRRELEVANT at this PPI.
Second, colour accuracy is good and excellent in the Adobe RGB and Movie modes respectively. Whites are FAR more accurate than the HTC One.
Maximum brightness is less than the One, however sunlight legibility is essentially equivalent due to decreased screen reflectance.
Some fresh reading at Display Mate about it, for those who aren't satisfied with the several 'early' measurements taken by a number of sites.
I know everyone in this forum wants to straight up believe the HTC One has a far superior screen, but it just ain't so folks. Don't get me wrong, the One also has a truly excellent screen, but I just don't see its screen as being a selling point or differentiator in comparison to the S4 screen (neither do I think the S4 screen should be used as a rationale to buy an S4 over an HTC, they're both excellent).

The new oled screen in the S4 is amazingly good. It's actually far superior to the S3 screen.
I played with it on Sunday and I like it.
It's really nice and it will definately sell really well. I love the fact that they added easy mode. This will be such a great way to get noobies to switch to a smartphone($$).
I still prefer the One and I hope it does well. I feel like the One is meant for a different type of user. Samsung is for the mass and the HTC is for those who care.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

NZtechfreak said:
Are people here actually really paying attention to the S4 screen characteristics?
Firstly, pentile is IRRELEVANT at this PPI.
Second, colour accuracy is good and excellent in the Adobe RGB and Movie modes respectively. Whites are FAR more accurate than the HTC One.
Maximum brightness is less than the One, however sunlight legibility is essentially equivalent due to decreased screen reflectance.
Some fresh reading at Display Mate about it, for those who aren't satisfied with the several 'early' measurements taken by a number of sites.
I know everyone in this forum wants to straight up believe the HTC One has a far superior screen, but it just ain't so folks. Don't get me wrong, the One also has a truly excellent screen, but I just don't see its screen as being a selling point or differentiator in comparison to the S4 screen (neither do I think the S4 screen should be used as a rationale to buy an S4 over an HTC, they're both excellent).
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I have seen the display mate contribution. I like their approach but I don't agree with their conclusions (and it should be noted they have been fierce promoters of OLED displays since the Galaxy S came about).
For one, they fail to mention that even though the measured white color temperature is close to 6500K, the whites actually suffer from greenish cast - so pentile does matter, as there is a discoloration depending on how you look at the screen, and sadly, looking straight at the screen shows a turquoise veil whereas looking more from the side seemed to clean the screen a little from its dirty whites.
Second, the auto-adjust brightness feature taxes the battery so much that no one in their right mind will use it on the go.
When measuring pentile OLED displays it is important to note:
The orientation of the meter has an impact on the measurement, especially on screens with asymmetric structure such as pentile screens...this is something that I would like to quantify on the S4 when I get a chance
Colorimeters will not measure OLED displays correctly out of the box (this point is not relevant here, though, because I think Displaymate used CS-200 spectrophotometer)
So the theory is one thing, but the practice is completely different story. Please believe me that when I saw the measurements made by Displaymate and others I was quite enthusiastic (my S2 does not track as accurately). But while testing both screens in a real life situation, it became very clear to me the AMOLED screen did not live up to its alleged qualities, even in film mode.
Regarding peak brightness, HTC One also has an adaptative brightness mechanism with peak brightness at 530cd/m², but in daily use it is more around 460cd/m². Regardless, the lack of brightness is not totally offset by the better reflectance value, so OLED displays still are poorer performers outdoor and it is even worse indoor under moderate lightning as the S4 does not tap into its peak brightness at any time...
So my question to you. Have you been to a shop to compare both devices and if so, can you in good faith maintain that the HTC One's display does not trounce the S4's AMOLED? The difference was shocking to me. At first I thought it was down to my particular unit but seeing as someone is reporting the same experience, I think this is the screen as it is on any S4 device.

hello00 said:
cool story bro
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wow really?

NZtechfreak said:
Are people here actually really paying attention to the S4 screen characteristics?
Firstly, pentile is IRRELEVANT at this PPI.
Second, colour accuracy is good and excellent in the Adobe RGB and Movie modes respectively. Whites are FAR more accurate than the HTC One.
Maximum brightness is less than the One, however sunlight legibility is essentially equivalent due to decreased screen reflectance.
Some fresh reading at Display Mate about it, for those who aren't satisfied with the several 'early' measurements taken by a number of sites.
I know everyone in this forum wants to straight up believe the HTC One has a far superior screen, but it just ain't so folks. Don't get me wrong, the One also has a truly excellent screen, but I just don't see its screen as being a selling point or differentiator in comparison to the S4 screen (neither do I think the S4 screen should be used as a rationale to buy an S4 over an HTC, they're both excellent).
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That's true, I wouldn't even bother nitpicking on S4's screen. The only concern could be AMOLED tends to deteriorate faster(which is impossible to tell right now), otherwise I don't see a big con on S4 screen. I feel more comfortable with LCD but hey , a well-calibrated AMOLED isn't bad at all. it's just about preference.
Honestly, if anyone could tell a difference between 440/460 ppi, or even 720p/1080p on a phone, and I'll consider you the "God's eye". I got a phone with 330 ppi (darn it was good at that time) three months ago, and I could not easily tell the difference from my nexus7(~220ppi).

puremind said:
So my question to you. Have you been to a shop to compare both devices and if so, can you in good faith maintain that the HTC One's display does not trounce the S4's AMOLED? The difference was shocking to me. At first I thought it was down to my particular unit but seeing as someone is reporting the same experience, I think this is the screen as it is on any S4 device.
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Hopefully tomorrow! I'm meant to be getting my HTC One this afternoon unless Fedex fails me (usually they are very reliable here in NZ, so I'm hoping not). I get my S4 tomorrow.

NZtechfreak said:
Are people here actually really paying attention to the S4 screen characteristics?
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Click to collapse
Don't forget the common issue with ugly screen burn in that most people experience with AMOLED from Samsung, pretty big issue as its a matter of when not if and sometimes happening inside of a month, don't even need your screen on for this to happen.
Noidea why this hasn't been mentioned and really should be on the side of the box as a warning.

patato2 said:
That's true, I wouldn't even bother nitpicking on S4's screen. The only concern could be AMOLED tends to deteriorate faster(which is impossible to tell right now), otherwise I don't see a big con on S4 screen. I feel more comfortable with LCD but hey , a well-calibrated AMOLED isn't bad at all. it's just about preference.
Honestly, if anyone could tell a difference between 440/460 ppi, or even 720p/1080p on a phone, and I'll consider you the "God's eye". I got a phone with 330 ppi (darn it was good at that time) three months ago, and I could not easily tell the difference from my nexus7(~220ppi).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pentile doesn't matter so much because of resolution but more because of the greenish discoloration it produces. Dynamic or Film mode has no impact, it is just an inherent flaw. Sure you can get used to it but you come back to an LCD screen you realize what you have been missing out on.