[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Guides, News, & Discussion] puremind:
I am sick and tired of journalists and casual reviewers (yes MKBHD I am looking at you) misquoting the DisplayMate display reviews and repeating everywhere that the N8 has 1240cd/m² and is therefore twice as bright compared to the LG V30 or iPhone X. This is a whole lot of bullcrap.

Some of you may remember the debunking article I wrote at the time of the Galaxy S4, which explained (and it took several pages of discussion to convince the sceptics) that brightness on OLED displays decreases with the Average Picture Level (APL):

https://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2268937

The 1240cd/m² in the DisplayMate review is for a 1% APL, i.e., display content where the average picture level is equivalent to 1% white and 99% black - a situation that is completely irrelevant and never happens in real use. ALL OLED displays can display incredibly bright whites in those conditions, including the iPhone X and LG V30.

If you don't believe me - straight from the DisplayMate review:

"For most image content the Galaxy Note8 provides over 490 cd/m2 (Luminance, which is a measure of Brightness sometimes called nits), comparable or higher than most LCD displays in this size class. The measured Brightness on the Home screen is even higher at over 540 nits.

Below I am summarizing the brightness levels that the N8's display can reach in auto mode for different types of content:

Android Menu: 5% APL | Maximum Brightness: 990cd/m²

Android Menu with radio buttons: 10% APL | Maximum Brightness: 880cd/m²

OLED fiendly web site: 15% APL | Maximum Brightness: 820cd/m²

Random Gallery Picture: 40% APL | Maximum Brightness: 670cd/m²

Google Play: 60% APL | Maximum Brightness: 610cd/m²

Anandtech with zoom on picture: 70% APL | Maximum Brightness: 585cd/m²

Google Maps: 75% APL | Maximum Brightness: 575cd/m²

Whatsapp: 80% APL | Maximum Brightness: 565cd/m²

Android Contact List: 85% APL | Maximum Brightness: 555cd/m²

Google Results page: 90% APL | Maximum Brightness: 545cd/m²

100% White window | Maximum Brightness 540cd/m²

For most video and web browsing content, the typical brightness in auto mode will be 550-670cd/m² in auto mode under direct sunlight and 450-550cd/m² otherwise.

Those values are very similar to what can be observed on the LG V30 and iPhone X (as per Android Authority and GSMArena reviews and figures quoted by Apple). If I see another reviewer quote these figures incorrectly and state that the N8 has double the brightness compared to competitors just because they are too dumb to read the DisplayMate review correctly, I am going to blow a fuse.

On OLED Displays, a brightness measurement without an indication of the APL of the test pattern used for measurement is simply USELESS. Most reviewers will measure at 50% (for example a 50% white window on a black background), 60% or 100% (full white) APL. There is only DisplayMate to measure something as ineffectual and useless as the 1% APL brightness. No other review out there measures that way, so you simply can't use their measurement and compare them with values provided on other web sites.

DisplayMate should either make their reviews clearer or start measuring other devices according to those standards. It is easy for Samsung to break brightness records year after year when they are the only OLED displays ever being measured.