For a big chunk of the day, you’ll be looking at a phone’s screen. So it goes without saying that a phone’s display is its most important part, just as eyes are typically the most sensory organ. Visuals are everything to living beings, after all. So, yearning for smartphones with the best display is a given for some people.
Because if you’re going to ruin your posture and eye health by looking at a phone, you might as well look something pretty and perhaps can give you the least amount of headaches with its clarity and color accuracy. We do have to warn you though, smartphones with the best display can get rather expensive as good screens are some of the costliest components in most electronics.
Still, you’ll be seeing it every day or practically every hour, sometimes in prolong periods. Treat your eyes to some eye candy with these smartphones with the best display.
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Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
PROS
- High brightness leads to better battery savings and image quality
- 6.8 inches
- Minimalist design
- Comes with an S Pen stylus
- Impressive camera
- Good battery life
CONS
- Base model only has 8GB of RAM
- Expensive
- Samsung bloatware
Features:
- 1750 nits of brightness
- Android 13.0
- 6.8 inches
- 1440 x 3088
Brightness is one of the best measurements for a phone’s screen quality. Because it’s a cascading factor that also translates to better battery life and image clarity. For that matter, the latest Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is still the top dog here.
More than 1000 nits of brightness is nothing to scoff at, and the pixel density is good enough that you likely won’t notice the difference with the latest iPhone unless you squint. More importantly, the screen is bigger at 6.8 inches compared to the usual 6.6 or 6.7 from most phones.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
iPhone 14 Pro Max
PROS
- Staggeringly high brightness
- Beautiful Retina screen
- Minimalist design
- Good camera
- High brightness leads to better battery savings and image quality
- Good battery life
- Simpler software
CONS
- Expensive
- Low RAM on base models
Features:
- 2000 nits of brightness
- Apple iOS 16
- 6.7 inches
- 1290 x 2796
Of course, if you want something that’s more akin to jewelry, there’s always Apple’s iPhones and its eye-catching Retina displays which are proprietary tech. These are OLED screens similar to Samsung and they do have slightly lower resolution.
However, Apple’s simplicity and capacity of the Retina display to push to nearly 2000 nits under a certain configuration makes it the most appealing option for outdoor use (at the cost of battery, of course). You’ll have no trouble messaging someone during high noon while outdoors.
iPhone 14 Pro Max
OPPO Find N2 Flip
PROS
- Folding structure adds more porability
- Added screen protection due to fold
- Cover display is also good
- Good conversation starter
- Crease isn't too visible compared to other brands
CONS
- Expensive
- Low RAM on base model
Features:
- 1600 nits of brightness
- Android 13.0
- 7.1 inches
- 1080 x 2520
The problem with traditional smartphone screens is that they tend to be bulky due since they’re tall or lengthy. So if you want portability and also a beautiful screen, then the Oppo Find N2 Flip is our recommendation. The Samsung Galaxy Fold models are also good but the crease is too visible.
Meanwhile, the Oppo Find N2 gets high praises for having the least visible crease out of all the folding phones, currently. Pixel density is not the greatest but the brightness is only slightly lower than Samsung’s current flagship.
OPPO Find N2 Flip
Sony Xperia 1 IV
PROS
- Base model has 12 GB of RAM
- 4K resolution
- Good camera for video capture
- Pixel density is hard to beat
- Minimalist design
CONS
- Expensive
- Brightness isn't too competitive
Features:
- Around 1000 nits of brightness
- Android 13.0
- 6.5 inches
- 1644 x 3840
It doesn’t have the highest brightness out of all the flagship Android phones, but the Sony Xperia 1 IV makes up for it by having a 4K display, that’s the kind of pixel density that’s hard to beat even this year. That means touch precision is top-notch and text or image clarity is at its finest.
The screen size is a bit smaller and the naming scheme is questionable, but everything else here is excellent from the camera to the OLED screen with amazing color accuracy and contrast. It’s expensive, of course, but it’s more fair with RAM compared to other phone models here.
Sony Xperia 1 IV
Oppo Find X6 Pro
PROS
- Aggressive specs and pricing
- Better pixel density than Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
- Highest brightness out of all our options here
- High brightness leads to better battery savings and image quality
- 6.82 inches
- Good battery life
- Base model comes with 12 GB of RAM
CONS
- Bulky rear camera
- Expensive
Features:
- 2500 nits of brightness
- Android 13.0
- 6.82 inches
- 1440 x 3168
For all your brightness needs, then move on over to Oppo’s flagship, the Oppo Find X6 Pro. It has a whopping 2500 nits of brightness, higher than even an iPhone 14 Pro Max! The screen size is also around the same as the Samsung flagship and pixel density is slightly better.
It’s an aggressively competitive option– even the RAM for base models is better than the other brands. And this is the phone you’ll want to get if you need the latest chipset as it comes with Snapdeagon 8 Gen 2.
Oppo Find X6 Pro
Frequently Asked Questions
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Are smartphone displays resistant to shock?
If they are flagship models, then you can rest assured that they're better equipped to deal with typical unintended punishment from its users. Regular drops and bumps likely won't dent or crack the screen. Still, they're expensive and we wouldn't recommend carrying them around bare. -
Why are smartphone displays expensive?
Because they the flagship models now typically come with OLED panels which are expensive to make but offer the best color accuracy, responsiveness, and contrast.