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AMOLED vs LCD vs TFT

So currently these 3 types of display techs(mainly their variants like Super AMOLED, Super Clear LCD, Super IPS LCD, LED Backlit LCD,IPS TFT etc) are the main kinds of display technologies which can be seen on the latest phones.
I have a few doubts regarding this topic.
1- Which technology gives the best color reproduction?
I know AMOLED sucks at this field.What about Super IPS n LED Backlit LCDs n TFTs?
2-Which one has the best viewing angle?
3-What is all this pentile matrix stuff about AMOLED Displays?
4-Longevity,which one lasts long without noticeable degradation?
5-One technologies main advantages/disadvantages over another

yzak58 said:
So currently these 3 types of display techs(mainly their variants like Super AMOLED, Super Clear LCD, Super IPS LCD, LED Backlit LCD,IPS TFT etc) are the main kinds of display technologies which can be seen on the latest phones.
I have a few doubts regarding this topic.
1- Which technology gives the best color reproduction?
I know AMOLED sucks at this field.What about Super IPS n LED Backlit LCDs n TFTs?
2-Which one has the best viewing angle?
3-What is all this pentile matrix stuff about AMOLED Displays?
4-Longevity,which one lasts long without noticeable degradation?
5-One technologies main advantages/disadvantages over another
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1 amoled has very good contrast. but pixel density also important. Phone could have anyone of these displays and have varying dpi
2 IPS has the best viewing angle
3 i heard of that I've have to google it.
4. Longevity has too many variables. depends on use quality and always random dud phones so idk.
5. depends on what you want it for reading vs watching video the size of the screen quality of a product. you can get knockoff iphone with rentina like display doesn't mean cheap phone will last longer then a lessor display. It's more of a personal choice than an overall one better than another.

1. Depends if you're looking for real life looking colors or bright, vibrant colors. Out of the box AMOLED is the latter, while all LCD's are the former. However, all these screens can be adjusted (Android phones anyways), so it's not such a huge issue.
2. IPS LCD has the best viewing angle, but AMOLED is so close behind it's not a deal breaker. All other LCD's would be behind them, but the amount of which depends on the quality of the panel. iPod Touch viewing angle is terrible, while Xperia Play's is amazing for an LCD.
3. Pentile is just a different sub pixel arrangment. It can apply to LCD or AMOLED, it's just seen more on AMOLED's because it makes those displays last longer. Pentile screens don't look quite as crisp as RGB layout screens, but it's harder to notice with the 720p displays out there now.
4. Traditionally AMOLED doesn't last as long as LCD, but it seems to be panel specific. Some AMOLED panels can last really long. All in all you shouldn't see issues within a 3 year phone contract with either.
5. Totally personal preference. I like AMOLED's myself, mainly for the infinite black levels, vibrant colors, and very good viewing angles. Some people like LCD's because the colors out of the box are more natural. Also some like how there are 720p RGB layout LCD's on phones. AMOLED hasn't been able to do this yet, it has to resort to pentile for those resolutions. Then again, it's hard to notice at ~320 PPI

Ips > Amoled > LCD > tft
Sent from my U8150 using XDA

How about super amoled?
Sent from my GT-I8150 using xda premium

Personally i seem to prefer SLCD over SAMOLED, the whites are bluish and there's a weird hue in all colors except black in amoled, not sure why but the blacks are true blacks which is not the case in lcd where all colors are perfect except black is kind of grayish because of the back light.

Rick_1995 said:
Personally i seem to prefer SLCD over SAMOLED, the whites are bluish and there's a weird hue in all colors except black in amoled, not sure why but the blacks are true blacks which is not the case in lcd where all colors are perfect except black is kind of grayish because of the back light.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My AMOLED colors were slightly off when I got my phone (a little on the warm side). With a quick color tweak the colors look amazing now, along with the true blacks.

noisyzero said:
How about super amoled?
Sent from my GT-I8150 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Super Amoled Plus and super LCD are the higher end panels and bring out the best of each technology. However nothing beats a good ips panel in my books. The colors are flawless, and the viewing angles impeccable. That is all I need.
Sent from my U8150 using XDA

Rick_1995 said:
Personally i seem to prefer SLCD over SAMOLED, the whites are bluish and there's a weird hue in all colors except black in amoled, not sure why but the blacks are true blacks which is not the case in lcd where all colors are perfect except black is kind of grayish because of the back light.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AMOLEDs provide true black because in this technology, each pixels produce its own light(unlike LCDs,in which a single lightsource illuminates the entire screen). And when black is needed to be produced,that individual pixel is completely shut down,thus zero light is emitted.Hence true black.

@Allanitomwesh
Ips > Amoled > LCD > tft
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Sorry about the resurrection, but what aboit IPS TFT?
in case of motorola xoom2?

not a fan of AMOLED screen burnouts

ChinchilaO said:
@Allanitomwesh
Sorry about the resurrection, but what aboit IPS TFT?
in case of motorola xoom2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Technically IPS is a really good TFT panel. Like how a maybach and a c200 are both Mercedes. IPS being the maybach ofcourse.
And technically an LCD is also tft. But then it starts getting confusing if you go down that road.
Sent from my U8150 using xda app-developers app

amoled is much more colourful than the others.
A I-Phone 4 looks really pale beside a Galaxy S or a Galaxy S2.
Amoled has limited life-time and looses brightness.
The power consumption is dependent extremly on the brightness of the colour.

Martin L. said:
amoled is much more colourful than the others.
A I-Phone 4 looks really pale beside a Galaxy S or a Galaxy S2.
Amoled has limited life-time and looses brightness.
The power consumption is dependent extremly on the brightness of the colour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Power consumption is EXACTLY what interests me most about this. I remember reading a couple of years ago that Sony Walkmans using OLEDs offered vibrant colours while using far less power than LCDs. The trouble is I'm having trouble finding more information on this now that I'm looking at OLEDs in smartphones. Is this true, does OLED use less power, does it not use a backlight like LCD?
I'm dying to know because I bought a cool phone a few months ago, but hadn't learned about battery usage/capacity and now I HATE the phone for it. I'm looking at the OLEDs e.g. on the Motorola RAZRs (with 2000 mAh batteries) and I'm curious about them.
UPDATE: I just found a simple document composed from companies and organisations involved in OLED production which, they say is designed to eradicte myths on this. You can see the document here, and on power consumption, my brief understanding is this:
LCD: uses maximum power to display any image
OLED: uses minimal power on darker images, maximum power on brighter/whiter/colourful images - white/very bright images use more power than LCDs
This leads me to think that switching to OLED can only result in at least some benefit in battery life, no? I think most of us on Android are conscious of the use of black and white in the UI, wallpapers etc. so something like this would help. Is it a significant benefit? A backlight on a TV plugged into the wall is fine, on a smartphone I can see why it's a battery-killer. I note the caveat about OLEDs using more power for white and very bright images, but the way I see it, unless you're using a white wallpaper, this isn't an issue. I speculate a power saving when all is accounted for.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...sD8gJk&sig=AHIEtbR1--xI02ZyDoQZKtuuUS-sv_aKPA

So, if a TFT display is considered not quite as good as an AMOLED or an SLDC…how could a difference be noticed between the Xperia Z’s TFT display, the SGS4’s AMOLED and the HTC Butterfly’s SLDC3 – all 5 inches, all 1920x1080? Battery life/colour reproduction/daylight visibility?
Thanks for the input.

decision
I'm sorry for breakin' in this late, but... I hope to help in the future decisions.
We're mixing some things here:
LCD is a technology. AMOLED is another technology.
TFT is a sub technology that must be applied under one of the mentioned before.
TFT is an array used to feed large displays (a mobile phone is already a large display).
Since phone displays are "large" either LCD or AMOLED need an active controller to maintain brightness in each pixel.
This is A BIG difference between OLED (PMOLED) and AMOLED.
As SharpnShiny mentioned mp3 players/walkmans (small displays) can use OLED which use much lesser power than AMOLED.
In OLED/AMOLED displays each pixel produces it's own light, which can be a good power saving if most of the image is black or dark, because, in black the pixel just doesn't light up.
In LCD there's permanently (monitor ON) a "backlight". Even if the image is black! What the display does is block the backlight when it needs black.
About power consumption in either cases... I don't think there's a really noticeable difference because it depends a lot on the usage!
UPDATE: Sometimes the best way to save battery is to tweak several settings (including the Kernel) as the display brightness levels and thresholds.

dreis911 said:
I'm sorry for breakin' in this late, but... I hope to help in the future decisions.
We're mixing some things here:
LCD is a technology. AMOLED is another technology.
TFT is a sub technology that must be applied under one of the mentioned before.
TFT is an array used to feed large displays (a mobile phone is already a large display).
Since phone displays are "large" either LCD or AMOLED need an active controller to maintain brightness in each pixel.
This is A BIG difference between OLED (PMOLED) and AMOLED.
As SharpnShiny mentioned mp3 players/walkmans (small displays) can use OLED which use much lesser power than AMOLED.
In OLED/AMOLED displays each pixel produces it's own light, which can be a good power saving if most of the image is black or dark, because, in black the pixel just doesn't light up.
In LCD there's permanently (monitor ON) a "backlight". Even if the image is black! What the display does is block the backlight when it needs black.
About power consumption in either cases... I don't think there's a really noticeable difference because it depends a lot on the usage!
UPDATE: Sometimes the best way to save battery is to tweak several settings (including the Kernel) as the display brightness levels and thresholds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! That's what I intend to say. It seems many people misunderstanding about TFT.
TFT is not a panel technology in comparison with TN, MVA, IPS, PLS, AVS, AMOLED,....
1- Which technology gives the best color reproduction?
I know AMOLED sucks at this field.What about Super IPS n LED Backlit LCDs n TFTs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In other hand, Led-backlit is a similar case, it is a type of backlight, cause the LCD need the illumination. And there are 2 kind of LED, Edge and full-array. In mobile, almost is edge-led because of low cost and thickness. Full-array Led backlit only appear in several high-end TV models. The older tech is CCFL, which consumes more power
It means that a new LCD display which uses IPS panel also include a TFT layer and an edgeLed-backlit.
Sorry if any typo mistake. My bad English

Does anyone here know much about SAMOLED? I read in a phone review that it's more a marketing term than actual performance difference over AMOLED, but I'd prefer to double check that. For anyone who hasn't seen that term, the S is for Super (don't laugh yet!). I think the Motorola RAZR i and the Samsung Galaxy S III Mini are using SAMOLEDs.
I've been comparing my new and old phone screens when considering this thread. I have to say I prefer the TFT LCD screen more than anything. Even with a lower resolution, the images (video and static) is beautiful to me. My RAZR i has a higher resolution but a pentile matrix SAMOLED. It reminds me of phones 5 years ago, the matrix gives the impression of cheap pixel displays in my opinion - but I keep reading it's amongst the most battery-saving screens in the mainstream smartphone market and for that I am greatful.

I get noticeable battery drain difference by turning down the brightness on my AMOLED screen.
Decreased brightness also extends the life of the display.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

good work
SharpnShiny said:
Does anyone here know much about SAMOLED? I read in a phone review that it's more a marketing term than actual performance difference over AMOLED, but I'd prefer to double check that. For anyone who hasn't seen that term, the S is for Super (don't laugh yet!). I think the Motorola RAZR i and the Samsung Galaxy S III Mini are using SAMOLEDs.
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Click to collapse
Yes. SAMOLED is the Super AMOLED from Samsung.
I wouldn't dare to say that it's just a marketing stuff... Because it's a little about "sub-pixels" and their layout. I would say thay the AMOLED technology is there with Samsung's engineering so that picture could get better.
Pennycake said:
I get noticeable battery drain difference by turning down the brightness on my AMOLED screen.
Decreased brightness also extends the life of the display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I meant in my last post, under the UPDATE statement. Also try to tweak your phone's clock (if you haven't done it yet).
Mine (a poor 600MHz ZTE Blade) is working from 245MHz to about 650MHz depending on the load (from underclock to overclock).

Does it use the same screen technology as the G2?

As the title says is it the same screen as the G2 just smaller?

Super Chimp said:
As the title says is it the same screen as the G2 just smaller?
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Click to collapse
Take a look:
LG G2: True HD-IPS + LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Nexus 5: True HD IPS+ capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
According with gsmarena

t-shock said:
Take a look:
LG G2: True HD-IPS + LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Nexus 5: True HD IPS+ capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
According with gsmarena
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think he's talking about how the LG G2 has the display RAM to serve a static image instead of the GPU doing it
In this case no, the Nexus 5 doesn't have the LG g2's display RAM

markdapimp said:
I think he's talking about how the LG G2 has the display RAM to serve a static image instead of the GPU doing it
In this case no, the Nexus 5 doesn't have the LG g2's display RAM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LG's G RAM is just another name for Panel Self Refresh (PSR).
The other question was whether Nexus 5 also uses a PSR (Panel Self Refresh) type display. This display is indeed a MIPI command mode panel, the same kind of system, so yes it does include those features - Anandtech review.
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Click to collapse
While they both use PSR and both are IPS panels there are differences. As per the above review the G2 has a fairly large advantage with black levels and thus contrast ratio, where as the N5 has better saturation, colour and gray scale reproduction while also getting slightly brighter.

Would you know of a way to improve the black levels and contrast ratios on the N5?

Babakkardan said:
Would you know of a way to improve the black levels and contrast ratios on the N5?
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Click to collapse
Use custom kernel and change color profiles.. Hopefully that will help.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA-Developers mobile app

Which custom kernel would you recommend? Also, in general to what extent can the black and contrast levels be changed... could they possibly approach that of the LG G2 or only a marginal improvement?

samsung note 3 display colors vs mega 5.3

I swiched to samsung note 3 from samsung mega 5.3
Ive noticed that Note 3 colors are a bit dull just like s3. If u open a white image in both mobiles simultaneously u can clearly spot tgat mega's display is much nicer.
Ive tried the display options but still its not much different.
Anyone else noticed this? Any solutions?
SM-N900
Android 4.3

coll911 said:
I swiched to samsung note 3 from samsung mega 5.3
Ive noticed that Note 3 colors are a bit dull just like s3. If u open a white image in both mobiles simultaneously u can clearly spot tgat mega's display is much nicer.
Ive tried the display options but still its not much different.
Anyone else noticed this? Any solutions?
SM-N900
Android 4.3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Note 3 and Mega line use different panels. Note 3 uses AMOLED while the Megas use LCDs (probably IPS or even TFT). I don't think there's much you can do to remedy this as I'm pretty sure what you're experiencing is just a "quirk" of AMOLED.

DrawnToLife said:
The Note 3 and Mega line use different panels. Note 3 uses AMOLED while the Megas use LCDs (probably IPS or even TFT). I don't think there's much you can do to remedy this as I'm pretty sure what you're experiencing is just a "quirk" of AMOLED.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply.
Ive been using note for a month now. I came across mega the other day(after a month) and really loved the feel and look of it
that tft display was more beautiful.
Besides that note 3 is awesome mobile love it. Gonna get used to colors

Its personal preference. I myself dont think I'll ever want to use IPS displays ever again.

I personally cant stand the wonky saturation in amoled displays. Currently have the screen mode on movie mode but still not perfect. Love the deep blacks though
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

bakakun028 said:
I personally cant stand the wonky saturation in amoled displays. Currently have the screen mode on movie mode but still not perfect. Love the deep blacks though
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 I'm in the same camp. Im on the movie mode screen profile and have also installed the app Lux. Setting the WB to Fluorescent(under night mode), to my eyes, improves the colour accuracy.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

i just really can't understand how someone else might not like the colors on note 3.. so vivid, so colorful. i wish my monitor and my tv were like that.
no offence, but this is like the sharpest thing i've seen in a looong time. everytime i have to switch to a different technology my eyes nearly bleed..

hurdlejade said:
i just really can't understand how someone else might not like the colors on note 3.. so vivid, so colorful. i wish my monitor and my tv were like that.
no offence, but this is like the sharpest thing i've seen in a looong time. everytime i have to switch to a different technology my eyes nearly bleed..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its just that some people like myself prefer to have accurate colors instead of over saturated colors. The note 3's color calibration renders the colors almost neon looking. As for the sharpness, note 3 could still improve since it does not use the standard RGB subpixel arrangement.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

367 ppi enough ??

Hi all, i want to buy this phone but i have one question. Is 367 ppi enough ? Is display sharp enough ? I have read many reviews and test...., in some reviews testers say that the resolution is absolute ok....., in another that is visible difference in sharpness when they compare the screen with higher ppi. What is your opinion ?? I have no chance to see the screen in shop. I want to buy this fone, but i´m worried about this thing. Thanx for answers

The screen is very good, excellent contrast and beatiful colors, for me is ok 367 ppi

Kzyw said:
The screen is very good, excellent contrast and beatiful colors, for me is ok 367 ppi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Screenshot please...
mine 380dpi..

I find it fine also. Crisp and clear. Easier on the battery.
A screen shot won't help you, lol. Think about that a minute.....

ghaf85 said:
Screenshot please...
mine 380dpi..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DPI <> PPI. PPI is the physical amount of pixels per inch, DPI is the amount of Dots per inch displayed by the OS.
This phone has a great display. I wouldn't worry about the relatively low PPI compared to newer phones.

I switched from a Samsung with over 440ppi and could barely notice any difference.
Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-L09 using Tapatalk

I have the Ascend Mate 7 from May and after seven months I am not satisfied.
However, regarding the display I must admit that the difference is unnoticeable with 400ppi or more but the problem is not the dpi. Let's view:
- The screen manufacture
I have a big halo in the center of the screen on white colors (It is getting more annoying).
I have a "light" lightbleed on blacks
I don't think that it's a true IPS because if I look it from different angles the screen colors change, especially the black colors
- The Android UI
We have 367ppi on 6" screen and the huawei stock rom is set to 480ppi, so Android will render the screen as it is a 480ppi display. Big status bar, big everything (but this is up to you, I prefer a small UI). To make matters worse for now is impossible to build a custom ROM that it is not stock-derivative (See my post here).

Is the OLED using Pentile or RGB subpixel?

Does anyone know? There is a big difference especially if the screen is bigger and the resolution is not quad HD. If you do not know how to tell them apart, just google pentile vs rgb
https://www.google.ca/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enCA789CA789&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=nX3HW_zyMuTH0PEPqb-uyAE&q=pentile+vs+rgb&oq=pentile+vs+rgb&gs_l=img.3..0j0i7i30k1.99779.100357.0.100738.2.2.0.0.0.0.68.109.2.2.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.2.108....0.NDFhIw5uI5c
EDIT: Answer found, Pentile display for Honor Note 10

Debatable. This is a big screen phone not the typical 5.5 inch ones back in the day. I still want to know if this is rgb or not. I have a mi max 3 and the screen is pretty good

It is almost sure pen tile. As I know, only tab s and tab s2 hase pure rgb matrix... I had and have both tabs. And had at least 15 different phones, also flagships between them,wirh pentile
Picture quality is night and day... You can never get that accuracy of colors in pen tile.

SmartPhonesFan said:
it is amoled .. from samsung ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everyone knows that from the spec sheet. I'm talking about the subpixel arrangement. RGB vs pentile diamond layout. It makes a difference on a big display

​
SmartPhonesFan said:
it is amoled .. from samsung ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SmartPhonesFan said:
i bet samsung has only one type of amoled .. or 2 amoled and super amoled .. so try google it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before I made this thread I did that, no answer can be found. I'm trusting the owners of this phone on this site to help find the answer.

Answer found. Pentile display said by Frankie Tech. He says it in his video around the 8:17 mark. He said Honor 8X LCD is sharper than Honor Note 10

Hi,
Me, I have the device for a few hours, and I must say that I find the display really good.
I even tried to downgrade it to lower resolution and it still looks good with no real difference in sharpness. Now, I am almost 50 years old and so maybe my eyes are fooling me... so don't trust this too much. But I'm pretty sure that for "daily use" it is more the enough.
There's one thing that bothers me though : it is that slightly blueish tint it's getting when viewed at about 20°C vision angle. Not as bad as on earlier LG displays, but still there. Noticeable only on white backgrounds It's common "disease" for OLED/AMOLED displays.
Anyways, how can I say it's pentile or RGB ? The link provided explains the difference but doesn't say how to check does it ?
Regards.

NexusPenguin said:
Hi,
Me, I have the device for a few hours, and I must say that I find the display really good.
I even tried to downgrade it to lower resolution and it still looks good with no real difference in sharpness. Now, I am almost 50 years old and so maybe my eyes are fooling me... so don't trust this too much. But I'm pretty sure that for "daily use" it is more the enough.
There's one thing that bothers me though : it is that slightly blueish tint it's getting when viewed at about 20°C vision angle. Not as bad as on earlier LG displays, but still there. Noticeable only on white backgrounds It's common "disease" for OLED/AMOLED displays.
Anyways, how can I say it's pentile or RGB ? The link provided explains the difference but doesn't say how to check does it ?
Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's easy to tell by experience at looking at screens especially on a big screen even on a 5.5 inch screen I can tell the difference/ Oneplus owners have complained about their displays being not as sharp too because they use 1080p pentile displays now imagine this on an even bigger screen like the Honor Note10, 8X and 20X.
The one method to use is to drop bits of water on a screen displaying text and use a magnifying glass then you can examine the subpixel arrangement to determine if it's pentile or rgb. Smaller drops of water magnify the pixel more and largers drops magnify less
This is example is a RG/BW LCD which is also blurry. Notice how this display has the blue in a diamond pattern similar to a Pentile layout. This makes text and edges of icons and pictures and finer detail look blurry.
http://i.imgur.com/yS4djZz.jpg
A traditional RGB LCD has all the colors in a straight line
https://www.phonescoop.com/img/g/489_9cdf1622caf8656bee9d377123e7817f.jpg
I'm fine with pentile on a 2560x1440 or higher display but not on anything lower as it's noticeable
These are pictures of my mi max 3 6.9 inch lcd display. Rgb layout, red blue green all in a straight vertical line. One of the reasons why I picked the max 3 over the note 10 was the display sharpness and accurate color reproduction.