Blinded by Brilliance: 2025’s Best Phone Screens

If you’ve ever tried using your phone under direct sunlight and ended up staring at your own reflection, you know how annoying it can be. Display technology has been upgrading every year, and the best phone screens of 2025 can easily handle your games, shows, and text messages even under direct sunlight. Below, we’ll break down 10 devices whose displays are so good you can easily use them on the brightest days. Before we do that, let’s explore what all the acronyms stand for so we can better understand what makes our list the best phone screens. 

OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) 

• Each pixel produces its own light, allowing for truly deep blacks since they can switch off individually. This makes them energy efficient when displaying darker content because black pixels are essentialy “off”

AMOLED (Active-Matrix OLED)

• A type of OLED that uses an active matrix (one dedicated transistor per pixel) for faster refresh rates and better performance, making them common in smartphones

LTPO (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide)

• A specialized backplane tech that lets the display shift its refresh rate dynamically (from 1Hz up to 120Hz), which makes them great for saving battery when screen is static or ramping up for gaming 

Refresh Rate (60Hz, 120Hz, 165Hz)

• How many times per second the screen updates. A higher number means smoother motion, especially noticeable in scrolling and gaming.

Brightness (Nits)

• The higher the nit value, the easier it is to see your screen in bright conditions (like midday sun).

Color Accuracy & HDR

• Color accuracy indicates how closely displayed colors match real-life or standardized color spaces (like sRGB, DCI-P3).
  
  
• HDR (High Dynamic Range) formats (HDR10+, Dolby Vision) let screens show intense highlights and deeper shadows simultaneously.

With that cheat sheet in mind, let’s check out the top 10 devices pushing display boundaries this year.

1. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Not only is the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra the best camera phone of 2025, it also features the best screen. Its 2600-nit brightness and anti-reflective coating practically dare you to read small text under a blazing sun.

• Display: 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (QHD+)
• Refresh Rate: LTPO adaptive 1–120 Hz
• Brightness: ~2600 nits peak (good luck squinting)
• Color & HDR: 10-bit color, HDR10+
• Panel Tech: Gorilla Armor 2 glass with anti-reflective shield
• Price: $1,199

2. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Apple’s screen calibration is in a league of its own and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and now it’s armed with 2000 nits for outdoor use. Watching Netflix on the beach has never been easier. 

• Display: 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED (~460 ppi)
• Refresh Rate: ProMotion 10–120 Hz
• Brightness: 2000 nits peak outdoors
• Color & HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10, near-perfect color accuracy
  Panel Tech: Ceramic Shield glass, 1 nit ultra-dim mode
• Price: $1,199 (256GB base)

3. Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

Google says Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is the brightest phone screen on the planet, hitting up to 2700+ nits. If you live in a desert or on the sun, the Pixel 9 Pro XL is your buddy.

• Display: 6.8-inch LTPO OLED (QHD+, ~490 ppi)
• Refresh Rate: 1–120 Hz adaptive
• Brightness: ~2700 nits measured, 3000 nits peak claimed
• Color & HDR: HDR10+ with super-accurate colors
• Panel Tech: “Super Actua” brightness booster
• Price: $1,099 (128GB)
  

4. OnePlus 12

OnePlus 12 is budget-friendly by flagship standards, but the screen can hit a bright 4500 nits in tiny HDR spots. 

• Display: 6.8-inch OLED (3168×1440, ~510 ppi)
• Refresh Rate: LTPO 3.0 (1–120 Hz)
• Brightness: 1600 nits normal, 4500 nits HDR peak
• Color & HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 10-bit color
• Panel Features: 2160Hz PWM dimming (flicker reduction)
• Price: $799 (12+256GB base)

5. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a foldable that took the market by storm. Both inner and cover displays reach close to 2600 nits, so you won’t be searching for shade to read your emails.

• Main Display: 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (~374 ppi), 1–120 Hz
• Cover Display: 6.3-inch AMOLED, 120 Hz
• Brightness: ~2600 nits peak on both screens
• Color & HDR: HDR10+ support, vibrant 1B color
• Panel Tech: Ultra Thin Glass, minimal crease
• Price: $1,899 (256GB)

6. Xiaomi 13 Ultra

If color depth were a party trick, Xiaomi 13 12-bit panel would be breakdancing on the table. Expect silky gradients and up to 2600 nits peak for outdoors.

• Display: 6.73-inch LTPO AMOLED (WQHD+, ~522 ppi)
• Refresh Rate: 1–120 Hz adaptive
• Brightness: 1300 nits normal, 2600 nits peak
• Color & HDR: 12-bit, Dolby Vision, HDR10+
• Panel Tech: 1920Hz PWM dimming, Gorilla Glass Victus
• Price: $1,599

7. ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro

Gamers unite! The ASUS Rog Phone 8 Pro display hits 165 Hz, plus a 720 Hz touch sampling rate. You can play games any time of the day, even if outdoors.

• Display: 6.78-inch AMOLED (FHD+), up to 165 Hz
• Touch: 720 Hz sampling for lightning-fast input
• Brightness: ~2500 nits peak
• Color & HDR: HDR10+ with color calibration by Pixelworks
• Panel Tech: LTPO plus super-high refresh for gaming
• Price: $1,099

8. OnePlus Open (Foldable)

A foldable with nearly invisible creases and up to 2800 nits? Yes, please. Unfold it for a mini-tablet experience that’ll make your Netflix binge sessions extra epic.

• Inner Display: 7.8-inch “Flexi-fluid” AMOLED (~426 ppi), 1–120 Hz
• Cover Display: 6.3-inch AMOLED (~431 ppi), 1–120 Hz
• Brightness: ~2800 nits peak
• Color & HDR: 10-bit color, HDR10+ & Dolby Vision
• Panel Tech: Ultra-thin glass, minimal crease
• Price: $1,699 (512GB)

9. Sony Xperia 1 V

Sony crammed 4K into a 6.5-inch screen. It’s not as bright as the competition, but if you like watching videos at high resolution, this phone should be your go to. 

• Display: 6.5-inch 4K OLED (3840×1644, ~643 ppi)
• Refresh Rate: 120 Hz (non-adaptive)
• Color & HDR: Creator Mode for reference-level accuracy, HDR10
• Brightness: ~800–900 nits peak (lower than others but still decent)
• Panel Tech: No-notch design, Gorilla Glass Victus 2
• Price: $1,399

10. Oppo Find X6 Pro

Oppo’s flagship wows with a 6.82-inch LTPO3 AMOLED and up to 2500 nits peak brightness. It also supports Dolby Vision, which is still somewhat rare among Android phones.

• Display: 6.82-inch LTPO3 AMOLED (1440×3168, ~510 ppi)
• Refresh Rate: 1–120 Hz
• Brightness: 800 nits typical, up to 2500 nits peak
• Color & HDR: 10-bit color, Dolby Vision, HDR10+
• Panel Tech: Gorilla Glass Victus 2, minimal bezels
• Price: ~$1,000–$1,200

You might need sunglasses for some of these phones

Whether you’re craving brightness for beach reading or cinematic color for your movie marathons, these devices deliver some of the best phone screens you can find in 2025. From foldables that unfold into mini home theaters to phones with blinding brightness, it is clear that screen and display technology is improving rapidly and the phones get better and better every year. 

FAQ

What’s the big deal about AMOLED vs. OLED?

AMOLED is a form of OLED with an “active matrix” approach for faster refresh and higher brightness—ideal for smartphones.

Is 165Hz refresh overkill for a phone?

If you’re a gamer who wants super-smooth action, you’ll love it. For everyday scrolling, 120Hz is already plenty—but hey, more hertz, more bragging rights!

Which phone is the absolute brightest?

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL claims around 3000 nits peak, but Samsung and OnePlus also zoom past 2000 nits—so it’s a tight race.

Do foldables still have that annoying crease?

It’s getting smaller every year. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and OnePlus Open make the crease almost vanish in daily use.

Does 4K resolution on a phone really matter?

If you’re into pro-level photo or video work (or you’re just a pixel fanatic), the Xperia 1 V’s 4K panel is a dream. For everyone else, QHD+ is already super sharp.