Just days after the first Apple Watch began showing up in the hands of consumers, DisplayMate Labs, run by Dr. Ray Soneira, completed a comprehensive battery of tests on Apple’s first AMOLED display technology.
Soneira concludes that the results were impressive, reporting Apple made the right choice with its AMOLED panel, “…there is absolutely no question that for smart watches, OLED is the only way to go for a great display, and it’s very significant that Apple has chosen an OLED for its first Apple Watch display”, Soneira wrote. For DisplayMate’s part, this “shoot-out” was “additive” as the update was made on specs for the new Apple Watch and references made to the previously published smartwatch shoot-out on the Sony (SmartWatch2) and Samsung (Gear 2) devices. Soneira offers no declared winner of the smartwatch shoot-out but did state, “The Apple Watch provides very nice, pleasing and accurate colors and picture quality a very good side-by-side match to the iPhone 6. It is very nicely implemented and an excellent smart watch display!”
The test results were published on the Apple Watch, along with previous numbers generated on the Samsung (also AMOLED) and Sony (AMLCD) smart watch offerings with display metrics that should matter most in measuring true usability for consumers. This includes screen reflectance brightness and contrast with ambient light, color gamut with ambient light and viewing angle variations. By digging a bit into the details we did ferret out just how the displays stack up against each other with side-by-side results covered here. The full Apple Watch Shoot-Out story can be found on the DisplayMate.com web site.
First it’s important to note that the company is not being as forthcoming with specifications on its Apple Watch AMOLED panel as tradition dictates. Unlike the new product specifications included with the launch of the Apple i-device line, Soneira said he had to carefully measure the display size of the Apple Watch in order to arrive at the 1.53-inch diagonal display size (1.21 x 0.97-inches) and retina class display characteristic, which he calculates at 322 pixel per inch. Other display specs on the new panel include a flexible OLED based on an RGB stripe pxiel configuration, a display aspect ratio of 4:5 (portrait only mode viewing) and resolution of 390 x 312 pixels supporting full 24 bit color.
In color gamut measured in ambient light, Sony, the one LCD of the three and Apple’s OLED, both fell far short of the AMOLED from Samsung. The Korean small display AMOLED pioneer really shone, performing (in outdoor mode) far better than its rivals in this category with a whopping 120% color gamut in 500 lux ambient, 107% at 1K lux, and 86% in 2k lux ambient setting. Outstanding. For Sony (LCD) and Apple (OLED) on the other hand both panels were remarkably close, delivering only 70% and 69% respectively, at 500 lux ambient, dropping to 56% and 49% (1K lux) and 38% and 39% (in 2K lux ambient environs.)
For contrast measured in ambient light it was the Sony and Samsung displays that well outperformed the AMOLED panel from Apple, presumed to have been supplied by LG Display. At 500, 1K and 2K lux the best Apple could serve up was a contrast rating of 17, 9 and 7 respectively. Sony and Samsung delivered ambient light contrast of 60 and 51 (500 lux), 31 and 26 (1K lux) and 16 and 13 (2k lux). These are all numbers critical for delivering the data in outdoor environments.
Finally, Soneira indicated, the use of sapphire in the coverglass for the Apple Watch offers the device a remarkably hard surface, similar to other fine traditional watches offered on the market today. The issue for Apple is the screen reflectance of its sapphire (measured at 8.2%) which is almost twice as high as both Sony and the Samsung Smartwatch offerings (coming in at 5.3% and 4.7% respectively) albeit with a non sapphire cover glass surface. In fact in all three screen reflectance categories, Apple Watch scored below its two rivals Sony and Samsung, with mirror reflections at 9.2%, versus 6.8% and 6.9%, and contrast rating for high ambient Light at 59, 93 and 88 (outdoor mode) respectively. In all versus the competition, Apple takes a hit in the screen reflectance category, but makes up for this with a rock hard sapphire cover optically bonded to its new AMOLED display.
Since Soneira didn’t declare a winner, we will, based on the specifications. In virtually all categories, the Samsung OLED display outperformed the Apple (and Sony) Watch display, albeit without a sapphire crystal cover on the Apple. So if a winner were to be selected, Samsung takes the prize. It’s good to remember this is a first attempt at Organic Light Emitting Diode panel from the famous Cupertino based Apple, whose CEO Tim Cook, is on record as “not trusting” the color accuracy of Samsung’s OLED displays, but perhaps was just bested by that very technology in its own back yard. – Steve Sechrist
Categories |
Apple Watch 42 mm with Sapphire Crystal |
Apple iPhone 6 with Ion-X Glass |
Display Technology |
Flexible OLED RGB Stripe |
IPS LCD RGB Stripe |
Display Shape |
4:5 = 0.80 Portrait Only |
9:16 = 0.56 or 16:9 = 1.78 Portrait or Landscape |
Display Size |
1.53 inches Diagonal 1.21 x 0.97 inches with rounded corners |
4.7 inches Diagonal 4.09 x 2.30 inches |
| Display Area | 1.2 square inches | 9.4 square inches |
| Relative Display Area | 100 percent | 802 percent |
| Display Resolution | 390 x 312 pixels | 1334 x 750 pixels |
| Total Number of Pixels | 122K pixels | 1,000K pixels |
| Pixels Per Inch | 322 ppi | 326 ppi |
|
20/20 Vision Distance where Pixels are Not Resolved |
10.7 inches | 10.5 inches |
|
Appears Perfectly Sharp at Typical Viewing Distances |
Yes Apple Retina Display |
Yes Apple Retina Display |
| Text and Graphics | Very Sharp | Very Sharp |
| Display Color Depth | Full 24-bit color | Full 24-bit color |
Screen ReflectionsThe Screen Reflects Ambient Light, which washes of the Image Contrast and Colors. The Average Reflectance is measured with an Integrating Hemisphere and Spectroradiometer. The Mirror Reflections are measured with a highly collimated beam of light and Spectroradiometer. The Reflectance of Sapphire is much higher than Glass. |
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Average Screen ReflectionLight from All Directions |
with Sapphire 8.2 percent Good |
4.6 percent Excellent |
Relative Brightness of theReflected Ambient Light |
178 percent | 100 percent |
Mirror ReflectionsPercentage of Light Reflected |
with Sapphire 9.2 percent Good |
6.0 percent Very Good |
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Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light The Higher the Better |
with Sapphire Up to 59 Good Automatic Light Sensor |
121 Excellent Maximum Brightness Setting |
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Apple Watch 42 mm | Apple iPhone 6 |
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Brightness and Contrast with Ambient LightAt 0 degrees Viewing Angle. But the typical Viewing Angle for a Watch is actually 30 degrees or more. See below. |
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Maximum Brightness |
Up to 482 cd/m2 Automatic Light Sensor |
558 cd/m2 Manual or Automatic Sensor |
|
Black Brightness at 0 lux at Maximum Brightness |
0 cd/m2 Increases with Ambient Light |
0.35 cd/m2 Increases with Ambient Light |
Contrast RatioMeasured in the dark at 0 lux |
Infinite at 0 lux Decreases with Ambient Light |
1,592 at 0 lux Decreases with Ambient Light |
Auto Brightness LevelMeasured in Ambient Light Maximum Brightness Setting |
with Automatic Light Sensor 203 cd/m2 at 500 lux 203 cd/m2 at 1,000 lux 290 cd/m2 at 2,000 lux 482 cd/m2 at High lux |
with Automatic Light Sensor 110 cd/m2 at 500 lux 137 cd/m2 at 1,000 lux 180 cd/m2 at 2,000 lux 558 cd/m2 at High lux |
Contrast RatioMeasured in Ambient Light Maximum Brightness Setting |
with Automatic Light Sensor 17 at 500 lux 9 at 1,000 lux 7 at 2,000 lux |
with Automatic Light Sensor 16 at 500 lux 11 at 1,000 lux 7 at 2,000 lux with Maximum Manual Setting 76 at 500 lux 39 at 1,000 lux 20 at 2,000 lux |
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Apple Watch 42 mm | Apple iPhone 6 |
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Color Gamut with Ambient LightThe Image Colors depend on the Ambient Light and Viewing Angle. |
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Color of WhiteColor Temperature in degrees Measured in the dark at 0 lux |
7,145 K Slightly Too Blue Lower OLED Power Efficiency |
7,241 K Slightly Too Blue for Accurate Image Colors |
Color GamutMeasured in the dark at 0 lux
|
104 percent at 0 lux sRGB / Rec.709 Decreases with Ambient Light |
101 percent at 0 lux sRGB / Rec.709 Decreases with Ambient Light |
Color GamutMeasured in Ambient Light
|
with Automatic Light Sensor 69 percent at 500 lux 49 percent at 1,000 lux 39 percent at 2,000 lux |
with Automatic Light Sensor 62 percent at 500 lux 50 percent at 1,000 lux 38 percent at 2,000 lux with Maximum Manual Setting 90 percent at 500 lux 82 percent at 1,000 lux 68 percent at 2,000 lux |
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Apple Watch 42 mm | Apple iPhone 6 |
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Viewing Angle VariationsThe typical Viewing Angle for a Watch is actually about 30 degrees or more from exactly face on. See this Figure for an explanation and visual definition of JNCD. The Viewing Angle Variations for Sapphire are much higher than for Glass. |
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Brightness Decreaseat a 30 degree Viewing Angle
|
with Sapphire 32 percent Medium Decrease |
44 percent Portrait 57 percent Landscape Very Large Decrease Typical for all LCDs |
Black Level Changeat a 30 degree Viewing Angle |
0 percent No Change for OLED |
8 percent Slight Decrease at 30 degrees |
White Point Color Shiftat a 30 degree Viewing Angle |
Small Color Shift ?(u’v’) = 0.0102 2.5 JNCD with Sapphire |
Small Color Shift ?(u’v’) = 0.0037 0.9 JNCD |
Color ShiftsPrimary Colors and Mixtures at a 30 degree Viewing Angle |
Medium Color Shift Largest Shift ?(u’v’) = 0.0375 9.4 JNCD with Sapphire |
Small Color Shift Largest Shift ?(u’v’) = 0.0052 1.3 JNCD |
Categories |
Apple Watch 42 mm with Sapphire Crystal |
Apple iPhone 6 with Ion-X Glass |
Categories |
Sony SmartWatch 2 |
Samsung Gear 2 |
Display Technology |
Transflective LCD Low Pixel Aperture Ratio |
Super AMOLED RGB Stripe |
Display Size |
1.60 inches Diagonal 1.25 x 1.00 inches |
1.63 inches Diagonal 1.15 x 1.15 inches |
| Display Aspect Ratio |
5:4 = 1.25 Landscape |
1:1 = 1.00 Square |
| Display Resolution | 220 x 176 pixels | 320 x 320 pixels |
| Total Number of Pixels | 38,720 pixels | 102,400 pixels |
| Pixels Per Inch | 176 ppi | 278 ppi |
|
20/20 Vision Distance where Pixels are Not Resolved |
19.5 inches | 12.4 inches |
| Text and Graphics |
Coarse and Visibly Pixelated Poor Anti-Aliasing Low Pixel Aperture Ratio |
Very Sharp |
| Display Hardware Color Depth |
Contradictory Sony Specs “16-bit color with 262K Colors” is either 18-bit color with 262K Colors 16-bit color with 65K Colors with 32 or 64 Intensity Levels |
Samsung Specs 24-bit color with 16.8M Colors 256 Intensity Levels |
| Photo Viewer Color Depth |
12-bit color 16 intensity Levels 4,096 Colors Severe False Contouring Visible in Many Images |
24-bit color 256 Intensity Levels 16.8 Million Colors |
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Brightness and Contrast with Ambient LightAt 0 degrees Viewing Angle. But the typical Viewing Angle for a Watch is actually 30 degrees or more. See below. |
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Maximum Brightness |
495 cd/m2 with Backlight |
415 cd/m2 Outdoor Mode 296 cd/m2 Standard Mode |
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Black Brightness at 0 lux at Maximum Brightness |
0.52 cd/m2 with Backlight Dynamic Backlight |
0 cd/m2 |
Contrast RatioMeasured in the dark at 0 lux |
952 with Backlight at 0 lux Decreases with Ambient Light |
Infinite at 0 lux Decreases with Ambient Light |
Contrast RatioMeasured in Ambient Light
|
with Backlight 60 at 500 lux 31 at 1,000 lux 16 at 2,000 lux 42 in Reflective Mode Varies with the Light Distribution |
Outdoor Mode 51 at 500 lux 26 at 1,000 lux 13 at 2,000 lux Standard Mode 37 at 500 lux 19 at 1,000 lux 10 at 2,000 lux |
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Color Gamut with Ambient LightThe Image Colors depend on the Ambient Light and Viewing Angle. See below. |
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Color of WhiteColor Temperature in degrees Measured in the dark at 0 lux
6,500 K is best for Photos and Videos |
7,446 K with Backlight Somewhat Too Blue for Accurate Image Colors Yellowish in Reflective Mode Depends on the Ambient Light |
7,539 K Somewhat Too Blue for Accurate Image Colors |
Color GamutMeasured in the dark at 0 lux
Most consumer content uses the sRGB / Rec.709 Gamut |
91 percent with Backlight sRGB / Rec.709 Decreases with Ambient Light Monochrome in Reflective Mode |
135 percent sRGB / Rec.709 Decreases with Ambient Light Large for Photos But OK on a Small Screen |
Color GamutMeasured in Ambient Light
|
with Backlight 70 percent at 500 lux 56 percent at 1,000 lux 38 percent at 2,000 lux Monochrome in Reflective Mode |
Outdoor Mode 120 percent at 500 lux 107 percent at 1,000 lux 86 percent at 2,000 lux Standard Mode 114 percent at 500 lux 97 percent at 1,000 lux 73 percent at 2,000 lux |
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Screen ReflectionsThe Screen Reflects Ambient Light, which washes of the Image Contrast and Colors. |
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Average Screen ReflectionLight from All Directions |
5.3 percent Very Good |
4.7 percent Excellent |
Mirror ReflectionsPercentage of Light Reflected |
6.8 percent Very Good |
6.9 percent Very Good |
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Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light The Higher the Better |
93 with Backlight also has a Reflective Mode |
88 Outdoor Mode 63 Standard Mode |
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Viewing Angle VariationsThe typical Viewing Angle for a Watch is actually about 30 degrees or more from exactly face on. The Brightness generally decreases, the Black Level generally increases, and the Image Colors Shift. See this Figure for an explanation and visual definition of JNCD. |
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Maximum Brightnessat a 30 degree Viewing Angle |
203 cd/m2 with Backlight |
324 cd/m2 Outdoor Mode 231 cd/m2 Standard Mode |
Brightness Decreaseat a 30 degree Viewing Angle |
59 percent with Backlight Very Large Decrease |
22 percent Small Decrease |
Black Level Increaseat a 30 degree Viewing Angle |
126 percent with Backlight Very Large Increase |
0 percent No Change |
White Point Color Shiftat a 30 degree Viewing Angle |
Small Color Shift ?(u’v’) = 0.0081 2.0 JNCD |
Small Color Shift ?(u’v’) = 0.0077 1.9 JNCD |
Color ShiftsPrimary Colors and Mixtures at a 30 degree Viewing Angle |
Large Color Shift Largest Shift ?(u’v’) = 0.0515 12.9 JNCD |
Medium Color Shift Largest Shift ?(u’v’) = 0.0250 6.2 JNCD |
