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Netflix's UHD streaming isn't supported on the Galaxy S8 and LG G6's HDR displays

Netflix doesn't currently support mobile HDR streaming for the Galaxy S8 and LG G6, but the feature is on its way.
By
April 5, 2017

Netflix has confirmed that the Galaxy S8 and LG G6 don’t support Netflix’s Ultra HD streaming, despite the HDR capabilities of the smartphone displays. The news was published earlier today by Phone Arena, who received the information from a Netflix customer service representative.

Netflix has previously stated, however, that HDR streaming support for the LG G6 (and presumably now the Galaxy S8) will arrive at some point. It just hasn’t yet.

Now, you may be wondering why this matters at all when the Galaxy S8 and LG G6, which both feature ~2K displays, can’t currently stream UHD content. The simple reason is that the Galaxy S8’s Mobile HDR Premium certified display and the G6’s Dolby Vision display could still benefit from 4K streaming.

The Mobile HDR Premium certification the Galaxy S8 has is essentially the same as what’s required for 4K TV certification, only with lower resolution. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ both support the required DCI-P3 color gamut coverage when used in Cinema Mode, says Phone Arena, and can achieve 610 nits of brightness when its set at full (or more than 1000 nits in specific conditions), according to Display Mate.

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This means that, though the Galaxy S8 wouldn’t be able to reproduce all of the pixels that UHD streaming provides, it could reproduce similar color and contrast levels, for a more vivid experience. The LG G6’s HDR10 Dolby Vision display, meanwhile, uses different tech, but would be similarly capable of reproducing 4K HDR content.

It’s disappointing right now for those wishing to pick up one of these devices and immediately benefit from HDR streaming, but it’s on its way. Further, Netflix is considering other ways it can optimize content for smartphones — Android users aren’t being left out in the cold.

Until then, these are the 20 HDR or Dolby Vision shows on Netflix that you won’t receive the full experience of:

  • Iron Fist
  • Samurai Gourmet
  • Cosmis Laundromat
  • Chefs Table Season 3 only
  • Abstract
  • Sparks (3 minute demo)
  • Santa Claira Diet
  • Luke Cage
  • Knights of Sidonia 2 seasons ANIME
  • Jessica Jones
  • DareDevil season 1&2
  • The OA
  • Meridian
  • Hibana Spark
  • Chefs Table France
  • Marco Polo season 1 DV/HDR10
  • The Do-Over HDR10 and DV
  • The Ridiculous 6 DV/hdr10
  • Marco Polo season 2 DV/hdr10
  • Marco Polo: one hundred eyes dv/hdr10

You can find out everything you need to know about HDR displays in our explainer article at the link.