IPS Vs. AMOLED MOBILE SCREEN DIFFERENCE

IPS Vs. AMOLED

What is the Difference Between IPS and AMOLED?

We have been getting many questions with regards to mobile display technology the most frequent one being what is the difference between IPS and AMOLED, so we decided we should right an article detailing the pros and cons of both and try to make it as understandable as possible.

comparison of amoled and ips screens shown on different brand of smartphones.

First off IPS:
IPS (in-plane switching) the technology was made primarily for LCD (liquid crystal display) to overcome the limitations of the regular LCD or TFT-LCD display, the problem with the regular display TFT-LCD was a slow response time, that means a degraded touch response and bad news for gamers as games usually require screens with good response times.
Another thing was a limited viewing angle, you could make out the screen if you’re looking at it straight ahead with a little variation, but move to the side a bit and you wouldn’t be able to see the screen…it was great for guys who’d be texting one girl while sitting with another… J  But now is the age of sharing is caring where you wanna show off what you’re watching…. so something had to be done…
IPS was the answer allowing for better response times meaning good touch response and better gaming. Also it allowed for a better viewing angle meaning you could watch the screen while having others watch it too…yippee!!
Here is a brief note down of the IPS technology:
Pros:

1. Better response time as compared to regular LCDs
2. Better Color reproduction
3. Better viewing angle
4. Sharper Images

Cons:

1. Requires a stronger backlight
2. More power hungry
3. Screens (cell phones) are usually much more thicker (bulkier) due to backlight source

Left: IPS LCD , Right: Regular LCD

Now AMOLED:
AMOLED or (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) is an upgrade to OLED, this tech basically consists of organic compounds which when are introduced to an electric charge produce luminosity or light. AMOLED was the tech that allowed for smart-phones to become even sleeker, basically since it does not require any backlight as compared to its IPS counterpart it is less bulky.  At the same time it provided better viewing angles and better contrast as compared to the simple LCD. The main factor that really set apart the AMOLED was its power consumption, it uses less battery power as compared to the IPS tech or regular LCDs.
Here is a Sum UP of AMOLED tech:
Pros:

1. No Backlight Required
2. Screen is slimmer, less bulky phone
3. No backlight, less battery usage, greater battery life
4. Great Contrast

Cons:

1. Difficult to produce, more expensive tech
2. Images Not as sharp IPS
3. Less Bright as compared to IPS, so less daylight visibility
4. Display Colors Degrade over time.

Remarks:
The funny thing about technology is that it’s always advancing in one way or another and sometimes its so fast that you’re always trying to catch up, for example you probably just bought the most advanced smartphone in the world and a couple of months later some other company or maybe even the same launches an even more sophisticated device. The same way display tech is also dependent on other tech, and it has to continuously evolve to cope up with the new processors and gpu which allow for faster refresh rates and better color processing. As we write this article there is a Super IPS display tech already developed to counter the cons of the IPS tech and a Super AMOLED to counter the cons of the AMOLED tech.
So when you reach that Super stage as in most high end devices it gets really difficult to point out visible differences as both are trying to overcome their drawbacks…..

Conclusion:
In a general summary we can say that…….
IPS is known for its better color production, cheap cost of production, better daylight visibility, sharper image quality and higher resolution support
AMOLED screens stand for better battery life, slimmer and sleek design, greater contrast, darker blacks, and better response time.





Sources:
http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/best-phone-screen-display-tech-explained-951855
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMOLED
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPS_panel

http://cellphones.about.com/od/phoneglossary/g/What-Is-An-Ips-Lcd.htm

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