New Delhi: The technology used in mobile displays in the modern day smartphones has progressed significantly. In the era of touchscreen smartphones, the display technology has become one of its primary selling points, and certainly its most unique feature. Not only we want the touch screens to offer crisp text, vibrant images, blur-free video and enough brightness, we want them at low cost too.
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.
Clearly, there are several options available in the market, but the point is understanding what you are being offered.
Here we've rounded up all the important information about different mobile screen types below, so you'll know what to look out for on your next phone.
What is TFT-LCD technology?
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.
It ranges from the budget smartphones like the HTC Desire C to high-end tablets, like the Google Nexus 7.
However TFT screens consume lot energy, which results in poor battery life.
Since this display technology is cheaper to manufacture, these are most commonly found on budget phones, feature phones and low-end smartphones.
IPS LCD or Plane Switching liquid Crystal Display
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.
OLED Display is better
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 solid-state devices composed of thin films of organic molecules that create light with the application of electricity.
The plastic, organic layers of an OLED are thinner, lighter and more flexible than the crystalline layers in an LED or LCD.
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.
Since these display forms are easier to produce, they can be made to larger sizes. Because OLEDs are essentially plastics, they can be made into large, thin sheets.
AMOLED Display
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.
This is the preferred technology of smartphone manufacturers although they are quite expensive to produce.
Opt for AMOLED display over TFT LCD.
Super AMOLED display technology
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.
All you need to know about Retina Display
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.
Retina Display is designed to smooth the jagged edges of pixels are provide a higher-quality image than previously available on mobile devices. Apple claims that its resolution is so good that it makes it impossible for the human eye to distinguish individual pixels. Its effects shows up in text, images and videos.
a) In general, the retain displays offers these benefits:
b) A greater pixel density
c) Higher contrast ratio than earlier models for brighter whites and deeper blacks
d) In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology to improve viewing angles
e) Chemically treated glass over the screen and LED backlighting to improve the quality of the image
f) ColorBoost display
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.
PenTile Matrix
PenTile Matrix is not a type of display, it is simply a family of subpixel arrangements.
