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Galaxy Note 7 tops every other phone display ever, testing firm says

Samsung's soon-to-be-released phone-tablet hybrid scores "very good" to "excellent" in virtually all measures of its display, according to DisplayMate.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney
2 min read
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The Galaxy Note 7 earns high praise for its display quality.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Consumers looking for the highest display quality in a smartphone will find it in Samsung's Galaxy Note 7, according to a new report.

Set for release on August 19, the Note 7 is Samsung's latest phablet, equipped with a 5.7-inch, 2,560x1,440 pixel Quad-HD Super AMOLED screen. The device features a curved screen that bends around the corners of both sides. The curved edges can be both viewed and controlled from the front or the sides.

The screen quality has caught the eye of DisplayMate President Raymond Soneira, who tested and ranked it for a Technology Shoot-Out released Tuesday.

Smartphone buyers typically look at a variety of features when choosing a phone, but screen quality should arguably be at the top of the list. It is critical because it determines text readability, photo and graphics appearance, and the ability to function well in bright sunlight and other less-than-favorable conditions.

Putting the Note 7's display through its paces, Soneira found a host of stand-out features.

Most smartphones and tablets offer just a single color mode with no way to change it, for example. But the Note 7 offers four color modes that the user can control. Via the AMOLED Cinema mode, for instance, the Note 7 can display the latest high-end 4K video content found on 4K Ultra HD televisions.

The Galaxy Note 7 meets or surpasses display performance for widest color gamut, meaning the range of colors that can be reproduced. The device also achieves high marks for peak brightness, highest contrast ratio and lowest screen "reflectance," among other attributes.

"Almost every display lab test and measurement shows some improvements compared to the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S7," Soneira noted.

The final verdict?

"The Galaxy Note 7 provides many major and important state-of-the-art display enhancements, with mobile OLED display technology now advancing faster than ever," Soneira said. "The Galaxy Note 7 is the most innovative and high-performance smartphone display that we have ever tested."