Color gamut is the range of colors a display can reproduce. Wider gamuts can show more saturated colors, important for photo editing, video work, and HDR content.
Color gamut is the subset of all visible colors (CIE 1931 color space) that a display can produce. Gamut is defined by two specifications: (1) the color primaries (red, green, blue wavelengths the display uses), and (2) white point (neutral color reference). Common gamut standards: sRGB (web/consumer, smallest, covers 0.5 million colors), DCI-P3 (cinema, 25% larger color volume), Adobe RGB (print photography, covers deep greens), Rec.2020 (HDR/UHD, 70% of visible colors, largest practical).
**How gamut coverage and saturation work technically:** Gamut coverage (e.g., "98% DCI-P3") means the display reproduces 98% of all colors defined in the DCI-P3 standard. The remaining 2% are typically deep, saturated colors the display can't quite match due to phosphor/LCD filter limitations. A display might achieve 100% coverage (reproduce every DCI-P3 color) but with reduced brightness ("clipping" the color to fit). Saturated colors pop more visibly with wider gamut: a bright red at 95% DCI-P3 looks duller than at 100% DCI-P3.
**Why it matters to buyers:** Professional creators (photo/video editors, colorists) require ≥95% DCI-P3 coverage to grade colors accurately. Consumers viewing HDR content (Netflix, Apple TV+) visibly benefit from wider gamut — reds, greens more vivid. Web browsing/office work: 70% sRGB entirely adequate. Budget displays often claim wide gamut but fail to deliver coverage percentage.
**What to look for / common pitfalls:** - sRGB: consumer baseline (web, email, office) - DCI-P3: professional photo/video, required for HDR - Adobe RGB: print workflow (legacy, less common now) - Rec.2020: HDR reference (impractical to fully cover on current displays) - % coverage matters more than gamut name (90% sRGB sharper than 80% DCI-P3) - Displays with wide gamut but poor calibration look "over-saturated"
Real-world 2026: iPhone 15 (100% DCI-P3), iPad Pro (100% DCI-P3), Dell XPS 13 (98% DCI-P3), budget laptop (70–80% sRGB typical), Sony A80L TV (98% Rec.2020 achievable).