OLED and LCDs are equally advantageous

While there may be differing opinions upon the advantages of OLED and LCD displays, the advantages of both of them are conditional. There are specific areas and advantages of using AMOLED in Smartphone while LCDs too are advantageous in many ways.

• The OLED advantage
  

We all know that touch screen phones operate with the help of a capacitive touch screen. The touch sensation is identified and with respect to the exact location of the finger and relevant touch navigations are executed by the device. The performance and experience of this depends largely on the speed of processing. Means faster the processor, faster and more fluid the touch navigations would be. But apart from the processing speed, the response time of the screen which itself acts as the input device matters a lot. This is where AMOLED scores over LCD. While LCDs come with a response time that varies from 1-16ms with refresh rate 60-480Hz, OLEDs can respond within 0.01ms with a refresh rate of 100 000Hz. Hence, the swipe actions of galaxy S3/S4 feel much more fluid and smoother than other android phones with LCD displays.

• The LCD advantage
  

The major advantage offered by an LCD screen is the color reproduction. Color produced by an LCD is TRUE which means they comply with the WYSIWYG principle and produces real colors unlike AMOLEDs. The reason LCDs are able to produce real colors is their perfect distribution of RGB matrix over the screen. The pixel geometry in LCD is much better and an evenly distributed pixel matrix creates better color reproduction.  Apart from the pixel geometry, many LCD screens do not have light of their own (LCDs used in iPhones). Unlike OLEDs which illuminate on their own, LCDs are illuminated by lights present behind the display. This creates a significant difference in color reproduction.

While we saw that how shorter response time of AMOLED can facilitate user satisfaction when pertaining to fluid touch experience; here the expert opinion goes to the LCDs. While many argue that they love the saturated and vivid colors of AMOLED, it might not be a good idea for industry experts and opinion leader. The reason is; real colors have corporate and industrial value. A manager actively involved in advertising and communication of any particular firm will have to go through various communication inputs created by 3^rd party firms. While many of these graphics and illustration are circulated over the web, many of them are meant to be printed. In such situations, identification of real colors can prove highly critical and rewarding. Infact his can be one of the factors that make Apple stick to LCDs. While they come after OLEDs in response time, Apple’s iOS covers it up and does it really well.

When it comes to Smartphone, choosing between OLED and LCD is always tricky. However, if buyers are aware about their specific demands; then the choice becomes easier and meaningful. 

Author: Jayneel Patel, Managing director of Openxcell, A leading mobile application development company.