The screen of a smartphone acts as an interface between the device and the user. It is one of the most essential and delicate components of a phone/tablet/PC/laptop. We interact with our device through a screen, we give commands, we receive output through a surface, in short, smartphones are nothing without a screen! These smartphones feature different types of screens, each with its own set of pros and cons. All additional features like color contrast, contrast ratio, sunlight readability depend on what kind of screen brightness a smartphone has. Today smartphones are becoming full screen and iPhone X is a good example of that! There is a greater demand for large screen phones with a size equal to or greater than 6 inches.
These are the most common types of screens with their advantages and disadvantages. Read to the end to know more about the type of screen your smartphone features:
TFT is the most used surface in budget phones. TFT LCD offers good quality images and higher resolution. TFT features narrow viewing angles that do not offer an HD view when viewed from the edges or in bright sunlight. It offers the best view and HD colors when viewed from the front. All TFTs are gone now and upcoming smartphone models don’t include it.
IPS LCDs are considered the best among all! They consume less power compared to TFTs and offer a better view even when viewed from the edges of the screen. IPS screen is available in high-end smartphone models. IPS LCD screens are readable in sunlight and have wider viewing angles. The screen consumes less energy and emits true colors. The screen is backed by a backlight that consumes less battery power than the TFT surface, but the battery consumption is much higher compared to OLED screens.
A capacitive screen features a glass and a conductor. It responds to the touch of the fingers and does not respond if used with a stylus or with gloves. The screen offers a great view and colors to the user. Manufacturers no longer use this type of display.
OLED screens produce better colors, offer wider viewing angles, impressive color contrast, and have a faster response time compared to an LCD screen. An OLED screen is thin, light and does not require a backlight to illuminate the screen and therefore consumes less power. The OLED screen is on the expensive side of the range scale.
AMOLED screens do not need a backlight as each pixel on the screen is backed by an LED. High brightness, low power consumption, slim bezel and lightweight screen are some of the highlights of these displays. These screens are available in high-end smartphones as they are more expensive than surface LCD. The screen produces nice, true colors.
Super AMOLED is an upgraded version of the basic OLED/AMOLED displays. Samsung used the term for marketing purposes with some refinements. It has the thinnest display screen, is lightweight, and produces high color contrast and true-to-life colors.
Retina display is not a different technology, it is another name for IPS LCD with LED backlight. The term was used by Apple as a promotional tool.
The smartphone market is growing every day and the current focus is not on the specifications of the phone but has shifted to the look and display! The demand for big screen phones has increased in recent times. This boom has led to the emergence of various mobile screens such as LCD, OLED, AMOLED, Super AMOLED and more.