LCD, OLED, and AMOLED display on phones: Do you understand the difference and benefits of those each display type? Here is a detailed look at each one of them in a simplified manner.

Are you confused between LCD, OLED, and AMOLED displays on phones? Which one is better? What is the difference? Do these questions come to your mind? Nothing recently launched its Phone (2) smartphone with an OLED display, while Samsung launched some phones with AMOLED screens. We have also seen 5G phones with pOLED or LCD displays. But, do you understand the difference and benefits of each display type? Here is a detailed look at each one of them in a simplified manner.

What is LCD display on phones?
LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. It is a common display tech seen on many electronic devices like smartphones. LCDs work by using a backlight to illuminate pixels on the screen. The backlight shines through the liquid crystals, and the arrangement of these crystals determines the amount of light that passes through each pixel, creating the images you see on the screen.

LCD displays are generally cheaper for smartphone companies when compared with OLEDs. However, LCDs have a limited viewing angle and don’t produce true blacks because the backlight is always on. In simpler terms, even when your smartphone screen is displaying dark content, the backlight remains on, unlike OLED. This makes it less efficient in saving power compared to AMOLED displays.

What is OLED screen on phones?
OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode. Unlike LCDs, OLED displays don’t require a separate backlight. The pixels in a row on OLED display emit their own light when an electric current is applied. When a pixel is off, it produces true black because no light is emitted from it.

OLED displays offer better contrast, more vibrant colors, and deeper blacks compared to LCDs. They are also thinner, lighter, and more flexible, as per smartphone companies. However, OLED displays are more expensive for companies than LCDs. Hence, users usually see LCDs on low-priced phones.

What is AMOLED display on smartphones?
AMOLED stands for Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode and is an improved version of OLED display technology that uses an active matrix tech to control each individual pixel. AMOLED displays use a thin-film transistor (TFT) to control each pixel actively. This means each pixel automatically turns on or off independently for precise control over the display.

It is important to note that AMOLED displays inherit the benefits of OLED technology (like vibrant colors, and true blacks), but it consumes less power when displaying darker content since individual pixels can be turned off.

OLED or AMOLED displays on phones: Which one is better?
AMOLED is considered better than OLED for phone displays. The reason is that AMOLED builds upon OLED technology by incorporating an active wiring matrix of transistors for individual pixel control instead of using organic materials between conductors of an LED. What does this mean? AMOLED has the ability to turn on or off individual pixels and switch them quickly, which enables precise and rapid control over the display’s output. The OLED panel controls a number of pixels row-wise. So, pixels for the darker content in a colorful image are off for a display of true blacks, and the brighter ones are well-lit with a great level of colour contrast.

This results in improved image quality, enhanced color accuracy, deeper blacks, and better power efficiency compared to regular OLED displays. AMOLED screens offer higher contrast ratios and even have energy-saving capabilities. Hence, you may get better battery life on this, but this factor also depends on the phone’s software and other hardware used internally.

LCD vs OLEDs: Which one is better?
LCDs use a backlight to illuminate pixels, while OLED and AMOLED displays have self-emissive pixels that individually emit light. OLED and AMOLED displays mostly offer better image quality with vibrant colors and true blacks, but they can be more expensive to produce. On the other hand, LCDs are more cost-effective but the visual appearance is not matchable to OLEDs.

pOLED, Super AMOLED Plus display explained
pOLED display on Motorola and other devices
pOLED stands for Plastic Organic Light Emitting Diode. It is a type of OLED display technology that uses a plastic substrate instead of the traditional glass substrate. Now, what is a substrate? It is a base layer of a structure such as a display or chip. This OLED type uses plastic for more flexibility in design and enables companies to create curved or flexible displays. It can be used in foldable phones. Some of the traditional phones from Motorola also have pOLED, probably because this display type is lightweight and helps companies offer a phone with a slim design. However, pOLED displays are said to have slightly lower image quality compared to some other OLED technologies.

Super AMOLED Plus displays on Samsung and other phones
Super AMOLED Plus is similar to AMOLED display with a minor difference. This tech has been developed and marketed by Samsung to offer a slightly better experience. Super AMOLED Plus displays feature an integrated touch sensor directly on the screen, eliminating the need for a separate touch-sensitive layer. This integration reduces screen thickness and increases display clarity.