tft lcd ips vs amoled made in china

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.

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.

IPS (In-Plane Switching) lcd is still a type of TFT LCD, IPS TFT is also called SFT LCD (supper fine tft ),different to regular tft in TN (Twisted Nematic) mode, theIPS LCD liquid crystal elements inside the tft lcd cell, they are arrayed in plane inside the lcd cell when power off, so the light can not transmit it via theIPS lcdwhen power off, When power on, the liquid crystal elements inside the IPS tft would switch in a small angle, then the light would go through the IPS lcd display, then the display on since light go through the IPS display, the switching angle is related to the input power, the switch angle is related to the input power value of IPS LCD, the more switch angle, the more light would transmit the IPS LCD, we call it negative display mode.

The regular tft lcd, it is a-si TN (Twisted Nematic) tft lcd, its liquid crystal elements are arrayed in vertical type, the light could transmit the regularTFT LCDwhen power off. When power on, the liquid crystal twist in some angle, then it block the light transmit the tft lcd, then make the display elements display on by this way, the liquid crystal twist angle is also related to the input power, the more twist angle, the more light would be blocked by the tft lcd, it is tft lcd working mode.

A TFT lcd display is vivid and colorful than a common monochrome lcd display. TFT refreshes more quickly response than a monochrome LCD display and shows motion more smoothly. TFT displays use more electricity in driving than monochrome LCD screens, so they not only cost more in the first place, but they are also more expensive to drive tft lcd screen.The two most common types of TFT LCDs are IPS and TN displays.

We emphasize advancement and introduce new products and solutions into the market each year for Difference Between Ips And Tft Display, Tft Display, Touch Screen Panel, Whole Tft Lcd Monitor,Bar Lcd Panel. Our company maintains safe business mixed by truth and honesty to keep long-term relationships with our customers. The product will supply to all over the world, such as Europe, America, Australia,Lahore, Hungary,Brasilia, Finland.We have been sincerely looking forward to cooperate with customers all over the world. We believe we can satisfy you with our high-quality products and solutions and perfect service . We also warmly welcome customers to visit our company and purchase our products.

KING TECH is a TFT LCD IPS supplier solution specialist since 2003, we are the group company combined byAn Innolux authorized LCD panel&IC distribution company

We Provide Different Kinds of Custom TFT Display ServicesIf needed we can make custom size tft displays for customers, we have a good relationship with original TFT display module factories, and we can negotiate with them to tool up an LCD panel mask. The tooling cost will be very high and paid by the end customer, and MOQ is at least 25K/lot.

We are capable to change every structure of the TFT display module. To increase backlight brightness and make it sunlight readable, the highest brightness we’ve ever reached was 6500cd/m2.To change the display FPC shape and length. To customize a resistive touch panel(RTP) or capacitive touch panel(CTP/PCAP), we have a long-term cooperation supplier to work with us on such tooling, for CTP, we can also make different shapes and thicknesses of cover glass, single touch, and multi-touch, AG/AR/AF is also available.

With our own PCBA hardware& software design company, we can design different kinds of TFT display modules for our customers, from simple convert boards to complete motherboards, from HDMI driver boards to Android controller boards, from non-touch function boards to capacitive touch function boards, they are all part of our working.

We have our own TFT display module panel and driver distribution department, if you want to switch to another structure of display, we can also help, cause we know which TFT display module panel and the driver is more match, and which suit’s supply is more stable, which one we can get the lowest price.

In order to give the customer the best support, Kingtech, as one of the best TFT LCD IPS suppliers in China, also can provide industrial solutions such as developing a mother board, serial port UART board, T-CON board, HDMI board, and monitor according to the customer"s requirements.

Kingtech also has existing industrial solutions for the PV135 motherboard, PV901 Linux board, and PV804 motherboard. They can be connected between Raspberry pi and our TFT display module, which can make them work together.

For serial port UART board, Kingtech has a 2.8inch 240x320 LCD with serial port UART board, 3.5inch 320x480 module with serial port UART board, 4.3inch 480x272 display with a resistive touch with serial port UART board, 7inch 800x480/1024x600 TFT with capacitive touch with serial port UART board.

For exisiting monitor products, Kingtech has 8inch 1280x800 IPS monitor, 10.1inch 1280x800 monitor, 15.6inch 1280x800 LCD monitor, 12.3inch 1920x720 IPS 850nit LCD monitor, 18.5inch 1366x768 1000nits LCD monitor.

For the HDMI board, Kingtech has a 1.39inch 454x454 AMOLED round with HDMI board, 3.34inch 320x320 TFT round with HDMI board, 3.4inch 800x800 TFT round with HDMI board, 5inch 1080x1080 TFT with HDMI board, 4.3inch 800x480 TFT with HDMI board, 5inch 800x480 LCD with HDMI board, 7inch 800x480/1024x600 LCD display with HDMI board, 10.1inch 1280x800 LCD module with HDMI board.

Above all TFT display modules with board products can be used for industrial equipment, medical, smart-home, or others. Kingtech can also have industrial custom TFT display solutions according to the customer’s requirements. Ware is welcome to contact us. If you are interested in any tft display module products, we can negotiate with you at a reasonable TFT LCD display price. Thank you.

TFT display module is a Thin Film Transistor, and AMOLED is Active-matrix organic light-emitting Display. The TFT display module is backlight-on the liquid crystal panel; AMOLED is a panel that emits light on its own; TFT display module structure is more thick and strong, AMOLED is very thin and also weak, TFT display module is used widely than AMOLED, AMOLED is used in consumer products the most, like a smartwatch, mobile phone, and TV.

IPS is In-Plane Switching, It is also known as free viewing angle, which means the viewing angle of the display on 4 sides is the same, a normal display has its best viewing angle like 6 o’clock or 12 o’clock. While the TFT display module contains normal viewing angles and IPS display,IPS display is a kind of TFT display module.

TFT display module belongs to LCD, LCD is Liquid Crystal Display, it contains mono(single color) LCD and color LCD, single color LCD is barely used now, and color LCD has STN and TFT two types. Therefore, TFT display module is a kind of LCD display.

OLED is Organic Light Emitting Display, it is a display that emits light on its own, and it does not need an extra backlight, so it requests lower power consumption than TFT display module but its lifetime is shorter than TFT(5000 hours), AMOLED is a kind of OLED but it is more colorful. TFT display module requests a backlight to light on and power consumption are higher than OLED, but its lifetime is much longer(20000 hours).

The LED display is working by lighting up the LED lights, the TFT display module is lighted up by the backlight and the liquid crystal starts to work and shows contents. TFT display module has brighter and more true color, and lower price and LED display has lower power consumption, smaller heat, and longer lifetime.

Compares to other types of display, TFT display module is the more widely used, it can be made in different shapes and sizes, from very small sizes to big sizes. The resolution now is higher and higher, and the price of custom TFT display modules is more and more competitive. Its lifetime is longer than the OLED display, and its color is brighter than OLED.

Over time, the purpose of using mobile phones or Smartphones has changed. Comparatively, it has now become a basic necessity of every individual. Smartphone has dramatically transformed the lives of individuals. It has now become a mini-computer that everyone carries in their pocket. Instead, you can have multiple things at your fingertips in a few seconds. While there are plenty of things to look for, AMOLED vs OLED is also a part of it.

This article will introduce you to AMOLED vs OLED display technologies. Then, we will discuss the properties of both display technologies, followed by the difference between AMOLED vs OLED.

AMOLED stands for Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode. This type of display is generally for large platforms. It contains TFT, which further consists of a storage capacitor. It also works on the same principle as OLED displays.

AMOLED offers no restriction on the size of the display. The power consumption of AMOLED is much less than other display technologies. The AMOLED provides incredible performance. It is thinner, lighter, and more flexible than any other display technology like LED, or LCD technology.

The AMOLED display is widely used in mobiles, laptops, and televisions as it offers excellent performance. Therefore, SAMSUNG has introduced AMOLED displays in almost every product. For example, Full HD Super AMOLED in Samsung Galaxy S4 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Super AMOLED in Samsung Galaxy S3, HD Super AMOLED in Samsung Galaxy Note, and HD Super AMOLED Plus in Samsung Galaxy S3. Apart from this, it is also used in AMOLED vs OLED creating the following:

So far, we have discussed OLED and AMOLED display technologies. Now, we will look at some of the differences between OLED and AMOLED display technology:

OLED comprises thin layers of the organic component, which emits light when the current passes through it. In this technology, each pixel transmits its own light. On the other side, AMOLED consists of an additional layer of thin-film transistors (TFTs). In AMOLED, the storage capacitors are used to maintain the pixel states.

While the technology is different among various manufacturers, Samsung’s edge AMOLED displays use plastic substrates with poly-Si TFT technology similar to how LG uses it in their POLED technology. This technology is what makes the possibility to build curved displays using an active-matrix OLED panel.

OLED display much deeper blacks as compared to the AMOLED displays. You cannot see the screen in AMOLED display under direct sunlight. The AMOLED display quality is much better than the OLEDs as it contains an additional layer of TFTs and follows backplane technologies.

These organic compounds are present between the protective layers of glass or plastic. Comparatively, AMOLED comprises an active matrix of OLED pixels along with an additional layer of TFTs. This extra layer is responsible for controlling the current flow in each pixel.

The OLED display offers a high level of control over pixels. Hence, it can be turned off completely, resulting in an excellent contrast ratio compared to the AMOLED displays and less power consumption. On the other side, AMOLED has faster refresh rates than OLEDs. Also, they offer a tremendous artificial contrast ratio as each pixel transmits light but consumes more power than OLEDs.

OLED displays are comparatively much thinner compared to the LCDs. Hence, it provides more efficient and bright presentations. In addition, OLED offers support for large display sizes compared to the traditional LCDs. AMOLEDs remove the limitation of display sizes. one can fit it into any display size.

Putting all the points mentioned above in view, the key difference to understand appropriately is that POLED is an OLED display with a plastic substrate. On the other hand, AMOLED is Samsung’s word for its display technology which is mainly for marketing. Therefore, most phone manufacturers having AMOLED displays mean that they are using Samsung displays. It is as simple as that. To add to that, all the curved display technology is made possible because of the usage of plastic substrate.

So, based on the points mentioned above, the difference between OLED and AMOLED displays, you can choose any of the two display technology at your convenience. Both are good, offer excellent performance, and are customised according to your requirements.

The AMOLED display has a higher quality than OLEDs since it has an additional layer of TTs and uses backplane technologies. When compared to OLED screens, AMOLED displays are far more flexible. As a result, they are substantially more expensive than an OLED display.

Window to the digital world, the display is one of the first seen features when selecting a smartphone, so a show must be good, and an AMOLED display offers the same. Offering a great viewing experience, here are the top 3 AMOLED screen smartphones available in the market right now:

Realme 8 Pro features a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with 411 PPI and a 2.5D curved display. It runs on Snapdragon 720G, bundled with Adreno 618 and 6GB of RAM. On the rear, the Realme 8 Pro has a quad-camera setup with 108-megapixels primary sensor, 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle sensor, 2-megapixel macro sensor, and a 2-megapixel monochrome sensor.

Coming to the front, it has a 16-megapixel selfie camera housed in the punch-hole display. It comes with a 4,500 mAh battery that supports Super Dart fast charging, with 100 per cent coming in just 47 min. The Realme 8 Pro is one of the best segments with a Super AMOLED FHD+ display. Media lovers will enjoy this phone with its deep blacks and vibrant colours.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite runs on Snapdragon 732G chipset bundled with Adreno 618 GPU and up to 8GB RAM. The display front comes with a 6.55-inch AMOLED display with HDR 10+ support and 402 PPI.

The cameras have a triple rear camera setup with a 64-megapixel primary sensor, 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle sensor, and a 5-megapixel macro sensor. In addition, it has a 16-megapixel selfie camera housed in the punch-hole display on the front. It has a 4,250 mAh battery with 33W fast charging with USB Type-C. With the support for HDR 10+, the AMOLED display on the Mi 11 Lite is a treat for all media enthusiasts.

OPPO has recently launched the Oppo Reno 6 Pro with MediaTek’s Density 1200 chipset coupled with Mali-G77 MC9 GPU and up to 12GB of RAM. In addition, it comes with a 6.55-inch curved AMOLED FHD+ display with support for HDR 10+ and an Oleophobic coating.

On the rear, it comes with a quad-camera setup with a 64-megapixel primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide angle sensor, a 2-megapixel macro sensor, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. In addition, it has a 32-megapixel selfie camera integrated inside the punch-hole on display on the front. It comes with a 4,500 mAh battery that supports 65W Super VOOC fast charging and can charge the phone 100 per cent in just 31 minutes. Since it comes with an FHD+ curved AMOLED display on the display front, it is a treat for gamers and media consumption lovers.

Major smartphone manufacturers attempt to provide their consumers with the most delicate devices possible that incorporate the most up-to-date technologies. In AMOLED vs OLED, AMOLED is a type of OLED and a more prominent example of both OLED and POLED, so there’s no debate about which is superior.

Amoled Better But U Have To See Other Specifications Of Smart Phones Not Just Only Display........ Any Day I Will Go For Amoled or IPS But Lower Display No Way....... Redmi Note 4, Moto E4 Plus, Honor 6x, Lenovo P2, Galaxy J7 2016, Nokia 6 Best Phones Mixtures Of Amoled N IPS :)

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.

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.

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.