OnePlus 7 Pro’s new screen sets a new record on DisplayMate

For years, OnePlus has settled, despite its slogan, for a Full HD screen. For years, it has insisted that 1080p preferred by its customers because of the energy savings it brings. That all changes with the OnePlus 7 Pro as the company flipped the switch to a QHD+ screen, along with a few other goodies in tow. And in exchange for the potential higher battery drain, OnePlus’ “ultra-premium” gets to be invited into DisplayMate’s exclusive club for having one of the Best Smartphone Displays ever.

If mobile photography has DxOMark, smartphone screens have DisplayMate. It is almost amusing how it names each new Samsung, Apple, Google phones as having the best phone display ever. Unlike DxOMark, though, it doesn’t really have a strict ranking based on scores. Instead, it has different ratings in different categories and compiles them in the end.

According to DisplayMate, the OnePlus 7 Pro has its “Highest Overall Assessment Display Rating of A+“. That’s because it has either set or matched the record in 10 categories. These are:

Highest Absolute Color Accuracy (0.8 JNCD) – Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

Highest Image Contrast Accuracy and Intensity Scale Accuracy (2.20 Gamma) – Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

Smallest Change in Peak Brightness with the Image Content APL (1 percent) – Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

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

Smallest Shift in Image Contrast and Intensity Scale with the Image Content APL (0.00) – Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

Largest Native Color Gamut (111% DCI-P3 and 140% sRGB / Rec.709).

Highest Contrast Ratio (Infinite).

Lowest Screen Reflectance (4.6 percent).

Smallest Brightness Variation with Viewing Angle (22 percent at 30 degrees).

Highest Visible Screen Resolution 3K (3120×1440) – 4K Does Not Appear Visually Sharper on a Smartphone.

The one area where the OnePlus 7 Pro does only Good but still not bad is in the blue color shift at extreme viewing angles. Still, the display experts didn’t deem it too critical to drag the phone down the ranks.

It is interesting to note that DisplayMate is totally not a fan 4K displays, which is what Sony has been pushing by itself. And while it also does mention the OnePlus 7 Pro’s 90 Hz refresh rate, it doesn’t seem to have any bearing on the phone’s overall DisplayMate review.