thoughts on nexus 4 ips screen vs galaxy nexus amoled?

[Neo42]

I've always disliked pentile amoled screens and refused to own any device that's sporting one. The color temp always looks way too cool for my taste, consequentially with not-white whites. I was set to buy a Note 2 (since they went with non-pentile) until the N4 price was announced.

 

[usualsuspect]

I have the GNEX and Nexus4 side by side now and for me it's not even close - Nexus4 hands down. The whites on the GNex are almost yellowish and the Nexus4 is much brighter. There is no going back for me...

 

[jd914]

which do you like better? i've yet to compare it in the sunlight but the nexus 4 just looks very washed out... i guess i'm just so use to the samsung amoled. I really like the blacks on the nexus galaxy. YOu can notice a difference between the bottom buttons on the nexus galaxy and the four. The four is very noticable

thinking of selling my nexus 4 and going back to samsung nexus. What do you guys think?

It's not that the Nexus 4 screen looks washed out it's because AMOLED screens tend to be over saturated. It's just something to get used to after having a device with an AMOLED display.

 

[runningman3433]

ok, i've been using the nexus 4 today and i have to say i'm very impressed with the calirty and crispness of the screen. i'll give the edge to the nexus 4. blacks are still better on the galaxy nexus and colors are generally more saturated on samsung but the nexus 4 holds it own!

also nexus 4 is much more visible in the sunlight than the galaxy.

 

[badbrad17]

I have an old HTC Desire my daughter uses and replaced it with a SGS2. I thought I loved the Amoled screen on the S2 but whenever I pick up the Desire the screen just looks more natural. It may not be as contrasted but I prefer the IPS LCD hands down. Especially when you go in to the store and compare the One X to anything. Just no comparison. So vibrant and crisp.

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Android Central Forums

 

[Jnorton2724]

I liked my GS3 screen more then this LG screen on the Nexus 4 but overall the build quality is very nice. Gladly switch my GS3 with this Nexus 4.

 

[DirkBelig]

It's not that the Nexus 4 screen looks washed out it's because AMOLED screens tend to be over saturated. It's just something to get used to after having a device with an AMOLED display.

It's not just the AMOLED tech that makes it look saturated, but how the makers set it to output hyped colors. On my GS2, I had to go Settings>Display>Screen Mode and set that to Movie rather than Dynamic or Standard in order to get something not so eye-searing and reasonably accurate. (I'm a photographer and am picky about color rendition.) These over-hyped display settings are the visual equivalent to cranking the bass and treble up all the way on a stereo - it's not making it better, just louder.

This is also why HDTVs in stores are set to what's euphemistically called "torch mode" (aka Vivid mode) so that they look brighter than everything else fighting for attention on the wall. Compared to those set to torch mode, a properly calibrated display will look dimmer, redder and less contrasty than the others and people unversed in what proper looks like will bypass them for the brighter bluer sets.

 

[LNWJ]

Came from a NSG4 amoled to this and everything just seems sharper on the LG. Not retina sharp... But pretty damn close. The screen has a slight yellowish hue much like my old NSG4 but the colors are not as saturated .

I do like the LG though.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[dogsmithjr]

I know you folks want to believe that the $300 device you purchased without looking at it in person is totally perfect, but it isn't. The screen looks awful compared to any Samsung in existence.

This guy said it best..

"The screen made an immediately poor impression on me. Its colours are dull, desaturated, and muddy-looking. Apparently some people prefer this more "naturalistic" look to the hyper-saturated colour profiles that AMOLED devices like the Galaxy are usually configured for. That's fine -- I have no problem with people who like their colours desaturated. If that's what you want, use a less saturated colour profile for your device. Don't build a device with a screen that's entirely incapable of displaying saturated colours. An emissive display ought to be able to capture the full gamut of human visual perception. The old Nexus Galaxy could; the new Nexus 4 cannot. That's a downgrade."

 

[gomezl7]

I just returned the Note 2 and I understand what the OP is talking about but, I still like the Nexus 4 screen better. It's not as colorful as the Note 2 or S3 but the Nexus 4's IPS display looks more sharp and detailed. It reminds me of the screen on the HTC One X or the Iphone 5, the only difference is those two phones seem to be brighter and push more light.

I think you hit it right on the head I prefer the Galaxy Nexus screen over the Nexus 4 , although the Nexus 4 is more clear I tend to like the Galaxy Nexus or note 2, GS 3 screens better but honestly there all great phones ...at the end of the day whatever of those you have your a lucky man...

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

 

[saeufer]

I know you folks want to believe that the $300 device you purchased without looking at it in person is totally perfect, but it isn't. The screen looks awful compared to any Samsung in existence.

This guy said it best..

"The screen made an immediately poor impression on me. Its colours are dull, desaturated, and muddy-looking. Apparently some people prefer this more "naturalistic" look to the hyper-saturated colour profiles that AMOLED devices like the Galaxy are usually configured for. That's fine -- I have no problem with people who like their colours desaturated. If that's what you want, use a less saturated colour profile for your device. Don't build a device with a screen that's entirely incapable of displaying saturated colours. An emissive display ought to be able to capture the full gamut of human visual perception. The old Nexus Galaxy could; the new Nexus 4 cannot. That's a downgrade."

Saturation is a matter of preference. For someone who's spent years working outside, I'll take "washed-out" colors to a completely illegible screen any day. Try it sometime, noon, summer, California, in a field surrounded by shiny crops and light-colored soil. No AMOLED screen is even remotely legible under those circumstances, which was one reason my employer issued BlackBerry devices.

That said, I went from a Samsung (Exhibit 2) with an AMOLED display to the N4. The only color that looked better on the Samsung was black, and only under low light (e.g. indoors with lights on at night or with blinds closed). The rest were pretty similar. Plus, the IPS display on the N4 is probably just as capable of oversaturating colors as the displays on laptops (all backlit LCDs) are--either Google or LG simply chose not to set it up that way.

 

[dogsmithjr]

Saturation is a matter of preference. For someone who's spent years working outside, I'll take "washed-out" colors to a completely illegible screen any day. Try it sometime, noon, summer, California, in a field surrounded by shiny crops and light-colored soil. No AMOLED screen is even remotely legible under those circumstances, which was one reason my employer issued BlackBerry devices.

That said, I went from a Samsung (Exhibit 2) with an AMOLED display to the N4. The only color that looked better on the Samsung was black, and only under low light (e.g. indoors with lights on at night or with blinds closed). The rest were pretty similar. Plus, the IPS display on the N4 is probably just as capable of oversaturating colors as the displays on laptops (all backlit LCDs) are--either Google or LG simply chose not to set it up that way.

I don't go outside

 

[XChrisX]

I'll be getting my Nexus 4 later on today, so I haven't seen the screen yet. Having said that, I really like the screen on my Galaxy SIII. I'm used to only IPS displays with the iPhone, and iPad but MAN are the colors vibrant on the GSIII. I don't have a GNEX to compare it to, but it will be great to compare it to my S3. I know the retina display on my iPad is about as clean, and crisp as I've seen on any display.

 

[CoolBeit]

I know you folks want to believe that the $300 device you purchased without looking at it in person is totally perfect, but it isn't. The screen looks awful compared to any Samsung in existence.

This guy said it best..

"The screen made an immediately poor impression on me. Its colours are dull, desaturated, and muddy-looking. Apparently some people prefer this more "naturalistic" look to the hyper-saturated colour profiles that AMOLED devices like the Galaxy are usually configured for. That's fine -- I have no problem with people who like their colours desaturated. If that's what you want, use a less saturated colour profile for your device. Don't build a device with a screen that's entirely incapable of displaying saturated colours. An emissive display ought to be able to capture the full gamut of human visual perception. The old Nexus Galaxy could; the new Nexus 4 cannot. That's a downgrade."

I haven't used an N4, but I did spend some time looking at an Optimus G. I have to say that this description is complete nonsense. I have never heard people call an IPS LCD of the N4's quality "washed out" before the N4 was released, and I have to believe it is 100% due to people being accustomed to their amoled displays. The Optimus G (N4) display is one of the best I have ever seen on a phone. I have an S3 in my household, so I have spent plenty of time with a high-end amoled. There is nothing wrong with it and if you prefer the look of amoleds, that's your preference. But I cannot accept a statement like,"An emissive display ought to be able to capture the full gamut of human visual perception." Give me a break.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

People that call IPS LCD's like the Nexus 4 or One X (or iPhone) washed out are clearly just used to the over-saturated colors of AMOLED. AMOLED isn't natural, accurate, or representative of what you'd see in "real life". Also, they aren't physically capable of displaying a true white. That's why they all have a tint of one color or another (yellow or blue typically).

This is true of any and all AMOLED displays used by any manufacturer, not just Samsung.

 

[Mr 34]

Everytime I see "washed out" all I hear is more accurate. Like The Verge says, Samsung is raising an entire generation of people to have improper color balance with their way blue color temp and jacked up colors.

 

[multo]

Love the amoled black. But that's about it. The rest of the colors seem more unnatural. First reaction when I got my n4 was, 'finally I'm back to reality'.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[Jeremy8000]

For me, when viewing a picture or movie, I want to see images / video reproduced to a color scale that is true to life, emulating the experience of looking through the window, and that is generally far better performed by IPS than by AMOLED displays. Black levels are also important to me, and are more accurately depicted by AMOLED, but that doesn't carry as much weight in my preferences.

But there is no right or wrong answer, other than to say that the best looking of these screens is the one that is best looking to the individual. It boils down to whether you want something to be an accurate representation of the original it is trying to reproduce, or prefer an 'enhanced' recreation (and while I'm of the former type visually, I'm of the latter type aurally).

 

[Mr 34]

For me, when viewing a picture or movie, I want to see images / video reproduced to a color scale that is true to life, emulating the experience of looking through the window, and that is generally far better performed by IPS than by AMOLED displays. Black levels are also important to me, and are more accurately depicted by AMOLED, but that doesn't carry as much weight in my preferences.

But there is no right or wrong answer, other than to say that the best looking of these screens is the one that is best looking to the individual. It boils down to whether you want something to be an accurate representation of the original it is trying to reproduce, or prefer an 'enhanced' recreation (and while I'm of the former type visually, I'm of the latter type aurally).

Thing is it seems like a lot of people don't realize that color accuracy can be measured empirically, there are targets where red, blue and green etc should be and the closer the display is to these numbers the more accurate it is. Samsung displays are woefully out of what those colors really are, not to even mention the color temperature. Now if someone prefers it that way then that's their prerogative but they also have to realize that when they say screens like these are a downgrade, not as good, washed out, etc; that they are in fact incorrect, and it's not a matter of opinion but fact.

 

[Hubertsng]

The Gnex screen is supposed to be more saturated while the Nexus 4 is supposed to have more real to life pictures I'm pretty sure. Also the screen of the Nexus 4 is closer to the touch part so it becomes more responsive.