The Best Display Smartphones of 2022
One of the biggest improvements to display technology in recent times had nothing to do with image quality, but instead the widespread adoption of LTPO backplane technology. This year around, the technology trickled from just the flagships to also the more modestly priced high-end smartphone category.
The actual image quality improvements came from incremental gains in OLED manufacturing and those in the display sub-system of the SOC. This time around, all our nominations deliver extremely bright images with great contrast and high frame rates—factors that significantly improve the user experience.
And Here Are the Winners...
Gold Award: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Samsung makes some of the best television panels in the world. It brings its learnings and expertise to the smartphone industry by plonking crisp AMOLED displays into the tiny packages. The Samsung Galaxy S series has been the flagbearer of smartphone display innovation, which is why this awards category would be incomplete without the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Its Dynamic AMOLED 2x offers great contrast and brightness levels delivering an immersive visual experience. Not surprisingly, the Galaxy S22 Ultra dominates the display category and grabs the top spot.
Silver Award: Google Pixel 7 Pro
The Pixel 6 series received a lot of flak due to its sub-par display performance. The new Google Pixel 7 Pro addresses that and offers a brilliant LTPO AMOLED display that delivers a peak brightness of 1500 nits. That's not all, its high brightness mode can sustain 1000 nits for an immersive HDR experience. Its curved screen and a high pixel density of 550 ppi earns some brownie points and help it clinch the silver award.
Bronze Award: OnePlus 10 Pro 5G
OnePlus is known to offer value-for-money smartphones. The OnePlus 10 Pro is no different as it brings a great price-to-display performance ratio to the table. It flaunts a high pixel density of 525 ppi and features an LTPO technology to keep energy consumption at bay. The smartphone's crisp display and fantastic screen-to-body ratio help it win third place by a huge margin.
Meet Our Nominees
OnePlus 10 Pro 5G
The OnePlus 10 Pro's display might not have the best peak brightness in its class, but it is hard to beat from purely a price-to-display performance perspective. For your money, you still get a sharp display packing in a resolution of 525 ppi and LTPO technology for keeping power consumption in check. This gorgeous display with a terrific screen-to-body ratio deserves a place among our nominees.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
In addition to smartphones, Samsung also makes some of the best televisions in the world. As a matter of fact, most flagship smartphones ship with a Samsung AMOLED display. The Samsung Galaxy S series has been the flagbearer of smartphone display innovation, which is why this awards category cannot be complete without the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The Dynamic AMOLED 2x tech delivers a palpable improvement in contrast and brightness—the display parameters that contribute the most to perceived image quality. This is the phone to beat when it comes to smartphone display technology.
Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
The Motorola Edge 30 Ultra might not have the best display in this category, but it comes really close to the competition thanks to a higher refresh rate of 144Hz and sublime touch sampling combined with great in-hand feel of both the front glass and the chassis. It still delivers a respectable peak brightness of 1250 nits for a great HDR experience. What makes it all worth it, is the relatively modest price tag and an excellent software package.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus is one way to save a buck, if top-drawer smartphone photography isn't an utmost priority for you. However, this lower priced SKU has zero compromises in the display department compared to its more expensive Ultra counterpart. Needless to say, a display of this pedigree deserves a second nomination, even if it is in the guise of a different variant of the same smartphone.
Google Pixel 7 Pro
After experiencing many hardware hiccups (including some serious display woes) in its previous iterations, the Pixel 7 series showed a remarkable improvement with its display performance. The Pixel 7 Pro earns its nomination thanks to a brilliant LTPO AMOLED display that can deliver 1500 nits of peak brightness, with a high brightness mode capable of sustaining 1000 nits for a compelling HDR experience. The curved screen and a high pixel density in excess of 500 ppi makes it a strong contender.