Differences between an ips, amoled or super amoled mobile screen

When we talk about the technical specifications of a mobile one of the first things we look at is the screen. Although we look more at the resolution, the type of panel is also important. Surely you have seen the acronym IPS or AMOLED more than once. But what do these acronyms really mean? Do they affect the daily use of the mobile? Sometimes it is difficult to know what type of screen is better. And even more so when manufacturers tend to vary technologies and give them 'strange names'. For this reason, we are going to see what type of screens we find in current mobiles and what differences there are between them.

LCD

If we created a table and in it we compared the technical characteristics of 6 or 7 phones, we would see acronyms such as IPS, LCD, AMOLED, Super AMOLED, Retina and maybe some more. It is the same that happens with televisions, between the commercial names and the different variations of a technology we can end up completely bundled. However, in reality, there are only two types of panels for mobile screens: LCD and OLED.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panels are the most common in mobile devices. Even so, it is rare to see that in the characteristics of a mobile they put us 'LCD screen'. And it is that within the LCD panels we have multiple variants with different names.

TFT LCD

TFT (Thin Film Transistor) panels were for many years the most widely used type of LCD for mobile screens. They can still be seen today in some very low-end terminals, although they have fallen into disuse.

In TFT technology, each pixel is a small capacitor. This allows for very fast response times, with acceptable contrast. In addition, the manufacture of this type of panel is very economical.

However, they have a big problem using them on mobiles. And it is that its energy consumption is very high. Before they could be used because the screens were very small, but a screen of more than 5 inches with this technology would be unfeasible.

IPS LCD

IPS technology is what we currently find in the vast majority of mobiles. IPS (In-Plane Switching) was developed to improve the viewing angles and color reproduction of TFT panels. But what really made the mobile industry opt for these panels was the drastic reduction in energy consumption.

That is, IPS panels offer:

• Reduced energy consumption compared to TFT
• Sharp images
• Consistent colors
• Good levels of brightness and contrast
• Wide viewing angles

For all these reasons, IPS panels are the most widespread in the mobile industry. We find them in all types of mobiles, including high-end ones like the Huawei P10 Plus.

Surely you have ever heard about "Retina display". Well, this is nothing more than an IPS LCD panel with a higher pixel density. By increasing the pixel density (what we commonly see as "dpi"), images appear sharper and better defined.

How do you increase the pixel density? Using a higher resolution. For example, the iPhone 7 has a 4.7-inch screen. With this screen size the normal thing would have been to use an HD resolution of 1,280 x 720 pixels. However, Apple's mobile has a resolution of 1,334 x 750 pixels. With these data, its screen density is 326 dpi. That is, higher than that of most terminals with this diagonal.

Of course, other factors also come into play to make Apple screens appear to 'look better', such as brightness or contrast.

OLED

At the beginning we mentioned that there are only two types of panels for mobile screens: LCD and OLED. OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) is a self-luminescent technology, based on semiconductors composed of carbon. In other words, each sub-pixel emits its own light without the need for filters or backlighting. This means that each pixel lights up or shines on its own.

Among the advantages that OLED technology brings to mobile screens we have:

• Greater energy efficiency. This is because they don't need power to reproduce the color black, they just turn off that pixel.
• Deeper blacks
• Higher level of contrast
• Better viewing angles

However, it is very rare to see a mobile with an OLED panel. The most common is to find one of its variants: AMOLED and Super AMOLED.

AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode) displays improve energy consumption, show clearer images, and have higher contrast and brightness. However, their biggest drawback is that they can sometimes show oversaturated colors. For example, the ZTE Axon 7 includes an AMOLED screen.

Samsung evolved these panels to create the Super AMOLED. These allow for higher pixel density, resulting in a sharper and more defined image. They also improve contrast and brightness, showing a clear image even in bright sunlight. It also allows to reduce the thickness of the panels. And, of course, they reduce energy consumption even more, something key for a mobile terminal.

Currently almost all Samsung mobiles have a Super AMOLED screen, such as the Samsung Galaxy S7 or the Samsung Galaxy A5 2017.

Another variant of OLED panels is the new flexible panels. Known as POLED (plastic OLED) they allow us to create curved screens, like the one we see in the Samsung Galaxy S8 +.

What is the best screen?

Despite all the information we have been seeing, it is difficult to answer that question. According to DisplayMate, the best mobile screen this year is the Samsung Galaxy S8. However, as we said before, there will be users who find that the Super AMOLED technology saturates the colors too much.

In this case, it is best to check for ourselves which screen we like the most. As an example we have the screen of the Huawei P10, which with a Full HD IPS panel achieves excellent results. Everything is a matter of taste.