Results: Display Measurements
With the obvious exception of our minimum and maximum brightness tests, all display measurements are done with device’s screen set to a standardized brightness level of 200 nits to allow for a meaningful comparison to take place.
Display Brightness
The display's luminance output is recorded using a full white pattern with the software slider set at its maximum and minimum values.
Although the Find 5's maximum brightness of 380 nits is middling compared to the iPhone 5s, the screen is still usable outdoors and even in direct sunlight.
Black Level
The calibrated black level test measures the luminance ouput of a full black pattern when full white has been standardized to 200 nits. It is important to note that this test is impossible to perform on AMOLED displays (like the Galaxy S3) since the pixels simply turn off to render black.
The Find 5 scores 0.3 nits in this test and comes in joint second with the iPhone 5s. The Xperia Z1 unsurprisingly falls far behind since its minimum brightness of 31.3 nits is 10 and 7 times higher than the Find 5 and iPhone 5s respectively.
Contrast Ratio
Next, we move on to contrast ratio, which measures a white pattern versus a black pattern. As with the calibrated black level test, no data can be presented for the Samsung Galaxy S3 since it features an AMOLED display.
The HTC One's SuperLCD3 display scores a convincing victory here with the Find 5 and Xperia Z1 finishing at the bottom due to the former's relatively low maximum brightness and the latter's relatively high minimum brightness.
Color Temperature
Color temperature is a measurement in Kelvin which is used to describe how “warm” a given display is. These are colors derived from the CCT or correlated color temperature. All of the displays tested are in the cool range (basically any temperature above 4000 Kelvin), but the following chart should give some indication of how they tend toward one end or another of the CCT scale.
The Find 5 along with the Google Nexus 4 and Galaxy S3 all reside in the upper end of the CCT categorization for LCD / CRT screens with whites being displayed with a cool blue hue. By comparison the Xperia Z1's color temperature of 7000 K is much closer to a properly-calibrated desktop display.
Gamma
A gamma curve of 2.2 is what we optimally want to see.
The Find 5 scores an acceptable 2.0 gamma level with the iPhone 5s and HTC One finishing first with optimal gamma ratings.
Color Gamut
Our volume measurements are compared against both the sRGB and AdobeRGB color gamuts. A reading of 100% on sRGB and 72% on AdobeRGB is the optimal reading for viewing the vast majority of consumer digital content.
The Find 5's display really shines in this test with the ability to reproduce 99.1 percent of sRGB and 68.3 per cent of AdobeRGB, scores that even edge out Apple's Retina Display.
Overall, the quantitative testing confirms the observations made earlier in the review; the Sharp IPS LCD screen included on the Find 5 is fully capable of competing with other high-end smartphones. Its relatively weak performance in luminance may not be that significant since the phone is still quite readable outdoors, and indoors it’s a non-issue, as most users generally don't operate their smartphones at maximum brightness in order to preserve battery life.