Display in sunlight

[45Shield]

I have a S9+ and an iPhone SE. The Galaxy is supposed to have a better screen, which it does, except in sunlight. No matter what brightness level that it is on, it is much harder to see than the iPhone screen. Is that because of OLED vs LCD?

 

[Almeuit]

Do you have auto brightness on? Samsung is the king of displays in the sunlight.

 

[45Shield]

Do you have auto brightness on? Samsung is the king of displays in the sunlight.

I never use auto brightness. I turn the Galaxy full brightness and the iPhone is still easier to see. Apple has them beat in sunlight, at least in my experience, and that surprises me.

 

[Almeuit]

I never use auto brightness. I turn the Galaxy full brightness and the iPhone is still easier to see. Apple has them beat in sunlight, at least in my experience, and that surprises me.

Turn on auto brightness and it will kick into a mode you can't toggle -- that is why. Even manually setting it to full brightness will not have the phone kick into its highest mode. It reserves that for when Auto is on and it sees the sunlight. .

 

[Hermes Hidayat]

Turn on auto brightness and it will kick into a mode you can't toggle -- that is why. Even manually setting it to full brightness will not have the phone kick into its highest mode. It reserves that for when Auto is on and it sees the sunlight. .

Yes but that might cause burn in...

 

[DamianP]

I've yet to see burn in on mine and use auto brightness. it's shocking how bright the s9+ can get(in a good way).

 

[Almeuit]

Yes but that might cause burn in...

I personally never had it on any Samsung phone but I also don't sit outside for 2+ hours on the same exact screen while outside in the sun. To each their own . Hard to complain it isn't bright enough but then be afraid to use said brightness when told about it.. have to pick your poison.

 

[Rukbat]

And you can always tell Google (or is it Bixby in Samsungs now) to set the screen for 20% when you come indoors if it doesn't dim enough. (Yes, 20% is more than enough for these old cataract-corrected eyes, so it should be enough for you.)

 

[Almeuit]

Ew 20 percent? No thanks .

And you can always tell Google (or is it Bixby in Samsungs now) to set the screen for 20% when you come indoors if it doesn't dim enough. (Yes, 20% is more than enough for these old cataract-corrected eyes, so it should be enough for you.)

 

[Rukbat]

How much light do you run in your room? Enough to tan?

 

[Almeuit]

Nope but 20 percent is still too low for my tastes. That's fine. Different strokes for different folks . The only time I like it really low like 20 or even 10 (maybe lower?) is in a pitch black room.

How much light do you run in your room? Enough to tan?

 

[chanchan05]

Yes but that might cause burn in...

It won't. Burn in only happens when it is sitting at a static image. Even at 20% brightness burn in will happen given enough time if the image is static. Are you looking it a picture for 2 hours straight? If not then it shouldn't.

 

[karelj]

I have my S9+ set to 30% when I'm indoors. If I'm going to be outside, I set it to auto brightness. Never had a problem reading the screen in direct sunlight.

 

[dpham00]

Turn on auto brightness and it will kick into a mode you can't toggle -- that is why. Even manually setting it to full brightness will not have the phone kick into its highest mode. It reserves that for when Auto is on and it sees the sunlight. .

Yup. That's what I use.

 

[dpham00]

Yes but that might cause burn in...

Well you have to pick between a clearly visible screen or and burn in... Your choice.

I mean similarly, use the phone a lot and the battery could wear down quicker... Sure it could but then it defeats the purpose of having a smartphone.

Of course if you are worried then you also have the option of picking non AMOLED displays

 

[45Shield]

Turn on auto brightness and it will kick into a mode you can't toggle -- that is why. Even manually setting it to full brightness will not have the phone kick into its highest mode. It reserves that for when Auto is on and it sees the sunlight. .

Thank you. I will try that.

 

[bhatech]

I never use auto brightness. I turn the Galaxy full brightness and the iPhone is still easier to see. Apple has them beat in sunlight, at least in my experience, and that surprises me.

I have the S9+, iPhone X, iPhone 8 plus, Pixel 2 XL and none of them come close to the S9+ brightness and visibility in sunlight.

I use Auto brightness on all.

 

[SDTRMG]

auto brightness on the s9+ is impeccable

 

[mustang7757]

I agree with last 2 posters...haven't seen a phone beat the s9 in out door lighting

 

[nate0]

I agree with last 2 posters...haven't seen a phone beat the s9 in out door lighting

Ya very few can. Their own screen tech combined with their own coded display drivers. It's win win for them in that area. Though it's not always how bright a screen can get to make it more viewable in bright light. Contrast shading and other automatic color rendering changes that are done automatically help you to see the objects in the screen better. They offset the bright light or sunlight depending on how they are used.

Other screen tech like the Nokia clear black display work to "absorb" some or most of the reflective light trapping it so your screen appear brighter in direct light.

The Nokia 8 does not use any special screen tech that I know of but the little LCD gets incredibly bright with no brightness boost setting. The G7 is said to get somewhere close to 1000 nits which I thought only the Note8/S8+ were capable of.
But that does not always translate to great viewing in direct sunlight.

The S6+ was my favorite Galaxy/Android device of its time in favor of its ease of viewing in bright conditions and large screen. The older amoled Samsung screens though suffered from bleeding and burn in more easily in my opinion. The newer tech is much more resilient.