iPhone 5 Retina Display vs. Samsung Galaxy S3 Super AMOLED HD: What's the Difference and What Are Reviewers Saying?

The two popular smartphone devices have similar yet different features, but each try to up the ante with better screen display.

For Apple, their latest devices, including the iPhone 5, features the Retina Display. For Samsung, their latest devices, including the Galaxy S3, features the Super AMOLED HD display.

Which of the displays are better?

Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs previously spoke on what Retina Display is during the launch of the iPhone 4. He stated that what makes Retina Display unique is the 326 pixel-per-inch (ppi) resolution into a 3.5-inch screen for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, but the inches have increased to four on the iPhone 5.

The standard human eye will not be able to "discern" the individual pixels at this rate. The eye can see a maximum ppi of 300, according to Apple.

The resolution for the first Retina Display on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S originally stood at 960x640, but increased to 1,136x640 for the iPhone 5.

Samsung decided to do one better with their AMOLED panels. AMOLED is short for Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diodes. The South Korean company added high-definition (720p HD) to their screens and then a ppi of 350.

AMOLED devices do not need a backlight to produce colors and white and has the ability to alter colors in a faster rate, as supported by The Tech Scoop. The screen's resolution can stands at 1,280x720 with the Super AMOLED HD display.

What do reviewers think of the displays?

The Tech Scoop's Jay Manangan believes Samsung has the advantage, "but not in an utterly dominating fashion."

Manangan wrote, "Games look and play well for both phones, but the SIII can offer more in terms of size. When it comes to videos and pictures, the SIII does colors better and it has more options. The only thing holding the SIII back is its problems with brightness."

DisplayMate's Dr. Raymond M. Soneira concluded the iPhone 5 has the better display, giving it an "A" and the Galaxy S3 "B+."

"Based on our extensive lab measurements the iPhone 5 has a true state-of-the-art accurate display - it's not perfect and there is plenty of room for improvements (and competitors) but it is the best Smartphone display we have seen to date based on extensive Lab measurements and viewing tests."

Soneira added the brightness in the Galaxy S3 "is about half of the iPhone 5 due to power limits from the lower power efficiency of OLEDs and concerns regarding premature OLED aging."

Are you an own of smartphone with Retina Display or Super AMOLED HD display? What do you think of the display?

Let us know on the comments section below.

Latinos Post has helped break down and define the specs of the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S3. Click here for the iPhone 5, and click here for the Galaxy S3.