Smartphones

Know your Smartphone Displays

When you are looking for a new smartphone, you often come across some of these acronyms in technical specifications – LCD, LCD IPS, OLED, SLCD, TFT, PLS, Retina Display, AMOLED, Super AMOLED,Super AMOLED Plus and so on.

All these represent different technologies used in the production of display panels. Knowing what each type does, its benefits and drawbacks will help you understand just how good (or not) your phone is. You might think you’re just looking at a bunch of pixels but how those pixels are created can affect everything from the price of your phone to how long the battery lasts.

When it comes to smartphone displays, there are two basic technologies that are being utilized:

Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs)

Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED)

The other technologies are enhancements to the LCD and OLED panel for various end results:

• Enhancements to the LCD technology – TFT, TN, IPS, Super PLS, SLCD, Retina Display etc.
• Enhancements to the OLCD technology – AMOLED, Super AMOLED, Super AMOLED Plus, Super AMOLED Advanced, ClearBlack AMOLED etc.

There are pros and cons for each type of screen, and both screen technologies can produce vivid, beautiful displays. The only way to know for sure if the screen on your future device will satisfy you is to try it out for yourself.

Major components of LCD and OLED based smartphones

Pros and Cons of LCD & AMOLED Display in Smartphones

Pros and cons to LCD display:

Good:

• Cheap to produce
• Can be bright and clearly readable outside
• IPS panels have accurate color reproduction Low chance of color tinting or color shift
• More natural color
• Better screen lifetime (screen can last up to 6 or 7 years without transistor degradation)
• High resolution/high pixel density (440 pixels per inch) screens already feasible

Bad:

• Bad contrast ratios(addressed with newer devices)
• TN LVD panels have bad viewing angles
• In some cases they are power consuming and physically thick
• Not very environmentally friendly
• Slower response times(addressed with newer devices)

Pros and cons to AMOLED display:

Good:

• Thinner handsets since there is one less layer than LCDs and (sometimes) flexible
• Vibrant colors and high contrast due to organic diodes
• Excellent viewing angles
• Low power consumption
• Better refresh rates, meaning less flickering when watching fast motion videos
• More environmentally friendly
• Better black color reproduction
• Faster touch screen response times

Bad:

• Not true-to-life color representation
• Bluish or greenish tint on white background sometimes present
• Shorter lifespan than LCDs
• Screen burn-in issues
• High pixel density screens not yet ready for mass production
• Often PenTile subpixel matrices are used