In praise of AMOLED (Galaxy Tab S 8.4)

bradly1101

Diamond Member
May 5, 2013
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www.bradlygsmith.org
After having an AMOLED phone (S3, which has been very reliable), I got used to a rich, vibrant screen with perfect black levels. My first tablet (Lenovo Yoga 8 - LCD) is still great, but as my partner was using it more and more I needed to get second one. Tablets need to be around 8" for me because I read a lot.

The Tab S was what I was looking for, especially since the Yoga didn't have the best screen. I ordered it directly from Samsung where its Book Cover was free. It arrived in a little less than 24 hours despite having chosen free shipping.

I needed the cover because the tablet seems impossibly thin and light, and it can be propped up at three different levels (landscape only). It snaps onto little recesses in the back instead of grabbing onto the edge, making it look like it's just floating there when looked at straight on.

Its resolution also seems impossibly high for an 8" device (2560x1600 - 359ppi). Since the screen is 16:10 there are usually black bars around media, but owing to the fact that AMOLED screens have no light leak in the blacks it just looks like an extension of the bezel, as if the screen changes shape to all your media. Too cool!

I got the "Titanium Bronze" one with the dark bezel (I don't like displays rimmed in white), and it and the bronze Book Cover have nice accents.

The only negative I found so far is one shared with my Samsung AMOLED phone; the keyboard was way too sensitive, which is easily solved with the Swiftkey app. I couldn't hardly type at all on the stock keyboard.

9/10
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
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I got a S5 due to water/dust resistance, but I'm a little afraid of screen burn. I don't get new computers until I need a new computer, and prefer to keep what I have for a long time, so I'm hoping the display lasts awhile.

No complaints otherwise. It's a great looking display.
 

bradly1101

Diamond Member
May 5, 2013
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www.bradlygsmith.org
I got a S5 due to water/dust resistance, but I'm a little afraid of screen burn. I don't get new computers until I need a new computer, and prefer to keep what I have for a long time, so I'm hoping the display lasts awhile.

No complaints otherwise. It's a great looking display.

I've had my S3 for a couple of years and the screen is still perfect, so I wouldn't worry too much.
 

GTRagnarok

Senior member
Aug 6, 2011
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The Galaxy S4 was my first AMOLED device, and it made me an instant believer. The perfect blacks are just awesome, and I appreciate them every time I use it in the dark. Samsung's AMOLED displays are improving quickly every year and, especially with the latest QHD ones, I think they're definitely superior to LCD at this point. I hope other companies start using them too because for now I'm sticking with Samsung solely for their displays.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
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I've had my S3 for a couple of years and the screen is still perfect, so I wouldn't worry too much.

I keep the display as black as I can. It works out well because I prefer dark backgrounds in general. We'll see I guess. This is all a big experiment for me, but I dig the phone/display so far.
 

Oyeve

Lifer
Oct 18, 1999
22,058
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I've had amoled since the behold 2. My latest tablet the was the tab pro 8.4 as I wasn't impressed with the tab S. Still an awesome screen.
 

RockinZ28

Platinum Member
Mar 5, 2008
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I've had my S3 for a couple of years and the screen is still perfect, so I wouldn't worry too much.

I think what kills it is torch mode. My wife's S3 has severe burn in from a game hud. Think also now the keyboard is faintly visible too. She keeps her brightness at 100% 24/7 though. To me it just looks stupid indoors at 100%, especially at night. Not to mention it destroys the battery life.

Was hesitant to get her a Tab S, but I did. Make sure to keep telling her don't put that damn brightness past 50%, and go to the home screen at least once every hour. So far so good.
 

Rdmkr

Senior member
Aug 2, 2013
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Tab S 8.4 sounds like one of those devices that's in the sweet spot of everything. QHD on amoled is as close to screen quality perfection as you're going to get and the 8.4 inch size in a light and thin body means you can easily hold the screen close to your face to resolve all the detail. I'm seriously debating getting it myself, among other things to appreciate reviewals of my RX100-2 pictures properly where the Yoga with its 1:500 contrast failed to deliver.
 

dawheat

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2000
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With the OPO, I do miss the black blacks when watching movies as the black bars are noticeably grey. However outside of that, I don't really miss AMOLED (but nor do I favor LCD). The technologies seem mostly equivalent at 1080p (say S5 vs. M8/Z2/etc).

However the battery life and brightness differences of the G3 1440p screen and the S5 LTE-A 1440p screen seem to favor AMOLED considerably at that resolution and size.
 

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
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I prefer AMOLED over LCD. The perfect blacks are pretty noticeable especially when watching video. And I like the potential for increased battery savings, plus you get things like ActiveDisplay which are only worthwhile on an AMOLED screen.
 

Rdmkr

Senior member
Aug 2, 2013
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Got my hands on it now. It's pretty slick on most fronts, but the performance is underwhelming at times. Toning down touchwiz helps a lot, though, as would probably getting rid of it entirely.

Still not a fan of the dimple back, but the record compactness makes it forgiveable.

Nothing but praise for the screen; it really is a small miracle. No regrets about getting it alongside the existing QHD screen on my yoga. It is absolutely in a class of its own.
 
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