5 best non-Samsung smartphones with OLED displays

In this article, we'll talk about 5 of the best non-Samsung smartphones with OLED displays! Note that AMOLED, a term used to describe a certain type of OLED display panels, is an acronym for Active Matrix OLED. It's the most common type of OLED display, but it's not the only one.

But what is there to do when you want a smartphone with an OLED panel but you wouldn't be caught dead with a Samsung handset? Samsung is the largest manufacturer of smartphones with OLED panels, but this doesn't mean that your options are limited to this particular South Korean manufacturer. So let's cut to the chase and find out which are the best non-Samsung smartphones that integrate OLED displays! Note that some of these smartphones actually integrate Samsung-made displays.

The Motorola-made Nexus 6, the latest Nexus smartphone currently available, is the third smartphone in the Google Nexus lineup to make use of an OLED display, after the Samsung-made Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus. Definitely the most impressive thing about the Nexus 6, the 5.96 inch AMOLED panel runs at a resolution of 1440 by 2560 pixels, resulting in a PPI of 493.

Under the hood, the Nexus 6 is a very potent device (if you can manage the handset's gargantuan size, that is), including specs such as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset, 3GB of RAM, 32 or 64GB of internal storage, and a 3220 mAh battery. In the camera department, the Motorola Nexus 6 comes with a 13MP primary camera and a 2MP secondary sensor. Check out our Google Nexus 6 review for a more detailed analysis of the handset.

Most of the smartphones on this list come with AMOLED panels, but the LG G Flex 2 is a bit of a different breed. The second coming of LG's flexible-display smartphone comes with a curved Plastic OLED panel that, as the name of the handset suggests, can be flexed without any notable damage. The display measures 5.5 inches across the diagonal and runs a resolution of 1080 by 1920 pixels at a PPI of 401.

The processing power is ensured by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset (the LG G Flex 2 was actually the first smartphone from a major handset maker that made use of the Snapdragon 810) paired with 3GB of RAM, Depending on the region, LG sells two versions of the LG G Flex 2: one comes with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, while the other comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.

Other specs include a 3000 mAh battery, a 13MP primary camera, a 2.1MP secondary shooter, and a rather awesome self-healing back cover.

If you're looking for a Motorola smartphone with an AMOLED panel but the gargantuan Google Nexus 6 is a tad too sizeable for your taste, then make sure to check out the Motorola Moto Maxx, a handset that was marketed in the US as the Verizon-bound DROID Maxx. Launched back last fall, this is one of the most appreciated smartphones by power Android users.

The display is a 5.2-inch OLED panel that runs a resolution of 1440 by 2560 pixels at the ultra-sharp PPI of 565. Back when the Motorola Moto Maxx launched, it carried the sharpest display in town, a title that's now in Samsung hands thanks to the Galaxy S6 series. 

On the inside, the Moto Maxx is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset (2.7GHz quad-core Krait 450 CPU, Adreno 420 GPU) paired with 3GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage space. For smartphone photography enthuziasts, the Moto Maxx is equipped with a 21MP primary shooter and a 2MP secondary sensor. All of these specs are powered by a very large 3900 mAh battery, one that will last through the day even with intensive usage of the handset.

Make sure to head on to our Motorola DROID Maxx review to learn more about this incredible handset!

Most AMOLED smartphones come from the Android camp, which comes as no surprise given the huge diversity one can encounter in the Android ecosystem, but Windows Phone handsets have also used the display technology on more than a couple occasions. Before being selling its handset arm to Microsoft, Nokia was no stranger to utilizing OLED panels in some of its high-end smartphones. The most recent Lumia flagship, the Nokia Lumia 930, is one of these smartphones, as the handset makes use of a 5-inch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 1080 by 1920 pixels at a PPI of 441. 

The brains of the operation is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip (2.2GHz quad-core Krait 400 CPU, Adreno 330 GPU) paired with 3GB of RAM. Other specs include a 20MP primary camera, a rather meager 1.2MP secondary shooter, and a 2420 mAh battery to keep the lights running.

For more details on the best Windows Phone handset to date, make sure to head on to our full Nokia Lumia 930 review.

Meizu is doing a good job of increasing its popularity in both China and Western markets. The latest flagship smartphone from the manufacturer is the MX5, a full metal smartphone with a high-res display, fast internal specs, and some fancy camera features.

Unlike the Meizu MX4 and the Meizu MX4 Pro, which came with IPS LCD panels, the new Meizu MX5 comes with a 5.5-inch AMOLED panel running a resolution of 1080 by 1920 pixels at a PPI of 401. 

The processing power is offered by a MediaTek Helio X10 chip, a SoC that integrates eight Cortex-A53 cores at 2.2 GHz, and a PowerVR G6200 GPU. Paired with 3GB of RAM, the Heli X10 should offer sufficient processing power for most tasks. As far as the cameras are concerned, the MX5 comes with a 20.7MP primary camera with laser autofocus, as well as a 5MP secondary shooter on the front. For more details about the Meizu MX5, check out this previous post.