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:
- Better response time as compared to regular LCDs
- Better Color reproduction
- Better viewing angle
- Sharper Images
Cons:
- Requires a stronger backlight
- More power hungry
- 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:
- No Backlight Required
- Screen is slimmer, less bulky phone
- No backlight, less battery usage, greater battery life
- Great Contrast
Cons:
- Difficult to produce, more expensive tech
- Images Not as sharp IPS
- Less Bright as compared to IPS, so less daylight visibility
- 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