tft lcd vs ips lcd vs super amoled manufacturer

Steven Van Slyke and Ching Wan Tang pioneered the organic OLED at Eastman Kodak in 1979. The first OLED product was a display for a car stereo, commercialized by Pioneer in 1997. Kodak’s EasyShare LS633 digital camera, introduced in 2003, was the first consumer electronic product incorporating a full-color OLED display. The first television featuring an OLED display, produced by Sony, entered the market in 2008. Today, Samsung uses OLEDs in all of its smartphones, and LG manufactures large OLED screens for premium TVs. Other companies currently incorporating OLED technology include Apple, Google, Facebook, Motorola, Sony, HP, Panasonic, Konica, Lenovo, Huawei, BOE, Philips and Osram. The OLED display market is expected to grow to $57 billion in 2026.

AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) is a type of OLED display device technology. OLED is a type of display technology in which organic material compounds form the electroluminescent material, and active matrix is the technology behind the addressing of individual pixels.

An AMOLED display consists of an active matrix of OLED pixels generating light (luminescence) upon electrical activation that have been deposited or integrated onto a thin-film transistor (TFT) array, which functions as a series of switches to control the current flowing to each individual pixel.

Typically, this continuous current flow is controlled by at least two TFTs at each pixel (to trigger the luminescence), with one TFT to start and stop the charging of a storage capacitor and the second to provide a voltage source at the level needed to create a constant current to the pixel, thereby eliminating the need for the very high currents required for PMOLED.

TFT backplane technology is crucial in the fabrication of AMOLED displays. In AMOLEDs, the two primary TFT backplane technologies, polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) and amorphous silicon (a-Si), are currently used offering the potential for directly fabricating the active-matrix backplanes at low temperatures (below 150 °C) onto flexible plastic substrates for producing flexible AMOLED displays. Brightness of AMOLED is determined by the strength of the electron current. The colors are controlled by the red, green and blue light emitting diodes.  It is easier to understand by thinking of each pixel is independently colored, mini-LED.

IPS technology is like an improvement on the traditional TFT LCD display module in the sense that it has the same basic structure, but with more enhanced features and more widespread usability compared with the older generation of TN type TFT screen (normally used for low-cost computer monitors). Actually, it is called super TFT.  IPS LCD display consists of the following high-end features. It has much wider viewing angles, more consistent, better color in all viewing directions, it has higher contrast, faster response time. But IPS screens are not perfect as their higher manufacturing cost compared with TN TFT LCD.

Utilizing an electrical charge that causes the liquid crystal material to change their molecular structure allowing various wavelengths of backlight to “pass-through”. The active matrix of the TFT display is in constant flux and changes or refreshes rapidly depending upon the incoming signal from the control device.

AMOLED and TFT are two types of display technology used in smartphones. AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) displays are made up of tiny organic light-emitting diodes, while TFT (Thin-Film Transistor) displays use inorganic thin-film transistors.

AMOLEDs are made from organic materials that emit light when an electric current is passed through them, while TFTs use a matrix of tiny transistors to control the flow of electricity to the display.

Refresh Rate: Another key difference between AMOLED and TFT displays is the refresh rate. The refresh rate is how often the image on the screen is updated. AMOLED screens have a higher refresh rate than TFT screens, which means that they can display images more quickly and smoothly.

Response Time: The response time is how long it takes for the pixels to change from one colour to another. AMOLED screens have a shorter response time than TFT screens..

Colour Accuracy/Display Quality: AMOLED screens are more accurate when it comes to displaying colours. This is because each pixel on an AMOLED screen emits its own light, which means that the colours are more pure and true to life. TFT screens, on the other hand, use a backlight to illuminate the pixels, which can cause the colours to appear washed out or less vibrant.

Viewing Angle: The viewing angle is the angle at which you can see the screen. AMOLED screens have a wider viewing angle than TFT screens, which means that you can see the screen from more angles without the colours looking distorted.

Power Consumption: One of the main advantages of AMOLED displays is that they consume less power than TFT displays. This is because the pixels on an AMOLED screen only light up when they need to, while the pixels on a TFT screen are always illuminated by the backlight.

Production Cost: AMOLED screens are more expensive to produce than TFT screens. This is because the manufacturing process for AMOLED screens is more complex, and the materials used are more expensive.

Availability: TFT screens are more widely available than AMOLED screens and have been around for longer. They are typically used in a variety of devices, ranging from phones to TVs.

Usage: AMOLED screens are typically used in devices where power consumption is a concern, such as phones and wearable devices. TFT screens are more commonly used in devices where image quality is a higher priority, such as TVs and monitors.

AMOLED and TFT are two different types of display technology. AMOLED displays are typically brighter and more vibrant, but they are more expensive to produce. TFT displays are cheaper to produce, but they are not as bright or power efficient as AMOLED displays.

The display technology that is best for you will depend on your needs and preferences. If you need a screen that is bright and vibrant, then an AMOLED display is a good choice. If you need a screen that is cheaper to produce, then a TFT display is a good choice. However, if you’re worried about image retention, then TFT may be a better option.

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.

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.

Before you get a new monition for your organization, comparing the TFT display vs IPS display is something that you should do. You would want to buy the monitor which is the most advanced in technology. Therefore, understanding which technology is good for your organization is a must. click to view the 7 Best Types Of Display Screens Technology.

Technology is changing and becoming advanced day by day. Therefore, when you are looking to get a new monitor for your organization, LCD advantages, and disadvantage,  you have to be aware of the pros and cons of that monitor. Moreover, you need to understand the type of monitor you are looking to buy.

That is why it is important to break it down and discuss point by point so that you can understand it in a layman’s language devoid of any technical jargon. Therefore, in this very article, let’s discuss what exactly TFT LCDs and IPS LCDs are, and what are their differences? You will also find out about their pros and cons for your organization.

The word TFT means Thin-Film-Translator. Click to view: what is TFT LCD,  It is the technology that is used in LCD or Liquid Crystal Display. Here you should know that this type of LCD is also categorically referred to as active-matrix LCDs. It tells that these LCDs can hold back some pixels while using other pixels. So, the LCD will be using a very minimum amount of energy to function. TFT LCDs have capacitors and transistors. These are the two elements that play a key part in ensuring that the display monitor functions by using a very small amount of energy without running out of operation.

Now, it is time to take a look at its features that are tailored to improve the experience of the monitor users significantly. Here are some of the features of the TFT monitor;

No radiation, no scintillation, no harm to the user’s health. In particular, the emergence of TFT LCD electronic books and periodicals will bring humans into the era of a paperless office and paperless printing, triggering a revolution in the civilized way of human learning, dissemination, and recording.

It can be normally used in the temperature range from -20℃ to +50℃, and the temperature-hardened TFT LCD can operate at low temperatures up to -80 ℃. It can not only be used as a mobile terminal display, or desktop terminal display but also can be used as a large screen projection TV, which is a full-size video display terminal with excellent performance.

The manufacturing technology has a high degree of automation and good characteristics of large-scale industrial production. TFT LCD industry technology is mature, a mass production rate of more than 90%.

TFT LCD screen from the beginning of the use of flat glass plate, its display effect is flat right angles, let a person have a refreshing feeling. And LCDs are easier to achieve high resolution on small screens.

The word IPS refers to In-Plane-Switching which is a technology used to improve the viewing experience of the usual TFT displays. You can say that the IPS display is a more advanced version of the traditional TFT LCD module. However, the features of IPS displays are much more advanced and their applications are very much widespread. You should also know that the basic structure of the IPS LCD is the same as TFT LCD if you compare TFT LCD vs IPS.

As you already know, TFT displays do have a very quick response time which is a plus point for it. But, that does not mean IPS displays a lack of response time. In fact, the response time of an IPS LCD is much more consistent, stable, and quick than the TFT display that everyone used to use in the past. However, you will not be able to gauge the difference apparently by watching TFT and IPS displays separately. But, once you watch the screen side-by-side, the difference will become quite clear to you.

The main drawback of the TFT displays as figured above is the narrow-angle viewing experience. The monitor you buy for your organization should give you an experience of wide-angle viewing. It is very much true if you have to use the screen by staying in motion.

So, as IPS displays are an improved version of TFT displays the viewing angle of IPS LCDs is very much wide. It is a plus point in favor of IPS LCDs when you compare TFT vs IPS. With a TFT screen, you cannot watch an image from various angles without encountering halo effects, blurriness, or grayscale that will cause problems for your viewing.

It is one of the major and remarkable differences between IPS and TFT displays. So, if you don’t want to comprise on the viewing angles and want to have the best experience of viewing the screen from wide angles, the IPS display is what you want. The main reason for such a versatile and wonderful viewing angle of IPS display is the screen configuration which is widely set.

Now, when you want to achieve wide-angle viewing with your display screen, you need to make sure it has a faster level of frequency transmittance. It is where IPS displays overtake TFT displays easily in the comparison because the IPS displays have a much faster and speedier transmittance of frequencies than the TFT displays.

Now the transmittance difference between TFT displays and IPS displays would be around 1ms vs. 25ms. Now, you might think that the difference in milliseconds should not create much of a difference as far as the viewing experience is concerned. Yes, this difference cannot be gauged with a naked eye and you will find it difficult to decipher the difference.

However, when you view and an IPS display from a side-by-side angle and a TFT display from a similar angle, the difference will be quite evident in front of you. That is why those who want to avoid lagging in the screen during information sharing at a high speed; generally go for IPS displays. So, if you are someone who is looking to perform advanced applications on the monitor and want to have a wider viewing angle, then an IPS display is the perfect choice for you.

As you know, the basic structure of the IPS display and TFT displays are the same. So, it is quite obvious that an IPS display would use the same basic colors to create various shades with the pixels. However, there is a big difference with the way a TFT display would produce the colors and shade to an IPS display.

The major difference is in the way pixels get placed and the way they operate with electrodes. If you take the perspective of the TFT display, its pixels function perpendicularly once the pixels get activated with the help of the electrodes. It does help in creating sharp images.

But the images that IPS displays create are much more pristine and original than that of the TFT screen. IPS displays do this by making the pixels function in a parallel way. Because of such placing, the pixels can reflect light in a better way, and because of that, you get a better image within the display.

As the display screen made with IPS technology is mostly wide-set, it ensures that the aspect ratio of the screen would be wider. This ensures better visibility and a more realistic viewing experience with a stable effect.

As you already know the features of both TFT and IPS displays, it would be easier for you to understand the difference between the two screen-types. Now, let’s divide the matters into three sections and try to understand the basic differences so that you understand the two technologies in a compressive way. So, here are the difference between an IPS display and a TFT display;

Now, before starting the comparison, it is quite fair to say that both IPS and TFT displays have a wonderful and clear color display. You just cannot say that any of these two displays lag significantly when it comes to color clarity.

However, when it comes to choosing the better display on the parameter of clarity of color, then it has to be the IPS display. The reason why IPS displays tend to have better clarity of color than TFT displays is a better crystal oriental arrangement which is an important part.

That is why when you compare the IPS LCD with TFT LCD for the clarity of color, IPS LCD will get the nod because of the better and advanced technology and structure.

IPS displays have a wider aspect ratio because of the wide-set configuration. That is why it will give you a better wide-angle view when it comes to comparison between IPS and TFT displays. After a certain angle, with a TFT display, the colors will start to get a bit distorted.

But, this distortion of color is very much limited in an IPS display and you may see it very seldom after a much wider angle than the TFT displays. That is why for wide-angle viewing, TFT displays will be more preferable.

When you are comparing TFT LCD vs. IPS, energy consumption also becomes an important part of that comparison. Now, IPS technology is a much advanced technology than TFT technology. So, it is quite obvious that IPS takes a bit more energy to function than TFT.

Also, when you are using an IPS monitor, the screen will be much larger. So, as there is a need for much more energy for the IPS display to function, the battery of the device will drain faster. Furthermore, IPS panels cost way more than TFT display panels.

1. The best thing about TFT technology is it uses much less energy to function when it is used from a bigger screen. It ensures that the cost of electricity is reduced which is a wonderful plus point.

2. When it comes to visibility, the TFT technology enhances your experience wonderfully. It creates sharp images that will have no problems for older and tired eyes.

1. One of the major problems of TFT technology is that it fails to create a wider angle of view. As a result, after a certain angle, the images in a TFT screen will distort marring the overall experience of the user.

Although IPS screen technology is very good, it is still a technology based on TFT, the essence of the TFT screen. Whatever the strength of the IPS, it is a TFT-based derivative.

Finally, as you now have a proper understanding of the TFT displays vs IPS displays, it is now easier for you when it comes to choose one for your organization. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace. You should not be surprised if you see more advanced display screens in the near future. However, so far, TFT vs IPS are the two technologies that are marching ahead when it comes to making display screens.

STONE provides a full range of 3.5 inches to 15.1 inches of small and medium-size standard quasi TFT LCD module, LCD display, TFT display module, display industry, industrial LCD screen, under the sunlight visually highlight TFT LCD display, industrial custom TFT screen, TFT LCD screen-wide temperature, industrial TFT LCD screen, touch screen industry. The LCD module is very suitable for industrial control equipment, medical instruments, POS system, electronic consumer products, vehicles, and other products.

This rise of small, powerful components has also led to significant developments in display technology. The most recent of which, AMOLED, is now the main competitor for the most common display used in quality portable electronics – the TFT–LCD IPS (In-Plane Switching) display. As more factories in the Far East begin to produce AMOLED technology, it seems likely we will enter a battle of TFT IPS versus AMOLED, or LCD vs LED. Where a large percentage of a product’s cost is the display technology it uses, which provides best value for money when you’re designing a new product?

TFT IPSdisplays improved on previous TFT LCD technology, developed to overcome limitations and improve contrast, viewing angles, sunlight readability and response times. Viewing angles were originally very limited – so in-plane switching panels were introduced to improve them.

Modern TFT screens can have custom backlights turned up to whatever brightness that their power limit allows, which means they have no maximum brightness limitation. TFT IPS panels also have the option for OCA bonding, which uses a special adhesive to bond a touchscreen or glass coverlens to the TFT. This improves sunlight readability by preventing light from bouncing around between the layers of the display, and also improves durability without adding excess bulk; some TFT IPS displays now only measure around 2 mm thick.

AMOLED technology is an upgrade to older OLED technology. It uses organic compounds that emit light when exposed to electricity. This means no backlight, which in turn means less power consumption and a reduction in size. AMOLED screens tend to be thinner than TFT equivalents, often produced to be as thin as 1 mm. AMOLED technology also offers greater viewing angles thanks to deeper blacks. Colours tend to be greater, but visibility in daylight is lower than IPS displays.

As manufacturers increasingly focus on smaller devices, such as portable smartphones and wearable technology, the thinness and high colour resolution of AMOLED screens have grown desirable. However, producing AMOLED displays is far more costly as fewer factories offer the technology at a consistent quality and minimum order quantities are high; what capacity there is is often taken up the mobile phone market Full HD TFT IPS displays have the advantage of being offered in industry standard sizes and at a far lower cost, as well as offering superior sunlight visibility.

The competition between displays has benefitted both technologies as it has resulted in improvements in both. For example, Super AMOLED, a marketing brand by Samsung, involves the integration of a touchscreen layer inside the screen, rather than overlaid on it. The backlight in TFT technology means they can never truly replicate the deep blacks in AMOLED, but improvements have been made in resolution to the point where manufacturers like Apple have been happy to use LCD screens in their smartphones, even as they compete with Samsung’s Super AMOLED.

Aside from smartphones, many technologies utilise displays to offer direct interaction with customers. To decide whether TFT LCD will survive the rise of AMOLED technology, we must first recap the advantages of LCD. The backlit quality means that whites are bright and contrast is good, but this will wear down a battery faster than AMOLED. Additionally, cost is a significant factor for LCD screens. They are cheaper, more freely available and are offered in industry standard sizes so can be ordered for new products without difficulty.

It seems hard to deny that AMOLED will someday become the standard for mobile phones, which demand great colour performance and are reliant on battery life. Where size is an issue, AMOLED will also grow to dominance thanks to its superior thinness. But for all other technologies, particularly in industrial applications, TFT-LCD offers bright, affordable display technology that is continually improving as the challenge from AMOLED rises.

With the newest addition to the displays like LCD and LED, we have some significant modifications to them. These displays are most often used in smartphones. A smartphone usually has a Touch screen interface and thus people are more into the display quality. Manufacturers are trying to provide customers with displays that could be better, brighter, and vivid. There are three most popular displays that we often see with most of the phones. These are IPS LCD, AMOLED and Super AMOLED which are the modification to the traditional LCD and LED.

The IPS LCD(In-Plane Switching Liquid Crystal Display) is a modified version of the old LCD and was developed to overcome the limitations of it. If you remember using a phone with a plain old LCD, we didn’t get much of a viewing angle. Colors used to fade away while looking at it from another direction and the image quality was blurry due to poor color reproduction.

When these crystals are subjected to an electric field by two sets of electrodes they tend to obtain a 90 degree twisted structure. The IPS works on the same strategy but the alignment of the electrodes is a little different. In the IPS display, they are located on the same plane. Electrodes in the IPS LCD generate an electric field that is parallel to the lower glass plate. It then uses a polarised light that passes through these liquid crystal molecules with additional horizontal and vertical filters on either side.

The AMOLED(Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) has an active matrix of Organic LEDs. These consist of the electroluminescent layer which is made up of organic compounds. Whenever electricity is passed through the Thin Film Transistor (TFT) which houses the organic compound, it generates light. The transistor also acts as a series of switches that control the illumination by controlling the current flow.

The IPS needs a good backlight to produce a proper polarised light. Which in turn gives us a brighter white and good visibility in sunlight. It also gives good screen clarity too. The power consumption of the IPS LCD is almost 15% greater than the AMOLED.

The AMOLED gives good blacks because it does not require an external backlight. The organic compounds produce light in contact with electricity. For the blacks, it usually shuts the transistor so no electricity is needed. Moreover, the LED emits light without generating heat, as a result, the loss of energy due to heat is minimized.

The AMOLED produces a good amount of blacks which gives high contrast to the images produced. The image looks bright and vivid but it can sometimes make the color look a little oversaturated. It also has a higher refresh rate that allows watching high-resolution videos and videos much suitable.

On the other hand, the IPS LCD has great color reproduction. The whites are far better than that of the AMOLED, which look a little yellowish. It also adds natural color to the other segments. The electric field changes the nature of the liquid crystal’s behavior to produce good viewing angles. Thus most of the time photographers usually prefer to use an IPS LCD display in a camera.

The cost related to the development of the AMOLED is very high. The fabricating substances needed to build up the display are very costly. Another factor is the complexity to assemble them together makes it much more expensive than building an LCD. Thus we mostly see AMOLED displays in high-end devices like Samsung.

The IPS LCD also has a higher cost in development than that of the TFT LCD, but it is not as expensive as that of AMOLED. IPS LCDs are also used by some of the renowned phone manufacturers like Apple (in their earlier iPhone 8, 7, and so on), and HTC.

Since the AMOLED uses organic compounds for electroluminescent. Like all, these organic compounds tend to fade after a long-span use. The Red and Green pixel have a longer life span than that of the blue. These Red, Blue, Green are the base pixel that gives us the multi viewable color. Thus fading of one of the fundamentals pixels can lead to a significant color change. There is another term known as Burn-in, where the pixels permanently lose their ability to return to the relaxed state. Well, this phenomenon also happens in IPS LCD but it’s not permanent.

Samsung is the biggest fan of the AMOLED screen. All of its high-end flagship devices have been equipped with the AMOLED display. Samsung introduced its newest innovation of the AMOLED called Super AMOLED.

Samsung merged the touch-sensitive layer and the AMOLED display, which were previously two different kits. The result in combining them has given a new edge in technology.

This works the same as the Super AMOLED, reducing the gap between the touch-sensitive screen and the physical display. This specific display is used by HTC in its flagship phones. The resulting combination has a similar effect to super AMOLED like increased visibility in sunlight and low power consumption. There are also Super LCD 2 and 3 which differ in terms of brightness. Super LCD 3 is much brighter than its predecessors.

People often confuse Gorilla glass with the categories of displays. You cannot differentiate Gorilla Glass and AMOLED or IPS LCD. The Gorilla glass is a chemically strengthened glass that is used over your display like AMOLED or IPS LCD to prevent them from scratches. The Gorilla Glass is developed by Corning and now in its sixth generation.

Tried and trusted TFT technology works by controlling brightness in red, green and blue sub-pixels through transistors for each pixel on the screen. The pixels themselves do not produce light; instead, the screen uses a backlight for illumination.

By contrast the Active Matrix OLED (AMOLED) display requires no backlight and can light up or turn off each of their pixels independently. As the name suggests, they are made of organic material.

An AMOLED display has many other benefits which make it a superior looking display including exceptional vieiwng angles and a display that looks practically black when it is switched off.

So, why use a TFT display? Well, it is a mature technology meaning the manufacturing processes are efficient, yields high and cost much lower than AMOLED.

TFT displays also have a much longer lifespan than AMOLED displays and are available in a far greater range of standard sizes, which can be cut down to fit a space restricted enclosure for a relatively low cost adder.

Display technologies are advancing every day. All the major tech giants like Apple, Samsung, One Plus use one among these technologies for building the displays of their Apple phones or Galaxy Notes. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. So which one is better? Is it the AMOLED favored mostly by Samsung? Or is it the IPS LCD favored by Apple for their iPhones? Let us take a detailed look at the features of AMOLED vs IPS display technologies.

AMOLED stands for Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode is a type of display used mainly in mobile phones. You might have seen the AMOLED display mentioned in the specifications for smart devices, especially mobile phones. They are also used in smartwatches, laptops, and even televisions. Let’s see what the terms in AMOLED mean.

The Active Matrix technology came about as an improvement on the existing passive matrix technology that used passive components like wires which were arranged vertically and horizontally to control each pixel. The color and brightness of the pixels and thereby the picture can be altered by varying the electrical charge at the given joint of vertical and horizontal wires. The newer Active Matrix uses active electrical components like transistors and capacitors to carry out the same purpose. Instead of varying current at the intersection of wires to control the pixels, this latest technology uses a grid or matrix of thin-film transistors commonly referred to as TFTs and capacitors.

You might be familiar with the giant LED bulbs used at parties or even as indicators on televisions showing the on/off state. These same LED lights are used in AMOLEDs, but of course in the smallest size possible. The LEDs used are in the primary shades namely Red, Blue, and Green, and are grouped in triangle-shaped pixelated forms.

Compared to the LCD and LED displays, the diodes in the OLED display produce light individually meaning they do not need a backlight like their predecessors. OLEDs use lesser electricity and are thinner compared to LEDs. They are also bendable and may even be curved. However, they are much more expensive than LED displays. Hence in the earlier days, it was majorly used for displays for

Now the technologies mentioned above combine to give the AMOLED displays. Here an OLED display is driven with an active matrix control scheme. The TFTs (thin-film transistors) turn on/off each pixel one at a time. The other scheme where the OLEDs are controlled by a passive matrix requires each grid ( rows and lines) to be controlled together. The advanced AMOLED displays allow for higher resolution display with a much bigger physical size.

AMOLEDs have deep black lights. The blacks are darker than LEDs and LCDs because parts of the screen can be switched off altogether. AMOLEDs are also thinner and lighter than LCDs. This feature especially stands out in a dark theater room where OLED displays give a higher contrast ratio compared to LCDs making for an excellent visual experience. This feature of OLED which can work with no backlight makes it better than LCDs whether or not they have an LED backlight.

Since they use Active Matrix technology over the passive matrix version, AMOLEDs have a faster response time. They are up to a millisecond faster and extract less power from your mobile phone’s battery. Extended battery life means major advantages in the portability department. This adding to its high display features leads to them being extensively used. They are preferred over the other versions by major companies like Samsung. Speaking of power, the amount consumed by an OLED display varies according to the brightness and color of the picture displayed.

AMOLEDs have impressive contrast ratios. The contrast ratio is the ratio of the luminance of white color to the black color of a display unit. The high contrast of AMOLEDs is because when the LEDs are off, it gives complete black and since no backlight is used in LEDs, we get deep blacks.

One of the disadvantages the AMOLED had over LCD was the blurriness caused in sunlight which is a result of its lowered peak-brightness values. This issue was corrected in the advanced Super AMOLEDs. In the Super AMOLEDs, the size of gaps between the various layers of the screen namely the cathode layer, anode layer, organic active layer, TFT layer is made narrower than before.

Another problem associated with the AMOLEDs is that the organic materials used in the emissive layer and the conductive layer suffer degradation. This happens comparatively in a short amount of time. As a result, various display problems arise including image persistence, burn-in, etc which are essentially screen burn type problems and color shifts where some colors fade quicker than others. Burn-in is essentially the pixel quality becoming trash after a while because of the degradation of the organic molecules.

Most flagship models of major companies like Samsung, Apple, and One Plus use either super AMOLED or IPS panel premium LCDs. So what exactly is an IPS display? and how does it feature against like the likes of super AMOLEDs?

First, let us understand the basics of a standard LCD. Simply put, when you apply current to some crystals, they may or may not let through the light which comes from a backlight that covers the whole display. In addition to this, there are polarization and color filters present in LCDs which finally give the primary colors Red, Blue, and Green.

Before we get into detailed explanations, you have to keep in mind that for the final end-product that ends up on the market, the quality of the display does not solely depend on whether it is IPS or AMOLED. The companies usually put their tweaks on top of the existing technology before making them available in the market. AMOLEDs are a newer technology than IPS LCD and improve on it in some areas while still lagging in others.

The IPS LCD stands for In-Plane Switching Liquid Crystal Displays. It emerged onto the scene as an improvement on the existing and vulnerable Thin Film Transistor LCD technology commonly referred to as the TFT. Samsung was the leading manufacturer to employ Super AMOLEDs. The IPS display is mainly being used in Apple iPhones. Apple beginning with the iPhone X is switching to AMOLED displays with contrast ratios of 1000000 to 1

As said before, an IPS display is an improved version of the regular TFT LCDs. Here, the difference comes in the way the anode and the cathode are arranged. They are planted as strip electrodes on one of the two glass substrates.

The IPS display scores big time when it comes to offering better viewing angles compared to the other LCD technologies like Twisted Nematic LCD (TN) and Vertical Alignment LCD (VA). The IPS display can be viewed without any color degradation or blurriness at flimsy shallow angles compared to TN and VA displays.

The consistency of colors and clarity of pictures at wider viewing angles is the major advantage of an LCD. IPS displays have higher resolution. They also can display a wide range of colors. These features also make the IPS displays costlier than TN and VA LCDs. Normally IPS monitors allow up to 178 degrees of viewing angles. These displays almost guarantee absolute color accuracy.

For other LCD models, the color and the brightness of an image vary when viewed from different angles. Compared with them, IPS displays are more suited for someone working as a visual/graphic artist. As a regular television, all LCD models are mostly considered equally good. This is because the viewers would mostly be sitting right in front of the screen where these differences between the models do not matter.

IPS displays are capable of displaying a wider spectrum of colors. Considering no monitors can display the entire color spectrum visible to the human eye, IPS LCD panels are the closest things to a perfect display monitor far better than TN and VA LCDs

Image retention is a problem often associated with LCDs. This happens because of the crystal which gets into a particular position for the light to go through stays in that same spot without falling back into its original position. This leads to some parts of the image being left on the screen. This is, however, a temporary problem. The crystal will eventually twist back into the position when the current is applied to it again. When it comes to color accuracy, the previous generation of LCDs was no match for the AMOLED. They had the highest color accuracy among mobile phones. But recent versions of the LCDs have fared much better versus their counterparts.

Large-sized IPS monitors are not affordable for the average customer. They should be avoided since they offer nothing impressive over other LCDs considering the price range. However, if you are a visual artist or a photographer, IPS displays provide the best color accuracy in the market. It would be more beneficial to you compared to an ordinary TN display unit.

AMOLEDs and IPS LCDs are two sides of the same coin in a sense. They both got their advantages and disadvantages. Their disadvantages are mostly overshadowed by the many tweaks installed by the parent companies to ensure customer satisfaction. From high power consumption to ugly blacks, the flaws are minimized in every newer version.