LCD is an acronym that stands for Liquid Crystal Display and it is one of the most commonly used display by OEMs on their devices. LCD displays are further categorised into two types on the basis of the technology used to make them. The two types are IPS LCD and TFT LCDs.

TFT stands Thin-film Transistor and de facto, it really isn’t a type of display. TFT is only the technology used to produce LCD display panels. TFT LCD displays use an ‘Active Matrix Technology” where the display transistor and capacitor have individual pixels attached to them. In fact, each pixel can have as many as four transistors; for switching them off and on easily. TFT displays are widely known for having high contrast ratios, resolution and image quality. They are also cheaper to produce but not as cheap as IPS LCD.

IPS stands for In-Plane Switching and it is the most popularly used type of LCD panels for a number of reasons. First, compared to TFT, the crystal/pixel orientation on IPS LCD is different. This modification allows for improved colour reproduction, better viewing angles, and reduced energy consumption. This is why IPS LCD is preferred over TFT by most gadgets manufacturers.

Generally, LCDs are known as the “backlit displays” because the pixels on the display are powered by a polarized light engineered to the screen. The light passes through the (horizontal and vertical) filters which help determine the pixel’s brightness. Although the inclusion of a backlight makes LCD displays (and phones) thicker, pixels are generally more closely packed, colours are more natural, and images — sharper.

OLED stands for “Organic light-emitting diode”. OLED is one of the latest display innovation used in many gadgets and electronics like smartphones and TVs. Unlike LCD displays, OLED panels produce their own light and do not rely on a backlight. This self-emission is achieved when an electrical current passes through two conductors with an organic carbon-based film between them.

Regarding quality, OLED are generally better at displaying blacks. They are also slimmer, dissipate less heat, and possess better contrast ratio when compared to LCDs. However, they are more expensive to produce and in turn lead to an increase in the price of smartphones they are used on. Shorter lifespan is also a downside to OLED displays.

AMOLED is an advanced type of OLED display that uses an “Active Matrix” technology. AMOLED is the acronym for Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AMOLED). Like OLED, AMOLED pixels also emit their own light and further uses an active matrix system attached to a thin-film transistor (TFT) to exert more control over each pixels. This results to better visual experience; darker blacks, deeper brights, and higher refresh rates.

AMOLED panels are mostly used in big-sized smartphones as it supports almost any display size. One downside to AMOLED panels, though, is poor usability under sunlight.

Also called S-AMOLED, Super AMOLED is an upgrade of AMOLED panels. Unlike regular AMOLED, this upgrade uses almost the same technology but with architectural modifications that makes it better. In S-AMOLED, the touch sensor component have been integrated with the screen; both are separated in regular AMOLED.

This difference results in brighter display, reduced power consumption, reduced sunlight reflection, enhanced outdoor readability, and wider viewing angles. Super AMOLED is one the best displays out there and can be found on many flagship devices like the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) with three rear cameras, Samsung Galaxy Note9.

You can easily identify your smartphone’s screen type through a simple Google search of your phone specifications. You should see your device’s screen type under the display department. The image below shows the screen type (IPS LCD) of the Coolpad Note 5.

In recent years, smartphone displays have developed far more acronyms than ever before with each different one featuring a different kind of technology. AMOLED, LCD, LED, IPS, TFT, PLS, LTPS, LTPO...the list continues to grow.

As if the different available technologies weren"t enough, component and smartphone manufacturers adopt more and more glorified names like "Super Retina XDR" and "Dynamic AMOLED", which end up increasing the potential for confusion among consumers. So let"s take a look at some of these terms used in smartphone specification sheets and decipher them.

There are many display types used in smartphones: LCD, OLED, AMOLED, Super AMOLED, TFT, IPS and a few others that are less frequently found on smartphones nowadays, like TFT-LCD. One of the most frequently found on mid-to-high range phones now is IPS-LCD. But what do these all mean?

LCD means Liquid Crystal Display, and its name refers to the array of liquid crystals illuminated by a backlight, and their ubiquity and relatively low cost make them a popular choice for smartphones and many other devices.

LCDs also tend to perform quite well in direct sunlight, as the entire display is illuminated from behind, but does suffer from potentially less accurate colour representation than displays that don"t require a backlight.

Within smartphones, you have both TFT and IPS displays. TFT stands for Thin Film Transistor, an advanced version of LCD that uses an active matrix (like the AM in AMOLED). Active matrix means that each pixel is attached to a transistor and capacitor individually.

The main advantage of TFT is its relatively low production cost and increased contrast when compared to traditional LCDs. The disadvantage of TFT LCDs is higher energy demands than some other LCDs, less impressive viewing angles and colour reproduction. It"s for these reasons, and falling costs of alternative options, that TFTs are not commonly used in smartphones anymore.Affiliate offer

IPS technology (In-Plane Switching) solves the problem that the first generation of LCD displays experience, which adopts the TN (Twisted Nematic) technique: where colour distortion occurs when you view the display from the side - an effect that continues to crop up on cheaper smartphones and tablets.

The PLS (Plane to Line Switching) standard uses an acronym that is very similar to that of IPS, and is it any wonder that its basic operation is also similar in nature? The technology, developed by Samsung Display, has the same characteristics as IPS displays - good colour reproduction and viewing angles, but a lower contrast level compared to OLED and LCD/VA displays.

According to Samsung Display, PLS panels have a lower production cost, higher brightness rates, and even superior viewing angles when compared to their rival, LG Display"s IPS panels. Ultimately, whether a PLS or IPS panel is used, it boils down to the choice of the component supplier.

This is a very common question after "LED" TVs were launched, with the short answer simply being LCD. The technology used in a LED display is liquid crystal, the difference being LEDs generating the backlight.

One of the highlights from TV makers at the CES 2021 tradeshow, mini-LED technology seemed far removed from mobile devices until Apple announced the 2021 iPad Pro. As the name implies, the technique is based on the miniaturization of the LEDs that form the backlight of the screen — which still uses an LCD panel.

Despite the improvement in terms of contrast (and potentially brightness) over traditional LCD/LED displays, LCD/mini-LEDs still divide the screen into brightness zones — over 2,500 in the case of the iPad and 2021 "QNED" TVs from LG — compared to dozens or hundreds of zones in previous-generation FALD (full-array local dimming) displays, on which the LEDs are behind the LCD panel instead of the edges.

AMOLED stands for Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode. While this may sound complicated it actually isn"t. We already encountered the active matrix in TFT LCD technology, and OLED is simply a term for another thin-film display technology.

OLED is an organic material that, as the name implies, emits light when a current is passed through it. As opposed to LCD panels, which are back-lit, OLED displays are "always off" unless the individual pixels are electrified.

This means that OLED displays have much purer blacks and consume less energy when black or darker colours are displayed on-screen. However, lighter-coloured themes on AMOLED screens use considerably more power than an LCD using the same theme. OLED screens are also more expensive to produce than LCDs.

Because the black pixels are "off" in an OLED display, the contrast ratios are also higher compared to LCD screens. AMOLED displays have a very fast refresh rate too, but on the downside are not quite as visible in direct sunlight as backlit LCDs. Screen burn-in and diode degradation (because they are organic) are other factors to consider.Affiliate offer

OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode. An OLED display is comprised of thin sheets of electroluminescent material, the main benefit of which is they produce their own light, and so don"t require a backlight, cutting down on energy requirements. OLED displays are more commonly referred to as AMOLED displays when used on smartphones or TVs.

As we"ve already covered, the AM part of AMOLED stands for Active Matrix, which is different from a Passive Matrix OLED (P-OLED), though these are less common in smartphones.

Super AMOLED is the name given by Samsung to its displays that used to only be found in high-end models but have now trickled down to more modestly specced devices. Like IPS LCDs, Super AMOLED improves upon the basic AMOLED premise by integrating the touch response layer into the display itself, rather than as an extra layer on top.

As a result, Super AMOLED displays handle sunlight better than AMOLED displays and also require less power. As the name implies, Super AMOLED is simply a better version of AMOLED. It"s not all just marketing bluster either: Samsung"s displays are regularly reviewed as some of the best around.

The latest evolution of the technology has been christened "Dynamic AMOLED". Samsung didn"t go into detail about what the term means, but highlighted that panels with such identification include HDR10+ certification that supports a wider range of contrast and colours, as well as blue light reduction for improved visual comfort.

In the same vein, the term "Fluid AMOLED" used by OnePlus on its most advanced devices basically highlights the high refresh rates employed, which results in more fluid animations on the screen.Affiliate offer

Resolution describes the number of individual pixels (or points) displayed on the screen and is usually presented for phones by the number of horizontal pixels — vertical when referring to TVs and monitors. More pixels on the same display allow for more detailed images and clearer text.

Speaking of pixel density, this was one of Apple"s highlights back in 2010 during the launch of the iPhone 4. The company christened the LCD screen (LED, TFT, and IPS) used in the smartphone as "Retina Display", thanks to the high resolution of the panel used (960 by 640 pixels back then) in its 3.5-inch display.

With the iPhone 11 Pro, another term was introduced to the equation: "Super Retina XDR". Still using an OLED panel (that is supplied by Samsung Display or LG Display), the smartphone brings even higher specs in terms of contrast - with a 2,000,000:1 ratio and brightness level of 1,200 nits, which have been specially optimized for displaying content in HDR format.

As a kind of consolation prize for iPhone XR and iPhone 11 buyers, who continued relying on LCD panels, Apple classified the display used in the smartphones with a new term, "Liquid Retina". This was later applied also to the iPad Pro and iPad Air models, with the name defining screens that boast a high range and colour accuracy, at least based on the company"s standards.

TFT(Thin Film Transistor) - a type of LCD display that adopts a thin semiconductor layer deposited on the panel, which allows for active control of the colour intensity in each pixel, featuring a similar concept as that of active-matrix (AM) used in AMOLED displays. It is used in TN, IPS/PLS, VA/PVA/MVA panels, etc.

LTPS(Low Temperature PolySilicon) - a variation of the TFT that offers higher resolutions and lower power consumption compared to traditional TFT screens, based on a-Si (amorphous silicon) technology.

IGZO(Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) - a semiconductor material used in TFT films, which also allows higher resolutions and lower power consumption, and sees action in different types of LCD screens (TN, IPS, VA) and OLED displays

LTPO(Low Temperature Polycrystaline Oxide) - a technology developed by Apple that can be used in both OLED and LCD displays, as it combines LTPS and IGZO techniques. The result? Lower power consumption. It has been used in the Apple Watch 4 and the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Among televisions, the long-standing featured technology has always been miniLED - which consists of increasing the number of lighting zones in the backlight while still using an LCD panel. There are whispers going around that smartphones and smartwatches will be looking at incorporating microLED technology in their devices soon, with it being radically different from LCD/LED displays as it sports similar image characteristics to that of OLEDs.

As previously stated, OLED/AMOLED screens have the advantage of a varied contrast level, resulting from individual brightness control for the pixels. Another result of this is the more realistic reproduction of black, as well as low power consumption when the screen shows off dark images - which has also helped to popularize dark modes on smartphones.

In the case of LCD displays, the main advantage lies in the low manufacturing cost, with dozens of players in the market offering competitive pricing and a high production volume. Some brands have taken advantage of this feature to prioritize certain features - such as a higher refresh rate - instead of adopting an OLED panel, such as the Xiaomi Mi 10T.

AnonD-628531, 06 Aug 2017Surely if you"re not voting for: "Only quality matters" then you"re just shamelessly fanboying???No, because life expectancy is important too. Sony quantum dot displays are supposed to last around 20 000 hours, AMOLEDS may be degrading after just a couple of thousand. A small improvement in black level seems a poor tradeoff for a short product life.

My opinion is as follow: I use Nokia since years, and the hi-end phones all have AMOLED screens. I am used to AMOLED by now and the panels on Nokia phones are of amazing quality. I also have an iPhone 6 with LCD, which is a very good display. Good colors, good saturation en good contrast for an LCD panel. Now which I prefer, that is difficult to say. I believe the iPhone"s display is from Sharp, I am not sure. And it"s a great display. The Nokia Lumia 930 has an amazing display as well and it is a must when using Windows due to the blacks. I like both. At this time I would say it"s a tie in my opinion, but I slighty prefer AMOLED since I"m used to it.

Amoled Is Better......But IPS Display Also Good............ I Have Have Lumia 640 Which Have IPS Display Looks Great Clear Clearity It"s Also Consume Less Power N Black Wallpapers Also Help For Battery....... Amoled Display Best Display Is All Rounder Which I Saw In Samsung Galaxy Series N After That Some Chinese Companies Models Like Lenovo P2........ Anyday I Will Go For Amoled or IPS But TFT Displays No Way :)

I prefer Ips LCD. More comfortable for reading websites and natural colors, more detail, more reliable. I don"t like the background always black color like a black hole, therefore I always set my background with white colors I call it heaven feels, if so oled will comsume more battery.

I wonder how the world which criticised AMOLED screens for highly saturated inaccurate colors now started to love it. That all has been made possible by Samsung only. OnePlus 3T or Nexus 6, for example, have awful displays. Samsung"s SuperAMOLED has been tremendously improved.

NOTE: Just to clear confusion among many of you, AMOLED is not a Samsung Brand or technology. It is a type of screen. Samsung"s variation of AMOLED is SuperAMOLED. P-OLED is a type of screen. It is not a LG Brand. All the votes to AMOLED is because of Samsung though, as AMOLED by others are over saturated, inaccurate and have low brightness, something which Samsung struggled from in initial days (or years?).

regs, 06 Aug 2017That"s just IPS. Yet Sharp"s IPS one is far better.You"re wrong, Sony"s Triluminous displays use Quantum Dot screens (or let"s say "Q-led" as Samsung is naming it), it"s not just a plain IPS LCD.

XtremE16, 06 Aug 2017Amoled display is not show true color and over brightness... Useless display..... Wait for SON... moreSony doesn"t produce displays they buy them from sharp and LG

AnonD-678801, 06 Aug 2017Sony"s Triluminos Display is the best for me... tried AMOLEDs but I Dont like oversaturated co... more"trilominous" is an LCD lol nothing special about it it"s the same one apple uses and calls it retina

I understand why people prefer AMOLED, they do look vibrant, with true blacks, and potentially better battery management, however I have no complains with current offerings from Sony, and even less complains from my Surface Book which has one of the best LCD displays I"ve ever seen...

IME the problem with AMOLED lies in their Diamond Pentile matrix. Not to undermine others but I never see AMOLED phones that have screen burn-in. At least on my phone, my dad"s and my mom"s. If Samsung could rearrange the matrix to equal RGB I think the image could"ve look as sharp as LCD at the same screen size and resolution.

Right now , AMOLED all the way , it colours are way better , or saturated & excellent viewing indoors or outdoors .I have IPS LCD screens with 1500 + viewing angle screen ( Excellent for IPS standard ) , but still AMOLED beats it by miles.

BurnIn or rather Colour Loss issue exists for AMOLED over 2 - 3 years of usage , but who uses mobile over 5 years , by which time battery is reduced or 4g goes to 5g.

Quality Quantum Dot or as said MicoLED is future but is still not mature enough , will need 5 - 7 years of research & improvement to near match OLED standard , till then AMOLED will rule upcoming LG , Iphone , Samsung phones ,

Yes ,Sony IPS LCD Triluminos are the best in LCD , but unfortunately they dropped on new tech like 4 RGBW combination as in Xperia P ( Which had excellent outdoor visibility ) ,still its 4K Triluminos is excellent & if Sony goes for OLED with Triluminos it will kill Samsung OLED for sure. I assume Quantum Dot of Sony Mobile will be best in future.

regs, 06 Aug 2017AMOLEDs have poor viewing angles - significant color shift even on little angles. Haven"t seen... moreAMOLEDs have poor viewing angles? Really? I haven"t used that many phones over the years but I used Nokia E7 for a couple of years when it came out. It had an AMOLED screen with Nokia"s ClearBlack technology and the screen was simply stunning. If I remember correctly there wasn"t practically any color shift when you angled the screen. You could angle the phone so that the screen would be just a tiny sliver and the brightness and the colors would pretty much stay the same.

I remember being gutted after moving to Moto G which has an IPS display. There"s a huge shift in brightness when you angle the screen even a little bit, and this obviously affects the colors as well, although obviously things aren"t as terrible as they are with TN panels. I used a cheap candybar Samsung which had a TN panel (or so I assume) and it was just dreadful. You couldn"t angle the phone at all because the color shift was so huge the colors practically became reversed.

I"ve briefly used Samsungs with AMOLED screens at work and they were totally fine as well, even if I don"t remember them being as gorgeous as Nokia E7"s screen. In any case they were far better than any IPS screen on phones I"ve seen.

For instance, HTC One uses Super LCD3 tech, in its 4.7in screen which gives a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, with pixel density of 469 pixels per inch (ppi). This results in super display in terms of crispness and colour reproduction. HTC says the SLCD technology gives the phone better power management, improved viewing angles and is easier to produce.

The Thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT LCD) technology is the most common display technology used in mobile phones. A variant of liquid crystal display (LCD), the technology uses TFT technology to enhance image quality. It offers better image quality and higher resolutions as compared to earlier generation LCD displays.

IPS LCD Stands for In Plane Switching liquid Crystal Display. This technology offers better display quality as compared to the TFT-LCD display. The good part about IPS LCD is that it offers better viewing angles and consumes less power. Due to higher costs, it is found only on high-end smartphones. Apple uses a high resolution (640x960 pixels) version of IPS LCD in its iPhone 4, which is also called Retina Display.

Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display technology is much better as compared to the LCD display technology because of its excellent colour reproduction, faster response times, wider viewing angles, higher brightness and extremely light weight designs.

OLEDs are brighter than LEDs and do not require backlighting like LCDs. Since OLEDs do not require backlighting, they consume much less power than LCDs.

AMOLED stands for Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode. A step ahead of OLED screens, the AMOLED screens can control each pixel individuality while maintaining the properties of an OLED panel. AMOLED screens use a different subpixel arrangement which can reduce the image quality a bit.

AMOLED screens have all the attributes of an OLED display like excellent colour reproduction, faster response times, wider viewing angles, higher brightness and extremely light weight designs.

Super AMOLED display technology is an advanced version of AMOLED display. Samsung uses this term for the AMOLED panels that they develop. Super AMOLED  screens are built with capacitive touch sensors on the display itself. Super AMOLED display is much more responsive than an AMOLED display. Samsung top-of-the-line Galaxy SII comes engineered with Super AMOLED display technology. Samsung has already took it"s SMOLED screen to next levels by developing Super AMOLED+, HD Super AMOLED+ and FHD Super AMOLED+ screens.

It is a name given by Apple to the high-resolution screen technology introduced on the iPhone 4 in June 2010. Something is a Retina Display when it offers a density of pixels above 163 pixels per inch. The company calls it the Retina display because its pixels cannot be individually identified by a human eye, thus rendering a super sharp display, more crisp text and more clear pictures.

Color boost is simply Moto"s marketing term for their new display. Although it now uses LCD displays, the company fine-tuned its panels to match the saturation of OLED displays while maintaining the higher performance of LCD. It"s somewhere in the middle ground.

On some lower quality LCD screens, you can see bright spots in the middle or on the perimeters of screens. This is caused by uneven light distribution. The downside to using backlights, is that black is never true black, because no matter what, light has to be coming through, so it will never have as dark of a screen as an AMOLED screen. Its comparable to being able to slow a car down to 2 mph versus coming to a complete stop.