Sony Xperia Z1
The Z1 comes with a 5-inch, 1080p (441-ppi) LCD display that you are most likely to fall in love with. The display is enhanced by Sony's proprietary X-Reality Engine and is built on the OptiContrast design (it eliminates the air gap between the glass and the screen, which reduces glare).
With Z1, Sony also seeks to distinguish itself from both the competition and its predecessors. Trickling down from the Bravia HDTV unit, the Z1 benefits from a Triluminos display, augmented with X-Reality for mobile image and video processing. There's even an Intelligent Super Resolution technology that tries to fill in missing pixels in lower-resolution video.
Some improvements in Z1 includes the 'Triluminous' display technology that Sony plonks into its high-end TVs, which apparently improves colour and brightness. While that's mostly marketing nonsense, there's no denying that it's a great screen.
However, despite all this, the Z1's display is a letdown as the smartphone is said to suffer from poor viewing angles and faded blacks, or amazing sharpness. The Xperia Z1's screen looks fantastic when viewed head-on, but like so many Sony phones, tilting the device in any direction will quickly distort the colors. However, holding the phone directly in front of you, will give you bright whites, good colors, and near pitch blacks. Sony's “X Reality for Mobile” software also kicks into action when viewing movies and photos, boosting contrast and reducing visible noise. Still, seeing the Z1 sitting side by side with Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 really puts the Sony phone to shame.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
The Galaxy Note 3 comes with a full-HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels packing 386 pixels per inch. Like Galaxy S4, the Galaxy Note 3 uses a PenTile ‘diamond' display, which means that the sub-pixels are arranged into a diamond shape. It could be a problem with a smartphone with a lower-resolution screen, but but here the 386 ppi pixel density is high enough to make it a non-issue. This is a super-sharp screen despite being oversized.
Just like the Galaxy S4, Samsung offers the Note 3 with an Adapt Display, which optimises colours as per the ambient light conditions. You can choose between four manual modes (Dynamic, Standard, Professional Photo and Movie) and automatic modes if you select the Adapt Display option. The phone also offers the option to adjust the screen tone automatically to conserve battery power.
Overall, the Note 3's display is best among the Note series. The screen renders clear and sharp text and images, along with vibrant colours. Browsing the web is also a pleasant experience. And as is the case with any good OLED-type screen, contrast and black levels are excellent in the Galaxy Note 3.
The most striking point of the Galaxy Note 3's screen, is the digitiser layer. You can't see it, but makes the S Pen stylus work. It provides the capacitive screen with greater sensitivity and precision: the harder you press the stylus, the thicker your “ink.”
