• Amoled or IPS which is better? Which screen is better for a smartphone: IPS or AMOLED? Comparison of IPS and SUPER AMOLED screens: what are the differences, differences

    Supporters of technologies used in the manufacture of mobile device displays are divided into AMOLED lovers and LCD supporters. Both are based on different manufacturing techniques, with manufacturers emphasizing the benefits of their own manufacturing process.

    So which screen is better - IPS or AMOLED? Is there a noticeable difference between these technologies, and if so, what is it?

    LCD technology

    LCD stands for LCD display. It reproduces colors completely differently than AMOLED. In a liquid crystal display, the light source is the backlight. The backlight can be multiple, which saves energy, but it is used in large TVs.

    White color does not have its own wavelength. It is a mixture of all other visible colors of the spectrum. Thus, the LCD backlight should create an imaginary white light as efficiently as possible to produce different colors from it in the LCD element. Most LCD displays have a blue LED backlight that hits phosphors and produces near-white light.

    The real complications begin when the light is polarized and passed through the crystal. The LCD element can rotate it to different angles by changing the voltage applied to it. Next, the light passes through another polarizing filter, shifted by 90° relative to the first. This dampens it depending on the angle of rotation. The light then passes through the RGB filter, creating subpixels, which are then grouped into pixels.

    All this is to say is that the LCD controls the amount of light by blocking the backlight and does not generate colored light for each pixel. Like AMOLED, LCD displays can be either active or passive matrix devices.

    AMOLED technology

    The key component of screens hidden in the name of this type- light emitting diode (LED). Electronics enthusiasts knew about these bulbs before, but in the display panel they are radically reduced and placed in the form of red, green and blue clusters, which make up a single pixel capable of reproducing white and other colors. The arrangement of these subpixels may have a slight effect on the performance of displays.

    The letter O stands for organic. There are a number of thin organic films placed between the conductors of an LED that emit light when current is applied.

    Lastly, the AM part of AMOLED stands for "active matrix" as opposed to passive technology. This indicates how each OLED LED is driven. To control an individual pixel in a passive matrix, controls are used to control the supply of voltage to the required column or row. It's slow and not accurate enough. Active matrix systems in each LED use a TFT transistor and a capacitor. When row and column are activated to access a pixel, its capacitor retains charge between refresh cycles. This allows you to control it quickly and accurately.

    Another term that you may come across is Super AMOLED, Samsung's marketing name for a display combined with a capacitive one. Typically, such a screen is made as a separate layer on the outer part of the display. This combination makes the display thinner.

    Super AMOLED vs LCD

    This profound difference in the way displays operate has a big impact on the user experience. Color gamut is most often mentioned when comparing these technologies. AMOLED provides a greater range of color options than LCD, resulting in brighter images.

    OLED displays have extra saturation in green and blue, the most powerful colors in subpixels. Some believe that this extra saturation produces unnatural colors. LCDs tend to overcompensate for red tones with more muted greens. Although they do not have a wide enough gamut, the image they produce is very close to standard profile color scheme used in photos and videos.

    A closer look at smartphone displays reveals that color gamut can vary quite significantly even within the same type of display. For example, although BlackBerry Priv and Galaxy Note 5 uses an AMOLED display from the same manufacturer, they have completely different gamma profiles. This may be partially explained by the presence of multiple profiles and different image calibration by the manufacturer.

    Color accuracy is another significant difference, especially when it comes to whites. Testing some of the best Android smartphones showed that OLED displays produce very accurate results, while LCD displays have a slight blue tint. This is not surprising given that LCD displays use filtered blue backlighting.

    The lack of backlight and filter layers also speaks in favor of OLED. LCDs often leak excess light and have low contrast because the backlight doesn't turn off even when the pixels are supposed to be black, while OLED can simply turn off its pixels. The LCD filter layer also blocks some of the light, and the greater thickness means viewing angles are narrower compared to OLED.

    The downside to AMOLED is that different LEDs have different lifespans, meaning that individual RBG components will eventually degrade with at different speeds. The color balance of an OLED display may shift slightly over time, and the LED LCD backlight means the color balance is more stable.

    Controllability

    One of the main advantages of OLED screens is their high controllability at the level of each pixel. This element can be turned off, allowing you to achieve deep blacks and a high contrast ratio. Controlling radiation at the individual pixel level results in energy savings, and the lack of additional layers above the LEDs means that maximum light reaches the surface. Images become brighter and the viewing angle improves.

    Thinness and flexibility

    Adherents of AMOLED note the smaller thickness of the screen, which determines the size of the device and its weight. This is due to the lack of backlight. Although this parameter may seem unimportant to many, it has an impact on another important indicator- viewing angle, which directly depends on the thickness of the display.

    The use of LEDs means that LED screens are extremely thin, which is ideal for portable devices. The absence of hard backlighting and breakthroughs in substrate production made it possible to create the first generation of flexible displays, which are very promising for creating new form factors.

    Contrast

    One of the main parameters that will help you figure out which screen technology is better - IPS or AMOLED - is contrast. The advantage of LED technology is its huge contrast, which is why users love this technology. When a person sees such a colorful display for the first time, he is very surprised. This is the “wow effect” so revered by marketers.

    Black depth

    The next parameter that will help you decide which screen is better - IPS or Super AMOLED - is the ability to transmit black color. Because LED screens light up on their own, users give them undeniable advantage. Only the pixels needed in the image are used, and not the entire screen, as in IPS. Contrast is the ratio of the brightness of the lightest and darkest areas of the screen, so the theoretical contrast of organic LEDs is infinite, since there is no glow. But in reality the situation is different; reflected light passes through the black areas. The contrast difference is 20-fold (30,000:1 versus 1,500:1).

    Energy consumption

    Among the indicators that allow you to decide which is better, IPS or AMOLED, users cite screen efficiency. In LED technology, this is achieved by lighting individual subpixels. The screen spends little energy on dark scenes, but more on light scenes. Therefore, the power consumption of the display depends on the mode of its use.

    Performance

    Response time also influences consumers' opinions on which display is better - IPS or AMOLED. With the latest technology it is smaller, which in theory should mean a slightly faster picture change. In reality longer time IPS response is almost imperceptible. And in Samsung Galaxy S4 another problem appeared - rapid image changes cause a noticeable visual effect.

    Color rendition

    Another question that allows you to choose AMOLED or IPS is which reproduces colors better? IPS displays provide images without distorting the color gamut. The color will be bright when it should be. Natural gamma on LED displays is achieved by customizing the software.

    White quality

    True white color on LED displays, as users say, is difficult to achieve. LCD, on the other hand, produces an imaginary white color emitted by a phosphor. The result is shades of blue, yellow and pink instead of white. In this case it may help customization images.

    Viewing Angles

    Another parameter that will help determine which matrix is ​​better - IPS or AMOLED - maintaining color accuracy when viewed at an angle. If we talk about LCD screens, then their colors shift to the cold side, and the non-standard layout of subpixels of LED displays, which is different from the usual one, takes the picture into different colors, for example, it can turn green or red.

    Brightness

    High brightness means the image is clearly visible in strong ambient lighting conditions. This is the next parameter that will allow you to decide which is better - IPS or AMOLED. Screen contrast won't help here. In LCD displays, white light is created by a powerful backlight, while LED panels emit every pixel. This explains the difference in light intensity - AMOLED technologies do not yet allow the brightness of subpixels to compete with backlights in LCD displays.

    Definition

    Which is better - IPS or AMOLED - will help you decide on the detail and sharpness of the image. Some users have no trouble distinguishing the subpixels of an LED screen, which is not good. Nearsighted people see them clearly even at Full HD resolution. This is explained by the use of PenTile technology, which ensures the same glow of subpixels of different colors. The image loses clarity and has less clear contours. Traditional IPS layout means more detail and straighter lines.

    Pixel burn-in

    Another “plus” of IPS technology is the “minus” of LED technology. fade over time. Although quite large, differences in the brightness of different areas will become noticeable within a year. LCD screens are free from problems with burn-in.

    Price

    The answer to the question of which is better, IPS or AMOLED, also depends on the price. The cost of the device is determined by the sum of the prices of all its components, the most expensive of which is the display. But a lower price for a gadget does not mean a lower cost for the screen. For example, HTC One with IPS and Samsung Galaxy S4 with Super AMOLED cost the same, although the price is higher.

    AMOLED, TFT IPS: which is better?

    Technologies have qualities that can be called advantages or disadvantages depending on custom settings colors and contrast. Although the many display modes available in modern smartphones allows you to achieve maximum quality. The lower production costs and added benefits of OLED displays make them likely to be more promising, while cheaper LCD displays are destined to fill gaps in budget segments market.

    Leading display manufacturers such as LG Display are betting on OLED technology by investing in additional production capacity. The AMOLED panel market is expected to reach $30 billion in 2022, more than double today's level. Not to mention the yet unrealized potential of the flexible display market.

    The development of quantum dot LCDs could close the performance gap between LCD and OLED, so don't count out LCD just yet.

    When deciding which type of display to choose - Super AMOLED or IPS, which is better for the user, you should remember: each technology has its pros and cons. Only after weighing all the pros and cons, taking into account the degree of importance of each parameter, does it make sense to make a choice. LCD screens offer slightly more advantages. Among them are natural high-quality color and high image brightness. LED technology characterized by excessive color saturation, low readability in bright ambient light and shorter service life. However, AMOLED displays have an excellent “wow” effect, bringing the next victim to consumer ecstasy again and again.

    It’s easy to notice that phones with AMOLED screens are more expensive than their IPS counterparts. What is the reason for the higher cost? Is it possible to immediately distinguish a display created using AMOLED technology from other types of screens? Why are such LCD panels rarely found outside of the products of the South Korean company Samsung? The answers to all these questions are in this material.

    Under the abbreviation AMOLED lies the decoding of “Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode”. This means that this matrix is ​​built on the basis of organic light-emitting diodes, while it is active. Each pixel here lights up independently, as a result of which a separate backlit layer is not required - this reduces the thickness of the panel and also reduces power consumption.

    Almost any AMOLED screen has the following structure:

    • Top layer - cathode;
    • Below is organic layer with LEDs- there is no air gap;
    • Posted even lower matrix of thin film transistors those involved in diode control;
    • What follows anode layer;
    • It all lies on a substrate made of silicone, metal or some other material.

    Structure of an AMOLED screen

    The order of LED subpixels in AMOLED displays can be different. Samsung for a long time I used PenTile - a checkerboard pattern (blue in the middle, two green on the sides, two red behind them). It is this position of the subpixels that has the most positive effect on power consumption.

    PenTile - subpixel order used by Samsung

    AMOLED or Super AMOLED: which is better?

    IN Samsung smartphones Screens made using Super AMOLED technology are used. What are the main differences between such displays? Initially, the prefix “Super” meant the absence of an air gap - it was the South Korean company that managed to get rid of it in 2010. But now ordinary AMOLED screens manufactured by other companies can boast of this. Consequently, Super AMOLED is now a marketing feature of the South Korean manufacturer. That is, you can put an “equal” sign between AMOLED and Super AMOLED.

    It should be noted that Samsung produces the largest number of AMOLED panels. South Koreans have already learned how to bend their creations in every possible way (doing this without a separate backlit layer is much easier). Rest assured, all smartphones with an AMOLED display, the edges of which are curved, are manufactured using South Korean matrices. Apple is going to open its own plant for the production of organic LED screens, but this will not happen earlier than 2020.

    Main advantages of AMOLED panels

    The physical properties of matrices consisting of organic light-emitting diodes are such that the screen can have tiny thickness. In particular, this is especially important for smart watches and fitness bracelets, the physical dimensions of which should not be large.

    But the most important advantage of any OLED screen (including its AMOLED variations) is low power consumption. Each pixel of such a display glows independently. It turns out that highest consumption energy will be at the moment when the entire screen displays a flat white color. And if some areas should display dark colors, they glow noticeably dimmer, which reduces battery consumption.

    The darker the picture displayed on the display, the less energy is consumed.

    High Contrast- another undoubted advantage similar screens. This is explained by the same ability of pixels to glow on their own. For example, under the IPS panel there is a substrate of LEDs that illuminate black colors as well. This doesn't happen here.

    Differences in contrast are immediately noticeable

    It is also due to this that the picture on the AMOLED screen clearly visible even under bright conditions sunlight . IPS technology allows you to see something on the display on a clear day only by turning down the backlight brightness, which leads to a sharp increase in power consumption.

    Phones with AMOLED display

    As mentioned above, only Samsung is familiar with organic LEDs. But that doesn't mean that this manufacturer does not sell its screens to anyone else. In particular, a 6-inch AMOLED panel is included in the popular smartphone OnePlus 5T. The resolution of this screen is 2160 x 1080 pixels, and the width of the side frames is kept to a minimum.

    The screen, created on the basis of organic light-emitting diodes, has Meizu Pro 7 . This device is much more compact - the diagonal of the display installed here is only 5.2 inches, and the resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels. A distinctive feature of the device is the presence of a second screen located on the rear panel, directly below the dual camera. AMOLED technology was also used in its creation.

    As for South Korean smartphones, there is no point in highlighting specific models. For quite some time now, even relatively inexpensive devices produced by Samsung have had an AMOLED display. The only exceptions are ultra-budget models, sold for 4000-5000 rubles.

    Conclusion

    AMOLED screens are the future, that's for sure. These displays do not have serious shortcomings, producing images with better color rendition and maximum viewing angles, while consuming very little power. The only problem is the higher cost of such panels. This results in a percentage of yield of suitable products that is far from a record. We can also mention that production rates are not the highest - alas, it is extremely difficult for Samsung alone to satisfy the demands of the smartphone market.

    Which technology is better - IPS or Amoled? We talk about the advantages and disadvantages of screens. How to make the right choice?

    There was a time when the Samsung company loudly announced its Amoled technology, calling it almost the pinnacle in the production of matrices. Initially, Amoled screens were used in televisions, then the technology was inherited by the brand’s smartphones.

    AMOLED displays are not liked for their unnatural picture, excessively high contrast, and saturated colors.

    At this moment, IPS screens with their clarity and natural picture appear on the market. Which is better - IPS or Amoled, and which display is right for you.

    Advantages and disadvantages of IPS and AMOLED

    Both technologies have a lot of them, that’s a fact. Let's start with Amoled.

    AMOLED – Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode. The technology provides maximum screen brightness and high image contrast, excellent glare suppression in bright daylight/sunlight/lamp light. At the same time, the screen itself consumes little energy, since the pixels are activated only at the right moment, while with IPS all pixels are constantly active when the screen is turned on.

    Disadvantages of Amoled:

    • High cost of production, which significantly increases the price of a smartphone;
    • High vulnerability to mechanical damage;
    • Over time, colors fade.

    What does IPS have? Here, too, everything is very ambiguous. In-Plane Switching technology was created as an ideological successor to TFT - a frankly outdated technology that does not provide a rich picture, good responsiveness, or wide viewing angles.

    Having gotten rid of these shortcomings, IPS became a real godsend. The picture is clear, dynamic, deep and rich. But most importantly, the colors have become truly realistic. Amoled, with its oversaturated color palette, loses greatly in this regard. Although, this is also a matter of taste. The picture is clear, the viewing angles are excellent - everything is great.

    Disadvantages of IPS:

    • Active energy consumption;
    • Smartphones with IPS screens are slightly thicker than their Amoled counterparts;
    • IPS requires more powerful backlighting;
    • Slow matrix response (only the most picky users will be able to tell the difference);
    • Pixel grid visibility.

    AMOLED or IPS - what to choose?

    If you are faced with a choice - to buy a smartphone with an IPS or Amoled screen, start from how exactly you will use it and what you generally expect from the screen. Do you want natural colors and overall good color rendition? Choose IPS. Do you want the battery to last longer, and the picture to delight you with richness and depth? Amoled for you.

    At the same time, everyone should remember that you are not buying a TV, but a smartphone. The average user may not notice much difference between these technologies. And perhaps best advice in choosing - just see what you like best visually. Well, if you are buying a phone for several years, then it is better to buy one with an IPS matrix. You definitely won't like the faded colors on Amoled. Although, again, you may not even notice them.

    I feel that this year AMOLED vs IPS will be a new trend and a topic for endless debate. I want to express my opinion about AMOLED and IPS screens. I won’t go into technical details, just personal impressions.

    Since I used the Galaxy S1, Galaxy S2, Galaxy Nexus, a little Note 2, and also Galaxy Tab 7.7, then I understand perfectly what it is AMOLED display and what are its advantages. In turn, I did not ignore displays on IPS matrices: iPhone 4/4S/5, Meizu MX2, HTC Droid DNA (LCD3) and HTC One (IGZO?).

    AMOLED vs IPS

    AMOLED screens often use their own pixel structure and most often it's not best option their layout (PenTile), but in the era of the advent of FullHD resolution in smartphones, you can miss this moment, since it is in AMOLED screens high density pixels can hide all the jambs with a non-standard subpixel arrangement.

    Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode (AMOLED) - technology for creating displays for mobile devices, computer monitors and televisions. The technology involves the use of organic LEDs as light-emitting elements and an active matrix of thin film transistors (TFT) to control the LEDs.

    Any display made using AMOLED technology is an advertising bullshield. The colors on such a screen are oversaturated and far from natural, but many people like it, especially at first, until their eyes begin to get tired. To avoid this, Galaxy smartphones have added special item in the screen settings, in which you can change the color rendering from “tear out the eye and let him peck the crow” to “dead corpse”. In any mode, the colors are far from natural, I speak as a person who does a little design work.

    AMOLED screens are very economical - advertising noodles for your ears. Indeed, when the smartphone screen displays completely black, the power consumption is minimal, but this does not happen so often. Good example is a browser. If the picture is bright, then AMOLED consumes battery power 5-6 times more actively.

    If we compare energy consumption AMOLED screens with IPS, when white color predominates in the picture, AMOLED begins to consume twice as much charge as IPS. If we consider the option of displaying icons on the desktop when the background is completely black, then the power consumption in both cases is similar. With normal use of smartphone capabilities, a screen on a screen will always be more economical IPS matrix, unless, of course, you put yourself in a box and use black everywhere. For Android there is special versions gapps, in which standard applications(gmail, contacts, etc.) are inverted to black colors, even the bare Android interface is mostly made in dark colors. Here you can choose what you like, but the advantages in energy consumption of IPS screens are undeniable.

    One of the advantages of AMOLED screens is the maximum viewing angles, but here I can argue with fans of these types of screens. If we take into account the IPS smartphone screens that I listed at the beginning of the article, then their viewing angles are maximum, and in the case of the HTC One there is no distortion at all in the color or contrast of the picture. In the case of AMOLED, the contrast and viewing angles are also maximum, but if you look at a light background, then at certain angles it begins to give off different shades (most often green or red).

    The undeniable advantage of AMOLED over IPS is true black color, but every year the quality of black color on IPS screens is noticeably improving, and if you look at it from the point of view that in everyday use of the device we are more likely to encounter light shades on screens than black ones , then the advantage of AMOLED is insignificant.

    In this article we will find details about the structure of AMOLED screens, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as differences Super technologies AMOLED and Super AMOLED Plus.

    AMOLED panels have become the new standard in the world of screen technology. Increasingly, such displays are used in flagship smartphones, other mobile devices, monitors and even TVs.

    The technology was first used in mobile phone Samsung S8300 Ultra Touch in 2009, but now it is being used by other manufacturers. Yes, last year Chinese brand OnePlus introduced its own Optic AMOLED development in the flagships OnePlus 3 and .

    What is an AMOLED panel?

    The abbreviation AMOLED stands for Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diodes. The peculiarity of this type of display is that each pixel is illuminated by a separate diode, so no additional backlight or liquid crystals are required.

    The cathode layer comes first. Organic light-emitting diodes act as light-emitting elements, and an active matrix of thin-film transistors is used to control them. They determine the current that passes through each diode, hence the brightness and color of the pixel. Then the anode layer passes through. Next is the substrate, which can be made of various materials, such as silicone, metal, etc.

    In AMOLED panels, subpixels are placed using the PenTile scheme developed by Candice Brown Elliott. Each pixel contains five subpixels, which are staggered by color: two red, two green and one blue in the center. This arrangement provides high display brightness without increasing power consumption. In 2008, the rights to the technology were transferred to Samsung Electronics, and it began using it in its products.

    Super AMOLED

    In 2010, Samsung introduced an improved version of the panel, called Super AMOLED. Its main difference was the absence of an air gap between the sensor and the screen itself. This made it possible to increase the brightness and clarity of the image, improve readability in bright sunlight and reduce the thickness of the display.

    At the beginning of 2011, another improved version was released - Super AMOLED Plus. Unlike its predecessor, it uses color RGB model instead of PenTile, which provides increased picture clarity.

    Advantages of AMOLED displays

    One of the main advantages of AMOLED is that the power consumption of the display directly depends on the brightness of the image. Thus, the screen requires less power to display dark tones. This results in deeper blacks because black pixels are not backlit at all. Samsung has used the same advantage in its Always On Display technology, which allows you to display the time, date and notifications on the lock screen without noticeable battery consumption.

    Such displays provide a wider viewing angle (about 180 degrees) both vertically and horizontally. At the same time, brightness, contrast and color saturation are maintained.

    AMOLED panels are thinner, allowing the device to fit into a slimmer, sleeker design. Also, the space freed up inside the case can be used for other important components, for example, a more capacious battery.

    In addition, AMOLED screens have a wider color gamut, faster response time and high contrast.

    Disadvantages of AMOLED

    As mentioned earlier, in AMOLED panels, power consumption directly depends on the brightness of the picture. This means that displaying light colors will require more power.

    One more weak side is the unreliability of connections inside the screen. Even the slightest damage or crack can cause the display to fail completely. With a slight depressurization, the screen begins to gradually fade and stops showing after about two days.

    With constant use in bright colors, the service life of such a panel is noticeably reduced. Moreover, subpixels of different colors burn out at different rates, as a result of which color rendition is disrupted. In addition, the maximum brightness of AMOLED displays remains lower compared to LCD.

    For a long time, one of the disadvantages was the high cost of production, which means that repairs, if necessary, were more expensive for users. However, with the development of technology, the production of AMOLED panels is becoming cheaper.

    Conclusion

    The advantages and disadvantages of AMOLED panels are constantly debated. But it cannot be denied that such displays are the technology of the future, because more and more mobile manufacturers are beginning to switch to the new standard, invest in its development, or even produce their own versions of OLED screens.

    If you are lucky enough to own a smartphone or other mobile device With an AMOLED display, we can advise you to stick to a dark theme for the home screen and interface. This will reduce the energy consumed by the screen and extend the life of the display. Be careful when doing this and remember that even with minor damage the screen can fail completely.

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