iPhone 11 Pro Max OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out

Dr. Raymond M. Soneira

President, DisplayMate Technologies Corporation

Copyright © 1990-2019 by DisplayMate Technologies Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

This article, or any part thereof, may not be copied, reproduced, mirrored, distributed or incorporated

into any other work without the prior written permission of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation

iPhone 11 Pro Max

Introduction and Overview

The key element for a great Smartphone has always been a truly innovative and top performing display, and the best leading edge Smartphones have always flaunted their super high tech displays. It is the display performance that determines how good and how beautiful everything on the Smartphone looks, including the camera photos, videos, movies, web content, plus all of your Apps, and also how readable and how usable the screen is in high ambient lighting. The Display is the crown jewel of the Smartphone!

In this Display Technology Shoot-Out article series we only cover the Very Best State-of-the-Art Top Performing and Top Tier Smartphone Displays. The articles are designed to promote Display Performance so that consumers, reviewers, and journalists all recognize and appreciate Display Excellence, and also to reward and encourage manufacturers to produce top performing displays for their products.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max is Apple’s third generation Flagship Smartphone, with an OLED display that follows the highly acclaimed second generation iPhone XS Max and first generation iPhone X.

As we will show in detail below, the iPhone 11 Pro Max has a number of notable improvements over the iPhone XS Max including:

· 17% higher Peak Brightness of 821 nits for a typical Average Picture Level of 50%, which improves screen visibility in high Ambient Light.

On its Home Screen the iPhone 11 Pro Max produced an impressively High Brightness of 902 nits.

· An HDR Peak Brightness of 1,290 nits for the standard HDR 20% APL, and 1,090 nits for Full Screen White with 100% APL.

· Display Power Efficiency that has increased by up to 15% compared to the iPhone XS Max.

In this article we lab test, measure, analyze, and evaluate in depth the display on the iPhone 11 Pro Max. This is an independent scientific objective lab test and analysis of OLED displays written for consumers and journalists. It is the latest edition in our nine year article series that has lab tested, tracked and analyzed the development of mobile OLED displays and display technology, from its early beginnings in 2010, when OLED displays started out in last place, into a rapidly improving and evolving display technology that now has a commanding first place lead and continues pushing ahead aggressively.

We’ll cover all of the these display performance topics and much more, with in-depth comprehensive display tests, measurements, and analysis that you will find nowhere else.

The Move to OLED Displays

LCDs are a great cutting edge high performance display technology for Tablets to TVs, but for small handheld Smartphones, OLED displays provide a number of significant advantages over LCDs including: being much thinner, much lighter, without needing a bezel providing a rimless edge-to-edge design. They can be made flexible and into curved screens, plus they have a very fast response time, better viewing angles, and an always-on display mode.

Many of the OLED performance advantages result from the fact that every single sub-pixel in an OLED display is independently directly electrically powered to emit light, so only the active image sub-pixels draw power based on their individual brightness levels. OLEDs can also provide better color accuracy, image contrast accuracy, and screen uniformity because the irregularities and variations in LCD Backlights introduce color and brightness irregularities and variations over the screen.

As the result of their very versatile power management capabilities, OLEDs are not only more power efficient than LCDs for most image content, but they now deliver much higher Peak Brightness than LCDs because the maximum power can be delivered to just the sub-pixels that are needed for producing the current image. However, for mostly all white screen content LCDs are likely to remain brighter and more power efficient for a while.

OLED displays now have tremendous performance advantages over LCDs, so high-end and flagship Smartphones need OLED displays in order to compete at state-of-the-art performance levels, securing OLED as the definitive premier display technology for Top Tier Smartphones in the foreseeable future over the next 3-5 years. With the continuing improvements in OLED hardware performance, picture quality, and precision accuracy, it will be much harder for new display technologies to challenge OLED.

Article Overview

This article has the following major sections:

· iPhone 11 Pro Max Highlights and Performance Results

· iPhone 11 Pro Max Conclusions

· iPhone 11 Pro Display Performance Functions and Features

· iPhone 11 Pro Max Display Performance Records

· DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award

· Improving Display Performance for Real World Ambient Light

· Improving the Next Generation of Mobile Displays

· iPhone 11 Pro Max Lab Measurements and Comparison Table

The Display Shoot-Out

To examine the performance of the new iPhone 11 Pro Max OLED Display we ran our in-depth series of Mobile Display Technology Shoot-Out Lab tests and measurements in order to determine how the latest OLED displays have improved. We take display quality very seriously and provide in-depth objective analysis based on detailed laboratory tests and measurements and extensive viewing tests with both test patterns, test images and test photos. To see how far OLED and LCD mobile displays have progressed in just nine years see our 2010 Smartphone Display Shoot-Out, and for a real history lesson see our original 2006 Smartphone Display Shoot-Out.

Apple provided DisplayMate Technologies with a retail unit of the iPhone 11 Pro Max so that we could perform our well known objective and comprehensive DisplayMate Lab tests, measurements, and analysis, explaining in-depth the new display performance results for consumers, reviewers, and journalists as early as possible.

iPhone 11 Pro Max Highlights and Performance Results

In this section we review and explain the principal results from the extensive DisplayMate Lab Tests and Measurements

in the following categories: Display Specifications, Overall Assessments, Screen Reflections, Brightness and Contrast,

Colors and Intensities, Absolute Color Accuracy, Viewing Angles, OLED Spectra, Display Power.

Lab Tests and Measurement Data Table

See the Display Shoot-Out Lab Measurements Comparison Table for the complete set of DisplayMate Lab Tests and Measurements.

Main Topics Covered

This Highlights and Performance Results section has detailed information and analysis on the iPhone 11 Pro Max display for the main topics listed below.

You can skip this section and go directly to the iPhone 11 Pro Max Conclusions for a Summary of the Display Test Results.

· Large 6.5 inch Full Screen Display

· 2.7K High Resolution Display

· Industry Standard Color Gamuts

· Automatic Color Management

· Very High Absolute Color Accuracy

· Color Accuracy and Intensity Scales Independent of APL

· High Screen Brightness and Performance in High Ambient Light

· High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR Display

· Night Shift Mode for Better Night Viewing

· Dark Mode

· True Tone Viewing Mode

· Diamond Sub-Pixels

· Viewing Angle Performance

· Viewing Tests Performance

· Display Power Efficiency

· Display Related Enhancements

· Large 6.5 inch Full Screen Display with a higher Aspect Ratio of 19.5 : 9

The iPhone 11 Pro Max has a large 6.5 inch full screen display that fills almost the entire front face of the phone from edge-to-edge. The Full Screen design on the iPhone 11 Pro Max results in a 21% larger Display Screen Area than the iPhone 8 Plus, which has the same overall phone dimensions.

The display also has a higher form factor with a taller height to width Aspect Ratio of 19.5 : 9 = 2.17, which is 22% larger than the 16 : 9 = 1.78 on most Smartphones (and widescreen TVs) because the display now has the same overall shape as the entire phone. It is taller in Portrait mode and wider in Landscape mode. This provides extra space for Notifications and for displaying multiple Apps and content simultaneously on-screen side-by-side.

The very top of the screen has a Black 0.2” high (5 mm) Slot cutout area from the display that holds the front facing camera, ambient light and proximity sensors, the ear speaker and other sensors. It’s noticeable but easy to get used to because it takes up just 1.7% of the total Screen Area. The left and right tabs on either side of the Slot are typically used to show App data that would otherwise need to be shown in the primary display area.

· 2.7K High Resolution Full HD+ 2688x1242 Display with 458 pixels per inch

As a result of its larger display size and larger Aspect Ratio, the iPhone 11 Pro Max has a 2.7K High Resolution Full HD+ display with 2688x1242 pixels and 458 pixels per inch, with 3.3 Mega Pixels, 61% more than an HDTV. The display has Diamond Sub-Pixels (see below) and Sub-Pixel Rendering with 458 pixels per inch (ppi), providing significantly higher image sharpness than can be resolved with normal 20/20 Vision at the typical viewing distances of 12 inches or more for Smartphones, so the display appears perfectly sharp. As a result, for Smartphones it is absolutely pointless to further increase the display resolution and pixels per inch (ppi) up to 4K (3940x2160 pixels) for a silly marketing wild goose chase into the stratosphere, with no visual benefit for humans!

· Industry Standard Color Gamuts

The iPhone 11 Pro Max supports the two most important Industry Standard Color Gamuts: the sRGB / Rec.709 Color Gamut that is used for most current consumer content, and the new Wide DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is used in 4K Ultra HD TVs. The DCI-P3 Gamut is 26 percent larger than the sRGB / Rec.709 Gamut. But Automatic Color Management provides many more Gamuts...

· Automatic Color Management

Most Smartphones and Tablets generally provide only one to up to several fixed Color Gamuts. The iPhone 11 Pro Max has Automatic Color Management that automatically switches to the proper Color Gamut for any displayed image content within the Wide DCI-P3 Color Space that has an ICC Profile, so images automatically appear with the correct colors, neither over-saturated or under-saturated. Automatic Color Management with multiple and varying Color Gamuts are a very useful and important state-of-the-art capability that all manufacturers will need to provide in the future.

· Very High Absolute Color Accuracy

Delivering great color with high Absolute Color Accuracy is incredibly difficult because everything on the display has to be done just right. In order to deliver accurate image colors, a display needs to closely match the standard Color Gamut that was used for producing the content being viewed – not more and not less. In addition the display also needs an accurate (pure logarithmic power-law) Intensity Scale, and an accurate White Point.

Each iPhone 11 Pro Max display is individually calibrated at the factory for both Color Accuracy and Contrast Accuracy. Since the iPhone 11 Pro Max supports two Standard Color Gamuts it needs to also implement Color Management in order to get the second smaller sRGB / Rec.709 Gamut to also appear correctly, which is generated from the wider native DCI-P3 Gamut.

The Absolute Color Accuracy of the iPhone 11 Pro Max is Truly Impressive as shown in these Figures. It has an Absolute Color Accuracy of 0.9 JNCD (Just Noticeable Color Difference) for the sRGB / Red.709 Color Gamut that is used for most current consumer content, and 0.8 JNCD for the Wider DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is used for 4K UHD TVs and Digital Cinema, which are both Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and very likely considerably better than any mobile display, monitor, TV or UHD TV that you have.

Note that to obtain this High Absolute Color Accuracy both True Tone and Night Shift need to be Off because they change the White Point of the display from the 6500 K Standard, which then changes the Absolute Color Accuracy throughout the Color Gamut. See this Figure for an explanation and visual definition of J ust N oticeable C olor D ifference JNCD and the Color Accuracy Plots with 41 Reference Colors showing the measured display Color Errors. See the Color Accuracy section and the Color Accuracy Plots for measurements and details.

· Color Accuracy and Intensity Scales that are Independent of the on-screen Image Content APL

The Absolute Color Accuracy and Intensity Scale of the display should not change as the on-screen image content changes.

With the continuing improvements in display performance we have added a new set of advanced tests that measure the variations in the Absolute Color Accuracy and the Intensity Scales with changing Average Picture Level APL, comparing the Color Shifts between Low APL and 50% High APL. Previous generation displays with large Peak Luminance changes with APL will show large Shifts in the Intensity Scale and large Shifts in Absolute Color Accuracy with APL.

Figure 3 shows the variation in the Intensity Scales between Low APL and 50% APL. Any change in the Intensity Scale will affect the Absolute Color Accuracy. There is only a small Shift in the Intensity Scales, with the Gamma varying from 2.28 for Low APL to 2.35 for 50% APL. As a result, the Image Contrast remains relatively unchanged with varying APL content.

Figure 4 shows the variation in the Absolute Color Accuracy between Low APL and 50% APL. The Color Shifts with APL are small, with an Average Color Shift of just 0.3 JNCD, and the Largest Color Shifts are only 0.6 JNCD. The White Point Shifts with APL are just 0.3 to 0.4 JNCD.

All of the Shifts with APL are small, Visually Indistinguishable, and rated Excellent. See this Figure for an explanation and visual definition of JNCD and the Color APL Shifts section for measurements and details.

· High Screen Brightness and Performance in High Ambient Light

Mobile displays are often used under relatively bright ambient lighting, which washes out the image color saturation and contrast, reducing picture quality and making it harder to view or read the screen. To be usable in high ambient light a display needs a dual combination of high Screen Brightness and low Screen Reflectance – the iPhone 11 Pro Max has both. This is extremely important for screen readability, picture quality, and color accuracy in ambient light.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max has a Record calibrated Full White Screen Brightness of 770 nits for the sRGB/Rec.709 and DCI-P3 Color Gamuts. But for typical applications with a typical Average Picture Level of 50% the measured Screen Brightness is 820 nits, which is roughly double of most high-end Smartphones, and also exceeds Apple’s Brightness spec. For Low Average Picture Levels, such as in the Dark Mode display setting, the Screen Brightness climbs to a very impressive 905 nits. On its Home Screen the iPhone 11 Pro Max produces an impressively bright 902 nits (which varies with the Wallpaper selected). See the Screen Brightness section for the measurements and details.

The measured iPhone 11 Pro Max Screen Reflectance is 4.5 percent, close to the lowest that we have ever measured for a Smartphone. Our Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light quantitatively measures screen visibility and image contrast under bright Ambient Lighting – the higher the better. As a result of its high Brightness and low Reflectance, the iPhone 11 Pro Max has a Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light that ranges from 171 to 201, among the highest that we have ever measured for a Smartphone. See the Screen Reflectance section for the measurements and details.

· HDR High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR Display

The iPhone 11 Pro Max provides High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR, with support for both HDR10 and Dolby Vision, which allows it to play 4K High Dynamic Range content made for 4K UHD TVs. H igh D ynamic R ange (HDR) is the newest performance enhancement feature developed for the latest 4K Ultra HD TVs. HDR provides expanded the Color, Contrast, and Brightness of video content. The display also supports HDR camera photos.

In order to provide Mobile HDR, the iPhone 11 Pro Max has the required Digital Cinema DCI-P3 Wide Color Gamut, High Peak Luminance, plus perfect Blacks and an Infinite Contrast Ratio from its OLED display. Using an HDR video we measured an HDR Peak Brightness of 1,290 nits for standard HDR 20% APL, also 1,205 nits for 50% APL, and 1,090 nits for a Full Screen White with 100% APL, all of which are all very impressive, and exceed Apple’s HDR spec.

· Night Shift Mode for Better Night Viewing

The Night Shift mode on the iPhone 11 Pro Max is designed to change the color balance of the display in order to reduce the amount of Blue light produced by the display, which some recent research indicates can affect how well users sleep afterwards. In a separate article we explain and analyze the Blue Light issue for displays. The iPhone 11 Pro Max includes a user adjustable slider to vary the amount of Blue light produced by the display, and a timer that allows the Night Shift to be turned on and off automatically every day. The measured variation in the display light spectrum with the adjustable Night Shift slider is shown in this Figure and below.

As the Night Shift slider setting is increased, the amount of Blue light emitted by the display decreases. When that happens, White and all screen colors take on an increasing yellowish tint and color cast. At the Middle setting the measured White Color Temperature decreases to 4,100 K, and at the Maximum setting it decreases to 2,700 K, the Color Temperature of traditional incandescent lighting, which is yellowish. With Night Shift at its Maximum setting, the measured Blue Light component from the iPhone 11 Pro Max is reduced by 80 percent. Turning down the screen Brightness will further decrease the amount of Blue Light.

Note that as Night Shift changes the White Point of the display from the 6500 K Standard, the Absolute Color Accuracy throughout the entire Color Gamut is affected and reduced. The measured display spectra for several of the Night Shift settings are included in this Figure and below.

Display Spectra Click to Enlarge

· Super Dim Setting

The iPhone 11 Pro Max also has a Super Dim Setting that allows the Maximum Screen Brightness to be set all the way down to just 2 cd/m2 (nits) using the Brightness Slider. This is perfect for night use on a beside table, and useful for working comfortably without eye strain or bothering others in very dark environments, or affecting the eye’s dark adaptation, such as when using a telescope. The display still provides full 24-bit color and the picture quality remains excellent.

· Dark Mode

For iOS 13 Apple has introduced a new Dark Mode display setting that inverts the typical White Background with Black Text to a Black Background with White Text. This significantly reduces the overall Brightness of the entire display for most applications, and should reduce eye strain when viewing the display in low to dark ambient light. An additional bonus is that switching to a Black Background will in most cases significantly reduce the battery power used by the OLED display. For example, for the Calendar application, at the Maximum Brightness setting, switching to the Dark Mode from the Light Mode reduces the Display Power from 4.2 watts down to 0.2 watts, which will significantly increase the Running Time on Battery.

· True Tone Viewing Mode

The True Tone viewing mode automatically changes the White Point and color balance of the display based on real-time measurements of the Ambient Light falling on the screen. The idea is to make the display behave more like paper reflecting ambient light and taking on its color. It is implemented with an Ambient Light sensor that measures the Color of the Ambient Light in addition to its Brightness. Note that as the display White Point changes from the 6500 K Standard the Absolute Color Accuracy throughout the entire Color Gamut is affected and reduced.

· Diamond Sub-Pixels

A high resolution screen shot obtained with an optical microscope camera shows a Diamond shaped layout for the Sub-Pixels on the iPhone 11 Pro Max. This Diamond Sub-Pixel layout is used on many OLED displays. On the iPhone 11 Pro Max the resulting Sub-Pixel fill factor is much higher than other OLEDs, which is a key factor in providing the much higher Peak Luminance of over 770 nits.

The Red, Green, and Blue sub-pixels have very different sizes -- Blue is by far the largest because it has the lowest light emission efficiency, and Green is by far the smallest because it has the highest efficiency. The alternating Red and Blue sub-pixel arrangement leads to a 45 degree diagonal symmetry in the sub-pixel layout. This allows vertical, horizontal, and particularly diagonal line segments and vectors to be drawn with reduced aliasing and artifacts. In order to maximize the sub-pixel packing and achieve the highest possible pixels per inch (ppi), that leads to a Diamond rather than Square or Striped arrangement of the Sub-Pixels. It's a form of high-tech display art...

· Viewing Angle Performance

While Smartphones are primarily single viewer devices, the variation in display performance with viewing angle is still very important because single viewers frequently hold the display at a variety of viewing angles. The angle is often up to 30 degrees, more if the phone is resting on a table or desk.

While LCDs typically experience a 55 percent or greater decrease in Brightness at a 30 degree Viewing Angle, the OLED iPhone 11 Pro Max display shows a much smaller 25 percent decrease in Brightness at 30 degrees. This also applies to multiple side-by-side viewers as well, and is a significant advantage of OLED displays.

All displays have Color Shifts with Viewing Angle

OLED displays generally have smaller Color Shifts with Viewing Angle than most LCDs (except for IPS and FFS based LCD displays). For OLEDs the Color Shifts with Viewing Angle result primarily from the Cavity Effect that that is used to increase the Brightness efficiency of the display. The Color Shifts throughout the Color Gamut then vary as combinations of the Primary Red, Green, and Blue Color Shifts.

The Color Shift of White, which is the most common background color is particularly noticeable on many OLED and LCD displays.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max has a relatively small White Shift of 2.6 JNCD at 30 degrees, which is unlikely to be noticeable for typical Viewing Angles.

The Color Shift for the Red Primary is 3.7 JNCD at 30 degrees, which is just slightly larger than the 3.5 JNCD needed for a Very Good Green rating, and may be noticeable for some color content but not objectionable.

The Color Shift for the Blue Primary is larger at 4.7 JNCD at 30 degrees. But as explained in our Absolute Color Accuracy Display Technology Shoot-Out article, the color accuracy of Blue Region covering the entire range from Cyan to Magenta is generally less critical for visual color accuracy. While the eye can still detect color differences and color errors in the Blue Region, for the most part we are less likely to notice or be troubled by color differences and discrepancies with colors in the Blue Region. So a larger Blue Color Shift is less noticeable than the Red and Green Color Shifts found in many Smartphone displays.

See the Viewing Angles section for the measurements and details.

· Viewing Tests Performance

The iPhone 11 Pro Max provides very nice, pleasing and very accurate colors and picture quality. Although the Image Contrast is slightly too high (due to a slightly too steep Intensity Scale), the very challenging set of DisplayMate Test and Calibration Photos that we use to evaluate picture quality looked absolutely stunning and Beautiful, even to my experienced hyper-critical eyes.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max excels due to its impressive Absolute Color Accuracy (0.9 JNCD), which is Visually Indistinguishable from Perfect, and is very likely considerably better than any mobile display, monitor, TV or UHD TV that you have. So photos, videos, and online content and merchandise will appear correct and beautiful. See the Color Accuracy Figures and the Colors and Intensities section for quantitative details.

· Display Power Efficiency

The Display’s Power Efficiency is extremely important for Battery Running Time because the display can use up to 75% of the Total iPhone Power for an all White Screen at the Maximum Brightness setting. For the iPhone 11 Pro Max the Display Power Efficiency has increased by up to 15% compared to the iPhone XS Max.

While LCDs remain more power efficient for images with mostly full screen white content (like all text screens on a white background, for example), OLEDs are more power efficient for typical mixed image content because they are emissive displays so their power varies with the Average Picture Level (average Brightness) of the image content over the entire screen. For OLEDs, Black pixels and sub-pixels don’t use any power so screens with Black or dark backgrounds are very power efficient for OLEDs. For LCDs the display power is fixed and independent of image content. Currently, OLED displays are more power efficient than LCDs for Average Pictures Levels of 70 percent or less, and LCDs are more power efficient for Average Picture Levels above 70 percent. Since both technologies are continuing to improve their power efficiencies, the crossover will continue to change with time.

See the Display Power section for the measurements and details.

· Display Related Enhancements

· The iPhone 11 Pro Max is IP68 water resistant in up to 4 meters (13.1 feet) of water for up to half an hour, which means you can comfortably view the display in typical wet indoor and outdoor conditions – even carefully use it in a tub or shower, and it should be fine if you accidentally drop it in a sink or toilet.

· The iPhone 11 Pro Max can be used with Polarized Sunglasses in both the Portrait and Landscape orientations unlike many LCDs, which generally work in only one of the two orientations.

· The iPhone 11 Pro Max Cover Glass is more durable and scratch resistant compared to the iPhone XS and iPhone 8, which provides higher resistance to breakage.

iPhone 11 Pro Max Conclusions:

The primary goal of this Display Technology Shoot-Out article series has always been to publicize and promote display excellence so that consumers, journalists and even manufacturers are aware of and appreciate the very best in displays and display technology. We point out which manufactures and display technologies are leading and advancing the state-of-the-art for displays by performing comprehensive and objective scientific Lab tests and measurements together with in-depth analysis. We point out who is leading, who is behind, who is improving, and sometimes (unfortunately) who is back pedaling… all based solely on the extensive objective careful Lab measurements that we also publish, so that everyone can judge the data for themselves as well.

Summary of the iPhone 11 Pro Max Display Functions, Features, and Performance Records:

The iPhone 11 Pro Max has many major and important state-of-the-art display performance enhancements, features and functions, including setting many new Display Performance Records, which are summarized below.

See the Display Shoot-Out Comparison Table section below for the complete DisplayMate Lab measurements and test details.

See the Highlights and Performance Results section above for a detailed overview with expanded discussions and explanations.

See the Display Assessments section for the evaluation details.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max has the following State-of-the-Art Display Performance Functions and Features:

· A state-of-the-art OLED display that is manufactured on a flexible plastic substrate. While the OLED display itself is flexible, the screen remains rigid under an outer hard cover glass.

· A Full Screen design with a large 6.5 inch OLED display that fills almost the entire front face of the iPhone 11 Pro Max from edge-to-edge, providing a significantly larger display for the same phone size.

· A display form factor with a taller height to width Aspect Ratio of 19.5 : 9 = 2.17, which is 22% larger than the 16 : 9 = 1.78 on most Smartphones (and widescreen TVs) because the display now has the same overall shape as the entire phone. It is taller in Portrait mode and wider in Landscape mode.

· A 2.7K High Resolution 2688 x 1242 Full HD+ Display with 458 pixels per inch, and Diamond Sub-Pixels with Sub-Pixel Rendering for enhanced sharpness and higher Peak Brightness.

· The iPhone 11 Pro Max display appears Perfectly Sharp for normal 20/20 Vision at Typical Smartphone Viewing Distances of 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cm).

· A Record High Full Screen Brightness for OLED Smartphones of 770 nits for 100% APL and 821 nits for 50% APL, which improves screen visibility in high Ambient Light. On its Home Screen the iPhone 11 Pro Max produces an impressively High Brightness 902 nits.

· Each iPhone 11 Pro Max display is individually calibrated at the factory for both Color Accuracy and Contrast Accuracy.

· Very High Absolute Color Accuracy (0.9 JNCD) that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

· Color Accuracy and Intensity Scales that are Independent of the Image Content APL.

· Automatic Color Management that automatically switches to the proper Color Gamut for any displayed image content within the Wide DCI-P3 Color Space that has an ICC Profile, so images automatically appear with the correct colors, neither being over-saturated or under-saturated.

· 2 Industry Standard Color Gamuts: the sRGB / Rec.709 Color Gamut that is used for most current consumer content, and the new Wide DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is used in 4K Ultra HD TVs. The DCI-P3 Gamut is 26 percent larger than the sRGB / Rec.709 Gamut.

· A full 100% DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is also used for 4K Ultra HD TVs, so the iPhone 11 Pro Max can display the latest high-end 4K video content.

· A High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR Display which allows the iPhone 11 Pro Max to play 4K High Dynamic Range content produced for 4K UHD TVs. The HDR Peak Brightness is 1,290 nits for standard HDR 20% APL, and 1,090 nits for a Full Screen White with 100% APL.

· A Very Low Screen Reflectance of 4.5 percent.

· A Night Shift Mode that allows the user to adjust and reduce the amount of Blue Light from the display for better night viewing and improved sleep.

· A Dark Mode setting that inverts the typical White Background with Black Text to a Black Background with White Text, which significantly reduces the overall Brightness of the entire display for most applications, and should reduce eye strain when viewing the display in low to dark ambient light.

· A True Tone viewing mode that automatically changes the White Point and color balance of the display based on real-time measurements of the Ambient Light falling on the screen to make the display behave more like paper reflecting Ambient Light and taking on its color.

· Small to Medium Color Shifts and Small Brightness Shifts with Viewing Angle.

· Vision Accessibility Display Modes to help people with vision impairments.

· The iPhone 11 Pro Max can be used with Polarized Sunglasses in both the Portrait and Landscape orientations unlike many LCDs, which generally work in only one of the two orientations.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max matches or sets new Smartphone Display Performance Records for:

Note that Numerical Performance Differences that are Visually Indistinguishable are considered Matched and Tied Performance Records.

· Highest Absolute Color Accuracy (0.9 JNCD) – Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

· Smallest Shift in Color Accuracy with the Image Content APL (0.3 JNCD) – Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

· Highest Full Screen Brightness for OLED Smartphones (770 nits for 100% APL and 821 nits for 50% APL).

· Highest Full Screen Contrast Rating in Ambient Light (171 at 100% APL).

· Highest HDR Peak Brightness of 1,290 nits for standard HDR 20% APL, and 1,090 nits for Full Screen White with 100% APL.

· Highest Contrast Ratio (Infinite).

· Lowest Screen Reflectance (4.5 percent).

· Smallest Brightness Variation with Viewing Angle (25% at 30 degrees).

· Highest Visible Screen Resolution 2.7K (2688x1242) – 4K Does Not appear visually sharper on a Smartphone.

DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award

OLED has evolved into a highly refined and mature display technology that now produces the best and highest performance displays for Smartphones.

OLED Display Performance continues to provide major Record Setting improvements with every new generation.

With consumers now spending rapidly increasing amounts of time watching content on their Smartphones, the shift in emphasis from primarily improving Display Hardware Performance to enhancing the overall Display Picture Quality and Color Accuracy is an important step that DisplayMate Technologies has been pushing for many years in our Display Technology Shoot-Out article series, so it is great to see manufactures improving and then competing on these metrics.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max is a Very Impressive Top Tier display with close to Text Book Perfect Calibration and Performance!

Apple has continued to raise the on-screen Absolute Picture Quality and Absolute Color Accuracy of their displays by implementing Precision Factory Display Calibration, moving the overall iPhone 11 Pro Max display performance up to Record Setting Outstanding levels, and setting or matching many Display Performance Records, including Absolute Color Accuracy at a very impressive 0.9 JNCD that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and almost certainly considerably better than your existing Smartphone, 4K UHD TV, Tablet, Laptop and computer monitor.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max also has a Record Full Screen Peak Brightness of 770 nits, and 820 nits for the typical Average Picture Level of 50%, which is roughly double of most high-end Smartphones. Compared to the iPhone XS Max, the iPhone 11 Pro Max has a number of notable improvements including 17% higher Full Screen Peak Brightness and up to 15% higher Display Power Efficiency.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max delivers uniformly consistent all around Top Tier display performance and receives All Green (Very Good to Excellent) Ratings in all but 3 of the DisplayMate Lab Test and Measurement Categories: Yellow (Good) in Brightness Variation with Average Picture Level (15%) that applies to many OLED displays, and 2 Yellow (Good) larger Color Shifts at 30 degrees Viewing Angle (3.7 JNCD and 4.7 JNCD).

See the links below for all of the measurements, analysis and assessments:

Data Tables: See the Display Shoot-Out Lab Measurements Comparison Table section below for all of the measurements and details.

Highlights: See the Highlights and Performance Results section above for expanded discussions and explanations.

Features: See the Display Performance Functions and Features section above.

Records: See the Display Performance Records section above.

Assessments: See the Display Assessments section below for the evaluation details.

Based on our extensive Lab Tests and Measurements the iPhone 11 Pro Max receives our DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award earning DisplayMate’s highest ever A+ grade by providing considerably better display performance than other competing Smartphones.

Top Tier of Smartphone Displays

The iPhone 11 Pro Max joins the very select Top Tier of Smartphone Displays which all provide Close to Text Book Perfect Calibration Accuracy and Performance that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, so they received and maintain Concurrent DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Awards. All are Excellent State-of-the-Art Displays, each is better in some Display Performance Categories, but None are Best in All the Display Performance Categories. Note that measured numerical display performance differences that are Visually Indistinguishable are equivalent.

As Display Performance continues to improve we have and will continue to raise the Performance Levels necessary to receive a DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award, so the Top Tier of Smartphone Displays will continue to evolve and change with each new generation.

OLED displays now have tremendous performance advantages over LCDs, so high-end and flagship Smartphones need OLED displays in order to compete at state-of-the-art performance levels, securing OLED as the definitive premier display technology for Top Tier Smartphones in the foreseeable future over the next 3-5 years. With the continuing improvements in OLED hardware performance, picture quality, and precision accuracy, it will be much harder for new display technologies to challenge OLED.

Follow DisplayMate on Twitter to learn about our upcoming Smartphone display technology coverage.

Improving the Next Generation of Mobile Displays

The iPhone 11 Pro Max has a very high resolution 2.7K 2688x1242 pixel display with 458 pixels per inch (ppi) producing images that look perfectly sharp with normal 20/20 Vision under all normal viewing conditions, which always includes some ambient light that always lowers the visible image contrast and perceived image sharpness (Modulation Transfer MTF). Note that displays are almost never viewed in absolute darkness under perfect viewing conditions with ideal image content. Some clueless reviewers have been pining for 4K 3840x2160 Smartphones, which would require more than double the pixels, memory, and processing power of the 2688x1242 display on the iPhone 11 Pro Max, but there would be no visual benefit for humans! As a result, it is absolutely pointless to further increase the display resolution and pixels per inch (ppi) for a marketing wild goose chase into the stratosphere, with no visual benefit for humans!

Improving Display Performance for Real World Ambient Light Viewing Conditions

With screen size and resolution already functionally maxed out, manufacturers should instead dedicate their efforts and resources into improving real world display performance in ambient light by using advanced technology to restore and compensate for the loss of color gamut, color saturation, and image contrast due to ambient light, something that every consumer will benefit from, and will also immediately notice and appreciate – providing a true sales and marketing advantage…

Currently all existing displays are Accurate only when viewed in Absolute Darkness 0 lux. The most important improvements for OLED and LCD mobile displays will come from improving their image and picture quality and screen readability in Real World Ambient Light, which washes out the screen images, resulting in Reduced Image Contrast, Reduced Color Saturation, and Reduce Color Accuracy. The key will be in lowering the Screen Reflectance and implementing Dynamic Color Management with automatic real-time modification of the display’s native Color Gamut and Dynamic Intensity Scales based on the measured Ambient Light level in order to have them compensate for the reflected light glare and image wash out that causes a loss of color saturation and image contrast from ambient light as discussed in our Innovative Displays and Display Technology and SID Display Technology Shoot-Out articles.

The displays, technologies, and manufacturers that succeed in implementing this new real world high ambient light performance strategy will take the lead in the next generations of mobile displays… Follow DisplayMate on Twitter to learn about these developments and our upcoming display technology coverage.

DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology

All Smartphone, Tablet, Monitor and TV displays can be significantly improved using DisplayMate’s proprietary very advanced scientific analysis and mathematical display modeling and optimization of the display hardware, factory calibration, and driver parameters. We help manufacturers with expert display procurement, prototype development, display performance improvement and optimization, testing displays to meet contract specifications, and production quality control so that they don’t make mistakes similar to those that are exposed in our public Display Technology Shoot-Out series for consumers. This article is a lite version of our advanced scientific analysis – before the benefits of our DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology, which can correct or improve all of these issues. If you are a display or product manufacturer and want to significantly improve display performance for a competitive advantage then Contact DisplayMate Technologies.

iPhone 11 Pro Max

Display Shoot-Out Comparison Table

Below we examine in-depth the OLED display on the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max based on objective Lab measurement data

and criteria in the following sections: Display Specifications, Overall Assessments, Screen Reflections, Brightness and Contrast,

Colors and Intensities, Absolute Color Accuracy, Viewing Angles, OLED Spectra, Display Power.

For additional background information see this earlier article covering the Flagship OLED 2017 Smartphones.

Detailed Test and Measurement Comparisons between the iPhone 11 Pro Max, the iPhone XS, and the Galaxy Note10+ Displays

You can directly compare the data and measurement results for the iPhone 11 Pro Max with the iPhone XS and Galaxy Note10+ displays

in detail by using a Tabbed web browser with our comprehensive Lab measurements and analysis for each of the displays.

For each Tab click on a Link below. The entries are mostly identical with only minor formatting differences,

so it is easy to make detailed side-by-side comparisons by simply clicking through the Tabs.

Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max Lab Measurements Comparison Table

Apple iPhone XS Max Lab Measurements Comparison Table

Samsung Galaxy Note10+ Lab Measurements Comparison Table

For comparisons with the other leading Smartphone, Tablet, and Smart Watch displays see our Mobile Display Technology Shoot-Out series.

About the Author

Dr. Raymond Soneira is President of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation of Amherst, New Hampshire, which produces display calibration, evaluation, and diagnostic products for consumers, technicians, and manufacturers. See www.displaymate.com. He is a research scientist with a career that spans physics, computer science, and television system design. Dr. Soneira obtained his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Princeton University, spent 5 years as a Long-Term Member of the world famous Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, another 5 years as a Principal Investigator in the Computer Systems Research Laboratory at AT&T Bell Laboratories, and has also designed, tested, and installed color television broadcast equipment for the CBS Television Network Engineering and Development Department. He has authored over 35 research articles in scientific journals in physics and computer science, including Scientific American. If you have any comments or questions about the article, you can contact him at dtso.info@displaymate.com.

DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology

All Smartphone, Tablet, Monitor and TV displays can be significantly improved using DisplayMate’s proprietary very advanced scientific analysis and mathematical display modeling and optimization of the display hardware, factory calibration, and driver parameters. We help manufacturers with expert display procurement, prototype development, display performance improvement and optimization, testing displays to meet contract specifications, and production quality control so that they don’t make mistakes similar to those that are exposed in our public Display Technology Shoot-Out series for consumers. This article is a lite version of our advanced scientific analysis – before the benefits of our DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology, which can correct or improve all of these issues. If you are a display or product manufacturer and want to significantly improve display performance for a competitive advantage then Contact DisplayMate Technologies.

About DisplayMate Technologies

DisplayMate Technologies specializes in proprietary advanced scientific display calibration and mathematical display optimization to deliver unsurpassed objective performance, picture quality and accuracy for all types of displays including video and computer monitors, projectors, TVs, mobile displays such as Smartphones and Tablets, and all display technologies including LCD, OLED, 3D, LED, LCoS, Plasma, DLP and CRT. This article is a lite version of our intensive scientific analysis of Smartphone and Smartphone mobile displays – before the benefits of our advanced mathematical DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology, which can correct or improve many of the display deficiencies. We offer DisplayMate display calibration software for consumers and advanced DisplayMate display diagnostic and calibration software for technicians and test labs.

For manufacturers we offer Consulting Services that include advanced Lab testing and evaluations, confidential Shoot-Outs with competing products, calibration and optimization for displays, cameras and their User Interface, plus on-site and factory visits. We help manufacturers with expert display procurement, prototype development, and production quality control so they don’t make mistakes similar to those that are exposed in our Display Technology Shoot-Out series. See our world renown Display Technology Shoot-Out public article series for an introduction and preview. DisplayMate’s advanced scientific optimizations can make lower cost panels look as good or better than more expensive higher performance displays. If you are a display or product manufacturer and want to turn your display into a spectacular one to surpass your competition then Contact DisplayMate Technologies to learn more.

Article Links: Apple iPhone XS Max OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out

Article Links: Samsung Galaxy Note10+ OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out

Article Links: Display Color Gamuts Shoot-Out NTSC to Rec.2020

Article Links: Absolute Color Accuracy Display Technology Shoot-Out

Article Links: Watching Displays at Night

Article Links: Display Technology Shoot-Out Article Series Overview and Home Page

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