What it is advisable to know
- The Apple iPhone 16 begins at $799, whereas the Apple iPhone 16 Plus begins at $899.
- Each telephones characteristic a 60Hz OLED show with 480Hz PWM dimming in any respect brightness ranges.
- The CMF Cellphone 1 begins at $199 and includes a 120Hz OLED show with 960Hz PWM dimming solely when wanted at low brightness.
- The iPhone 16 A18 processor nonetheless beats Android gadgets with present chipsets.
Apple took to the stage on September 9, 2024, for its annual iPhone present, debuting the iPhone 16 sequence. Whereas the devoted digicam button took middle stage, one other characteristic did not get a lot consideration, and for good purpose. The show on each the $800 iPhone 16 and $900 iPhone 16 Plus remains to be the identical drained outdated 60Hz OLED that Apple has been fleecing clients with for years.
In the meantime, the finest Android cellphone underneath $300, the CMF Cellphone 1, sells for simply $200—with a $289 RAM and storage improve possibility—and sports activities a 120Hz LTPS OLED panel. Which means its show can run at a buttery easy 120Hz and drop down decrease than that to save lots of battery when wanted. A 120Hz show makes even low-cost telephones really feel quick, and equally, a 60Hz show makes even the quickest telephones really feel sluggish and historic.
A 120Hz show makes even low-cost telephones really feel quick and, equally, a 60Hz show makes even the quickest telephones really feel sluggish and historic.
To make issues worse, hands-on images present that Apple has carried out nothing to enhance the PWM dimming charge of its telephones, as soon as once more leaving them at a sluggish 480Hz flicker charge. The CMF Cellphone 1 makes use of a way more eye-friendly, flicker-free dimming technique above 18% brightness, then switches to 960Hz PWM dimming beneath that. In different phrases, in the event you’re frightened about eye well being or delicate to flickering lights or shows, saving over $500 on a CMF Cellphone 1 is the good purchase.
Trying again at historical past, seeing Apple lag behind with show specs is not a giant shock. The corporate’s first cellphone with an OLED panel, the iPhone X, launched seven years after Android telephones started adopting OLED. Equally, the primary Android cellphone with a 120Hz show, the Razer Cellphone, launched in 2017, whereas it took till the iPhone 13 in 2021 for Apple to comply with go well with with its first 120Hz telephones.
Apple has lengthy lagged behind Android telephones in show high quality, typically taking years to undertake new and higher options.
Since then, Apple has saved 120Hz as a “pro-level” spec, which is reserved for its costliest telephones. In different phrases, if you would like a show that is a minimum of partly as much as spec with some $200 Android telephones, you may must spend a minimum of $1,000 to get it on the iPhone 16 Professional.
On the flagship degree, the Google Pixel 9 is available in at across the similar measurement because the iPhone 16 with the identical price ticket—that is $799—and sports activities a 120Hz LTPO show that may go from 60Hz to 120Hz dynamically. It additionally comes with Google Gemini and a bunch of really fascinating AI methods up its sleeve just like the wonderful Add Me that will get everybody within the group picture.
The one space the place Apple continues to excel is processing velocity, and the comparability is not even shut.
The plain benefit Apple has over any Android cellphone on this listing is the A18 processor, which is extra highly effective than most Android chips. Nonetheless, we do not but have benchmarks for direct comparisons. We do know that Apple claims a 15% enchancment in AI processing, which is able to set it aside considerably on this space.
For reference, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in most Android flagships is the slowest in AI-based processing duties based mostly on Geekbench AI scores, with scores of 485, 485, and 1117 in every of the three take a look at outcomes. The Tensor G4 contained in the Google Pixel 9 lags behind within the first take a look at with a rating of 289 however handily beats the Snapdragon within the subsequent two checks with scores of 4145 and 6103, respectively.
Apple’s older A17 Professional chip boasts scores of 3878, 21324, and 26213. No, these aren’t typos, and the A18 is meant to be even sooner than that. If we’re taking part in an AI processing race, Apple wins handily.
Nonetheless, Apple does not appear to be utilizing all this further processing energy to do something really new, notably with the show. The corporate is launching a Google Lens-like characteristic on the iPhone 16 sequence, however Android customers have been having fun with these similar options since 2017. Likewise, even digicam options like computational processing have been pioneered by corporations like Google and have been staples of Pixel and Nexus telephones for over a decade.
Not solely is the CMF Cellphone 1 a formidable finances choose with a strong processor and an awesome digicam, nevertheless it’s obtained a vibrant and eye-friendly OLED show, plus a novel modular physique that you could swap out anytime you need.
