From LCD to AMOLED: here’s the skinny on phone screens

Not all phone screens are created equal. LCD, OLED, AMOLED and more - we lay it out for you and explain the unique advantages of each.

What’s the most important thing about a phone? The battery life? Sure, you could say that. The camera? High quality shots are always welcome (especially for the Insta-obsessed). General speed? That snappy ‘new-phone’ feeling is unlike any other. Look, these are all great answers, but what about the thing you spend hours staring at every day (and no, we don’t mean yourself on the selfie-cam)?

We’re talking about the screen. Smartphone screens have come a long way since the 320 x 480 resolutions of 2007. While they were extremely impressive at the time, going back to an original smartphone can be a bit of a shock to the ocular system. You can physically see the pixels on them, which is pretty wild - something that the hi-res displays of today shudder at the thought of. Things move quickly in tech though, and by 2011 the screen quality of the highest selling smartphone had tripled. Progress marches ever forward, and today in 2019 we have a bevy of smartphone display options to choose from - the differences may surprise you.

LCD - The Brightest of the Bunch

Let’s start with LCDs. Although it’s an older technology, LED LCDs (Light Emitting Diode Liquid Crystal Display) still appear on some of the world’s most popular smartphones. One of the main benefits of LCD displays are their sheer brightness. If you’re the outdoorsy type, someone who likes to snap away down at the beach like an insta-influencer, or you just find you’re catching a bit of sun-light glare while shooting zombies on your train-commute home, the brightness of an LCD display will be able to push through and deliver clear and colourful image quality - colour accuracy being one of the priorities for phones which still use LCD screens.

If we’re going by ‘nits’ - the measurement of brightness, not the primary school creepy-crawlies - some phones which use LCD screens max out at 1000 nits, whilst phones which use more modern OLED technology max out at 625 nits.

Rich Colours and oh-so Inky Blacks. Has to be OLED.

Organic LED - or OLED screens - definitely make up for their lower overall brightness in other areas. OLED screens have a bunch of differences from LCD displays, but what it really all comes down to is the blackest blacks. When black, an OLED pixel isn’t displaying anything at all - it’s actually turned off, meaning it isn’t using any power at all, and delivering a much richer black. Makes sense, right? The result is incredible contrast, sticker-like colour saturation, improved viewing angles, and ultimately a more efficient display. When it comes to those elements, an OLED screen will beat an LCD every time, but brightness is one area where LCD can still compete.

Even above OLED screens are the AMOLED, Super AMOLED and Dynamic AMOLED displays. These are no longer found just in flagship phones. A great example is the Samsung Galaxy S23 Series that features a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display in each of its Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra phones. AMOLED shares many of the benefits of OLED, but features an increased refresh-rate and even better ‘inky’ blacks. Super AMOLED pushes this even further by touting higher brightness levels and even better power savings. Screens like these are perfect for gamers, due to their focus on high refresh rates and lower-power draw, giving you a competitive edge, and allowing you to own noobs online for even longer.

Easy on the eyes

Interestingly, AMOLED and OLED screens cause less eye-strain due to their selective pixel use. If an LCD pixel is emitting light, even when showing a colour like black, it’s still sending light into your eye, increasing the chance of strain. This is what makes many users report that AMOLED and OLED screens are better for long-term use. Of course, many phones now include Night Mode and Dark Mode options, which increases the black display area on many apps and softens blue light, meaning you can use your phone as much as you like before you doze off and the phone hits you in the face (admit it, we all do this).

The Future is Foldable

If increased brightness and resolution aren’t the kind of things that get you excited, you should see some of the crazy screen innovations being made by companies like Samsung. Folding phones have been the obvious focus this year, giving a solid indication of where the industry is headed (smaller form factors with larger displays). It’s super-futuristic stuff, and seeing people’s reactions to some of these phones in action is reminiscent of the original smartphone experience, that sense of wonder and amazement when the screen actually reacted to touch for the first time (ahhh memories).

Keep it clean, guys.

Once you’ve got the screen that’s right for you, you’re going to need to take care of it. Even though build quality and screen durability is only getting better, a drop onto concrete isn’t good for any piece of high-end tech. In fact, the thought of it practically makes us shudder. A screen-protector is never a bad call, and a good case has saved many a flagship from the scrapheap, but it’s also worth considering a regular regime of cleaning and - if minor cracks do appear - speedy repairs.

So, don’t ignore the screen. Get the right one for you, and make sure it lasts beautifully for years to come.

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