[Q] How is the SGS2 in bright sunlight - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

A question for the owners of the SGS2, how is the readability of the screen in direct sunlight?
I have an SE ARC atm and the readability in direct sunlight is phenomenal. I have never seen a screen which is so good for in the sun like the ARC.
I am however planning to switch over to the SGS2 but i want to know how good the screen of the SGS2 is for outside.

I have no experience with the SE ARC atm, but I find the SGS2 has above average readability. Better than my previous phones: omnia II i8000, HTC HD2, SGS i9000.

When really sunny out, I put my brightness up to high and can see everything quite well. Way better than my old iphone 3Gs which was terrible in sunlight. I have no experience with SE ARC either so could not compare that readability vs the SGS2 though

That's a hell of a bump, May 2011 ...
Pretty sure the OP already owns the device.

Whoops... My bad. I don't know why it showed on the top of my thread list.

I find the S2 to be wonderfully bright in the sunlight, as long as I remember to turn of auto brightness. Way better than all my older phones, and just as good or better than any of my friends' phones.
IamSnah

its great in direct sunlight, its the best phone i had so far when it comes to glare and reading text,im not sure about the new sony models but its a big improvement from all the sony phones i used,but i hear that the amoled screen is inferior that lcd in direct sunlight
i attached some images the 1st and 2nd image i would say below average due to the camera trying to get a clear shot, 4th one is the brightest image is with the backlight max.

Related

not as bright as Nexus S?

I was just standing outiside and noticed that I couldn't read the screen of my new Galaxy S2 which I never noticed on my Nexus S. So I compared the two in direct sunlight.
Isn't the sAMOLED+ supposed to be brighter than the original sAMOLED screen?
Is my screen less bright than other sAMOLED+ screens?
My Galaxy S 2 is definatly brighter in sunlight than my Nexus S.
although i have turned off my auto brightness and whacked it right up on both..
At brightness zero the nexus s is brighter than the galaxy s 2.
I noticed that in bright sunlight, I can't see the screen at all on my SGSG2 with it set to zero, which causes a bit of a problem upping the brightness! On the Nexus, I could see well enough to change it.
I think at full brightness though, the SGS2 is brighter. My retinas haven't recovered from accidentally setting 100% whilst reading at night.
I've been wondering whether there is a way to boost the brightness, I was going to make a topic about it.
Some reviews I've seen say they had to turn the screen down to lowest brightness as the screen is so bright, etc. however my screen is nothing special in terms of brightness really and I have it on full, with auto adjust off colours are good though.
jodeltje said:
I was just standing outiside and noticed that I couldn't read the screen of my new Galaxy S2 which I never noticed on my Nexus S. So I compared the two in direct sunlight.
Isn't the sAMOLED+ supposed to be brighter than the original sAMOLED screen?
Is my screen less bright than other sAMOLED+ screens?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, disable auto brightness maybe
jonny_ftm said:
Yes, disable auto brightness maybe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, I did that. the pictures are taken with both screens on 100%
I guess my screen is just not as bright as others :/
Also, under Settings -> Display, make sure that "Auto Adjust Screen power" is disabled... this option tries to save some battery by lowering the brightness when the image displayed is brighter : It can be useful in movies but it's just useless and annoying when you're browsing or reading.
PS : And SuperAMOLED+ is not supposed to be brighter than sAMOLED, it's the same without the pentile matrix. When samsung announced an improvement in battery life and brightness they were still comparing it to LCD screens from a few years ago.
thanks bluescreenjunkie, that setting actually helped (a bit).
and yes, your probably right about samsungs claims as well, I probably subconsciously interpreted samsungs claims the best way possible ... (so I had a reason to go buy it).
thanks for your input.
well it is possible to increase the brightness but it takes some development, like supercurrio did for the 2.3.3 kernel for the nexus s and cm7 sgs1 kernel with the voodoo app.
Dont know if hes gonna do the same for the sgs2, i really like it on my sgs1 for sure.
he increased the brightness? well that explaines it then (as it's running a voodoo kernel) .

How reflective is the screen?

I want to buy xperia neo but unfortunately I cant get my hands on it before buying. I used Xperia play and the screen is so reflective I cannot tolerate. Is the neo's screen the same as far as glare is concerned? Anyone who has used both? I can accept poor viewing angles but this is one thing I cannot compromise on so please I really need info on this, cant really find something certain with online reviews.
should be the same, easier way is change the screen protector to a low-reflective one.
No that destroys image quality. I guess I'll have to stick with samsung, their phones are the best in this regard. They are just getting too big though, they dont have a 3.7" phone as good as neo sadly.
Btw the display on the play is not the same as on arc and neo. But they might be similar in glare as the reviews seem to suggest that the neo has just ok performance in sunlight but not too good.
Interestingly the new Xperia Ray has excellent sunlight legibility as it has an anti-glare polarize on the screen which is missing from older models like neo and arc.
The PLAY has a pathetic screen compared to all other SE phones.
I can't barely see the screen when I use it on the street :-( Sony phones seem to have very low brightness, and also very reflective. You should try some similar Sony 2011 phones and judge. For everything else I'm quite happy with it plus I got it cheap.
SCHUMI_4EVER said:
The PLAY has a pathetic screen compared to all other SE phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not that bad with the new update as the phone was shipped with auto brightness without the option to turn it off.
I was astonished at how dim the display was at full brightness but I quickly realized that the auto brightness is on.

comparison video of SGS2 vs. XPERIA S

hey, just ran the following side by side...
both same file and HD 720p.
Xperia has a nice HD screen..
Both units are at full brightness.
angles on the samsung is much much better..
Blacks are better...
i will do a comparison with Iphone 4S later on...
but Super AMOLED plus still kicks Sony's ass..
anyone have this kind of results???
hexproject said:
but Super AMOLED plus still kicks Sony's ass..
anyone have this kind of results???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. I'm glad the Sony uses a more natural-colored LCD screen than the day-glo, turqoise-tinted AMOLED of Samsung.
any video footage of these phones running side by side?
haha I think my friend you're dreaming that Samsung Display kicks Sony's Ass, I compared the two displays and XPS Display is more vibrant in colours and it's very nice to look onto.
My opinion is...
Samsung Amoled Plus display on SGS2
Pros:
- Best contrast
- Beter viewing angles
- True black
Cons:
- Too much color saturation
- Yellow tinting problem
- Too low resolution for such a big display (217 ppi)
Sony Bravia HD display on Xperia S
Pros:
- More natural colors
- Razor sharp definition (342 ppi)
- Very good contrast
Cons:
- I feel whites are slightly on the yellow side
- Poor viewing angles (although better than many LCDs, but behind IPS displays)
Everyone just choose your poison
I still can't find the perfect LCD..... although for me IPS is the closest so far, if HTC One S had SLCD2 I'd probably have waited for it.
honestly, I don't understand why everyone is complaining about poor viewing angle, its your phone, think of the viewing angle as a benefit for more privacy.
pokoedge said:
honestly, I don't understand why everyone is complaining about poor viewing angle, its your phone, think of the viewing angle as a benefit for more privacy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I don't have anything to hide in my phone, but it bothers me more the fact that tilting the phone a few degrees can change the colors than someone trying to watch my screen
super amoled is good but samsung is like a toy or cartoons and its UI..XPS is HD the best resolution display on market today besting iP4s and GNEX..sound quality is 100times better than on samsung especially when using headset its same level as beats audio.the UI is refined and it looks formal/professional like iphone has...viewing angle is not a big issue, im not using my phone at side ways anyway hehehe..Build quality is superb its not wide so it fits in hand comfortably not like other phones. NFC smart tags rocks and sony made a good one with this making the NFC useful in other ways..
emorej said:
super amoled is good but samsung is like a toy or cartoons and its UI..XPS is HD the best resolution display on market today besting iP4s and GNEX..sound quality is 100times better than on samsung especially when using headset its same level as beats audio.the UI is refined and it looks formal/professional like iphone has...viewing angle is not a big issue, im not using my phone at side ways anyway hehehe..Build quality is superb its not wide so it fits in hand comfortably not like other phones. NFC smart tags rocks and sony made a good one with this making the NFC useful in other ways..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah! Me too, viewing angle isn't a big issue, we don't need it every time.
But now we can see the White Magic display on Xperia P is very good!
In future that'll come with all Sony's phones ?
Alien987 said:
Maybe I don't have anything to hide in my phone, but it bothers me more the fact that tilting the phone a few degrees can change the colors than someone trying to watch my screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well after using the phone for a week now I find the discussion about viewing angles in my perspective a non issue...
Sent from my Sony Xperia S (LT26i)
I dunno,
I don't ever look at my phone from an angle, nor do I have people gather around my phone to watch a video. We have TV's and movie theaters for that.
I couldn't care less about viewing my phone from the side.
I agree viewing angle is not an issue on the XS. My experience having both the galaxy s2 and XS is that the screen on the XS is significantly better than the galaxy. The clarity of fonts is exceptional, and the outdoor performance in sunlight is also much better. The S2 is terrible in sunlight, and only really came into it's own watching videos in a dimly lit room.
I think this video will have a clear view on which screen is better..
http://youtu.be/L7KPTYPpOVU
Arc S and SGS 2
View angle is not too bad in XS but i not fancy whether someone sitting next to me in the meeting, reading my confidencial mgs with my girlfriend " talking about last night " better if the viewing angle are not that great
Is it ?
I dont have an issue with viewing angels.
Besides that, i don't like the oversaturation on those AMOLED screens.
Colors are just way to vibrant.
And another thing, XS is alot better viewable in sunlight.
I like the deep blacks with an AMOLED display but aside fromt that i couldn't really give a monkeys toss about viewing angles. Have to say i'm impressed by how well the Xperia S screen fares out in the open and in direct sunlight.
This XPS is such a premium device,great built/design and at last a android phone which has better Display than that retina display of iPhone,superb camera,great audio output both on speaker and headset, and i think the best UI for android phone very impressive and smooth UI and animations..
Got the Samsung GS2 and Sony Xp S. strange that i see sony S screen beets S2 in many ways, even my friends agree with me , like if amoled not that big deal after all, cos LCD still can handel it !! Nd HTC Sensation Xe screen is no mach for the xperia S!!
I think ppl should see both in real eyes not from recording via youtube !!!
try to take some sampels and post them !

SIII screen versus One X and iPhone 4S (oh, & multitasking too)

I'd like to hear from people who currently own the SIII or have compared it directly to a HTC One X and iPhone 4 or 4S.
Specifically what I'd really like to know is how the screens of these devices compare to each other. From personal experience, I find the screen of the iPhone 4 and 4S to be a bluish hue whereas the One X has a wonderfully white display. (When both devices are at full brightness with auto brightness disabed.)
I'd like to know if anyone has experience comparing the SIII screen to the 4/4S and/or the One X. What I can tell from comparision videos so far is that the SIII has a bluish screen (a la the iPhone) compared to the One X.
Also, the issue the One X has with multitasking is well documented by now. Does the SIII share this issue?
Thank you in advance for any answers. After seeing the leaked next gen iPhone pics, I'm seriously contemplating getting the SIII when it comes to AT&T.
I am picky about screens. Or I should say, I became picky after owning the iphone 4.
The iphone 4 screen is 2 years old. It did not change for the iphone 4s.
Yet, it is still the king of the hill. The benchmark. Nice and bright with typical IPS viewing angles and a standard hdtv-like presentation (~500 nits) This does NOT speak to Apple's greatness. It only speaks to Apple's leverage and high standards for parts. They got exclusivity, and a high quality part, at a mass market price. Not sure if another maker could have gotten such a nice screen at an affordable price, nor am I sure if another maker would care to the degree that Apple does about using premium components. Colors are a bit undersaturated if you ask me. Thankfully other makers are now catching up to the iphone 4's display. But a tip of the hat to the iphone 4, which started it all and is still at the very top of the heap even 2 years later, an eternity in the smartphone world.
HTC One X, is the first screen that surpasses the iphone 4's screen, simply b/c it's bigger but maintains the same quality. I'd say that white is more truly white on the One X, and the screen is slightly brighter (~550 nits). Colors pop more and are more fully saturated. I would choose the One X or the iphone 4s screen soley based on your preferred screen size.
S3 I have not seen, but I have seen the Note's screen and Galaxy Nexus. My main issue is that they are not nearly bright enough. Blue cast, and of course the pentile matrix display. The matrix was easily visible to me, and the ovrriding reason why I downgrade the screens vs the One X and iphone 4. Next comes max brightness (~330 nits). You want a higher brightness when watching videos and using it in the sun. On the plus side, the blacks are the deepest they can be b/c the pixels are completely off. Can't beat that. Colors are very saturated, which is better than undersaturated. Also wonderful viewing angles.
My opinion is in the minority. Most people think that the S3's screen is wonderful and amazing. They are not bothered by the measurably less peak brightness, and the easily visible (to me) pentile matrix. I believe that IPS tech is still the superior one simply b/c it looks more natural, or maybe it's b/c what we're most used to, even outside of smartphone displays.
lamenramen said:
I am picky about screens. Or I should say, I became picky after owning the iphone 4.
The iphone 4 screen is 2 years old. It did not change for the iphone 4s.
Yet, it is still the king of the hill. The benchmark. Nice and bright with typical IPS viewing angles and a standard hdtv-like presentation (~500 nits) This does NOT speak to Apple's greatness. It only speaks to Apple's leverage and high standards for parts. They got exclusivity, and a high quality part, at a mass market price. Not sure if another maker could have gotten such a nice screen at an affordable price, nor am I sure if another maker would care to the degree that Apple does about using premium components. Colors are a bit undersaturated if you ask me. Thankfully other makers are now catching up to the iphone 4's display. But a tip of the hat to the iphone 4, which started it all and is still at the very top of the heap even 2 years later, an eternity in the smartphone world.
HTC One X, is the first screen that surpasses the iphone 4's screen, simply b/c it's bigger but maintains the same quality. I'd say that white is more truly white on the One X, and the screen is slightly brighter (~550 nits). Colors pop more and are more fully saturated. I would choose the One X or the iphone 4s screen soley based on your preferred screen size.
S3 I have not seen, but I have seen the Note's screen and Galaxy Nexus. My main issue is that they are not nearly bright enough. Blue cast, and of course the pentile matrix display. The matrix was easily visible to me, and the ovrriding reason why I downgrade the screens vs the One X and iphone 4. Next comes max brightness (~330 nits). You want a higher brightness when watching videos and using it in the sun. On the plus side, the blacks are the deepest they can be b/c the pixels are completely off. Can't beat that. Colors are very saturated, which is better than undersaturated. Also wonderful viewing angles.
My opinion is in the minority. Most people think that the S3's screen is wonderful and amazing. They are not bothered by the measurably less peak brightness, and the easily visible (to me) pentile matrix. I believe that IPS tech is still the superior one simply b/c it looks more natural, or maybe it's b/c what we're most used to, even outside of smartphone displays.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As someone who has compared the iPhone 4 and One X screens side by side, I agree entirely with your assessment. (I do think the One X has a definitive edge overall compared to the iPhone 4 screen.) However I think you'd need to see the SIII in person before making any assessments regarding it's quality. The impression I'm getting from HD YouTube videos is that the SIII screen possess a bluish hue, a la iPhone 4/4S, however the pentile display does not seem to produce a great deal of pixelation as I originally feared.
I've seen them all, and HTC One X's screen is definitely the best. You'll really notice the difference if you put them side-by-side for sure.
plisk3n said:
I've seen them all, and HTC One X's screen is definitely the best. You'll really notice the difference if you put them side-by-side for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Screen aside, I don't like the One X. Multitasking issues. Camera bump on the back. Prefer the hardware home buttons of the iPhone and SIII.
Htc one x screen is awful. Is clean yes but colors r not natural. White is not clear white whilr black is grey.
I own both and I will say this:
The One X screen is amazing. It is pin sharp. Fonts looks amazing. Colours are very natural and look good. (Sorry Totòòò, I disagree with you, perhaps your screen was faulty)
But, the Galaxy is better in 9/10 ways. It's near impossible to notice the pentile matrix. You have to zoom in on a font to even notice, beyond regular reading levels. The One X screen is just that bit more sharp, where in the above scenario, you still cannot make out any dots. EDIT: Although I have found that different fonts yield different results. For example, the font used in the stock browser looks really good, even when zoomed in a fair bit. The font used in Chrome Beta, does not. I notice the pentile matrix a lot more when using this font.
The galaxy S3 screen has deeper colours (if you've seen AMOLED before you know what I mean), and I find it more pleasurable to look at.
The only detractor with the S3, is that when scrolling text on white backgrounds (e..g web pages), and scrolling it fast, the fonts tend to blur a little bit due to the pentile matrix. When you stop scrolling, the fonts are pin sharp. The One X did not suffer from this.
Overall (and believe me I am picky about my screens) I find the S3 screen to *just* have the edge over the One X screen, due to the fact the colours being that little bit more pleasurable to look at.
Of course, this is all subjective. YMMV. At the end of the day they are both very good screens.
One X shty multi is the same as Sensations, totally a disaster. Plus closed case, cannot change acu, no microsd and huge slowness. Seriously this phone sucks. SGS3 on the other hand, like SGS2 do not have such problems.
Damn, i want my gs3 what is going on with Samsung,is there anyone who got the pepple blue in EU delivered.
Sorry guys,of topic i know
No there's noone, because Samsung stopped deliverys of blue one for around three weeks! Get a white one, it's hot!
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Is the S3's screen to dim?

I think so.
I looked at a report that the S3 actually has a lower screen brightness then the S1!
"The Galaxy S3 uses a 1280 X 720, PenTile AMOLED screen, which is higher resolution, but dimmer than the Galaxy S1 and Galaxy S2 screens, Soneira said. The culprit seems to be power management: in trying to get decent battery life with its huge 4.8-inch display, Samsung had to turn the brightness down.
Power consumption figures bear that out. Samsung cut maximum display power from 2.1 watts on the Galaxy S2 to 1.3 watts on the Galaxy S3, dropping maximum brightness from 289 candelas per square meter to 224. The lower power usage, however, lets the S3 get solid battery life even with the larger screen: running time with the display on increased from 4.4 hours on the Galaxy S2 to 5.6 hours on the S3."
Qoute from a website ^
is there anyway to actually make the screen more visable? Like brighter? Its really annoying have this great phone and My older, LG 2X P990 has a brighter screen!
Thanks guys! Jack -
While I can't help you make it brighter, it's probably worth considering that display lifetime is probably also an important trade-off made by Samsung.
Even at the existing brightness, there are already some people complaining about display "burn-in" etc.
I would predict that any further increase in brightness would greatly increase the problems of burn-in and wear-out.
(Reason being that perception of brightness isn't linear, i.e. doubling the display power wouldn't make it look anywhere near twice as bright, yet would cause a dramatic increase in pixel fatigue and reduction in life)
fasty said:
While I can't help you make it brighter, it's probably worth considering that display lifetime is probably also an important trade-off made by Samsung.
Even at the existing brightness, there are already some people complaining about display "burn-in" etc.
I would predict that any further increase in brightness would greatly increase the problems of burn-in and wear-out.
(Reason being that perception of brightness isn't linear, i.e. doubling the display power wouldn't make it look anywhere near twice as bright, yet would cause a dramatic increase in pixel fatigue and reduction in life)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah i see :/ its just annoying having a phone not as bright as my older phone... ahh well :/
This may help
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1791163
JackHanAnLG said:
I think so.
I looked at a report that the S3 actually has a lower screen brightness then the S1! ....
is there anyway to actually make the screen more visable? Like brighter? Its really annoying have this great phone and My older, LG 2X P990 has a brighter screen!
Thanks guys! Jack -
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is really annoying, it is the hypochondria of the users. They are buying phone, they are happy with it, but then, they have the REPORT.
It may state that S3 is slower than nokia 1100 (if dropped out from a jet plane because S3 is more flat and will glide).
It may state that S2 is fir with tiny screen compared to iSomething (to iPad, to be precise).
Not to mention that it may state that the battery is crappy compared to the Han Solo's communicator he used in Star Wars.
Jack, please take my advice:
first, sell your crappy S3.
secondly, please READ the reports, DIGG forums, and please: choose the phone which will make you happy.
last but not least: BUY only this device which you'll want, do NOT listen to your mum.
Well, outdoors, especially in bright sunlight, the GS3 screen is in deed too dim.
Maximum brightness is around 330 cd which is far less than the best LCDs offer these days. Those LCDs are bordering on 600 cd which is a massive advantage. Due to this, my next phone will one sporting a top-notch LCD. AMOLED has fallen behind the curve IMO.
spamtrash said:
What is really annoying, it is the hypochondria of the users. They are buying phone, they are happy with it, but then, they have the REPORT.
It may state that S3 is slower than nokia 1100 (if dropped out from a jet plane because S3 is more flat and will glide).
It may state that S2 is fir with tiny screen compared to iSomething (to iPad, to be precise).
Not to mention that it may state that the battery is crappy compared to the Han Solo's communicator he used in Star Wars.
Jack, please take my advice:
first, sell your crappy S3.
secondly, please READ the reports, DIGG forums, and please: choose the phone which will make you happy.
last but not least: BUY only this device which you'll want, do NOT listen to your mum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldnt say it was crappy, i like it, its a beast, its just not as bright as i want it
Darkside Agent said:
This may help
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1791163
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks ill have a look right now!
JackHanAnLG said:
Thanks ill have a look right now!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On maximum brightness the screen is more than enough really..
Just turn auto off and enjoy lovely colors, actual blacks and good brightness.
vkone said:
Well, outdoors, especially in bright sunlight, the GS3 screen is in deed too dim.
Maximum brightness is around 330 cd which is far less than the best LCDs offer these days. Those LCDs are bordering on 600 cd which is a massive advantage. Due to this, my next phone will one sporting a top-notch LCD. AMOLED has fallen behind the curve IMO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OLED doesn't need 600 nits of brightness. In fact, I don't even think that OLED should be measured that way because LCD's use a backlight which means it will win any brightness test easily. Just look at this picture for example.
http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=...q55UP-BG4GsiALEw4CgBA&ved=0CDMQ9QEwBg&dur=208
It shows that AMOLED can produce the same brightness as an LCD measuring about 100 less candela.
brand new S3 t999l here, perfect indoors, unusable in sunlight or overcast. For indoors use only, if no mod or fix to make the display brighter.
Hey guys I was thinking of upgrading the the galaxy s5, but specification wise, is it the same max brightness as the S3 ??
I mean, I really have a problem in the s3 being too dim even at maximum brightness when outdoors in the sun, so is the S5 specification wise, have the same max brightness as the s3 and face this problem?

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