SLCD, SAMOLED, Pentile, RGB Does it matter?

[Kevin OQuinn]

In my experience, SAMOLED+ is much better in sunlight. I have used friends' SAMOLED+ phones outside and my own SLCD (Sensation) outside, and my SLCD performs much worse in direct sunlight in terms of brightness. I remember that I've also seen videos of the Sensation vs. SGS2 comparing their displays, and the SGS2 does better in sunlight (and another video comparing Sensation to a SAMOLED phone and the SAMOLED was again brighter outdoors).

The hardest thing about viewing a LCD screen outside in my experience is that the blacks get so washed out that all colors sort of morph together. It's as if you remove what is actually being displayed and all you're seeing is the backlight. This is where SAMOLED's contrast ratios come into play: while some people feel that SAMOLED can look artificial, having that contrast does help with visibility in outdoor situations.

Realistically it's probably hard to say that LCD or SAMOLED is necessarily better in sunlight, because performance varies wildly depending not only on make but also on individual model. HTC came out with the SLCD Sensation which has weak outdoor performance, while the new SLCD2 One X has great outdoor visibility. Whether that's due to some inherent advantage to SLCD2 or if HTC just aimed to procure a display with great brightness (powerful backlight) is up in the air. Plenty of other makers have similar situations. Samsung is probably the only one that has consistently come out with very bright displays. Now I'm not saying that they consistently come out with necessarily fantastic displays, because as people have noted some of their models can have other issues with colors and the like, but what I'm saying is that their SAMOLED/SAMOLED+s have had great outdoor brightness.

Unfortunately, so much of the common consumer related marketing has only to do with resolution that I'm afraid other issues aren't being focused on appropriately. The new iPad is the perfect example. People don't really think of anything else when it comes to display tech. Color accuracy, viewing angles, meaningful contrast ratios (in recently buying a monitor and doing my research I've found out that some companies market excellent "contrast ratios" that are actually a very specific kind of contrast that doesn't always apply), battery consumption, and similar factors are not getting much attention compared to resolution. I'm not against higher resolution, but I think the attention should shift a bit. Yes, the average consumer might not be able to tell that their screen produces a very yellowish white until they compare it with a screen with better color temps, but how far are we realistically gonna take this resolution game?

SAMOLED+ doing better in sunlight owes in large part to it's ability combat glare. AMOLED in any form cannot match LCD in brightness (measured by how bright a white screen can get). For example, I've seen measured results showing that the LCD on the Droid Bionic (which is a RGBW pentile layout) is three times brighter than the Galaxy Nexus.

 

[prediscover]

Would be willing to bet that sharpness will be excellent on HD SAMOLED+, but there will still be the issues with both that are inherent to the technology. LCD will never be capable of the deep blacks of AMOLED, but AMOLED will be at a brightness, and arguably color accuracy, disadvantage.



I wish I could compare all types of displays with one another, but I don't have all of these devices laying around, and the images that I did include were courtesy of another member of the AC team.

I can make a few logical assumptions, though. First, the Skyrocket HD will have the same display as the Galaxy Nexus, and will not be of the + variety. So we already have that comparison in my post above. Comparing the Skyrocket display with the One X display would not be fair, because the resolution is so much higher on the One X that even with the standard RGB layout the Skyrocket display wouldn't come close when it comes to sharpness. It's a great display, but I would consider the One X display to be an entire generation ahead of SAMOLED+.

I agree that the Skyrocket screen resolution is not a fair comparison, but according to Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket HD - Full phone specifications the Skyrocket HD has a SAMOLED+ display at 720p resolution, meaning that the display will be the same RGB layout like the One X. I am just curious to see how it hold up

I know you don't have every single type of device on hand to compare, so I won't bother you about that
Thanks again for the good writeup!

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

I agree that the Skyrocket screen resolution is not a fair comparison, but according to Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket HD - Full phone specifications the Skyrocket HD has a SAMOLED+ display at 720p resolution, meaning that the display will be the same RGB layout like the One X. I am just curious to see how it hold up

I know you don't have every single type of device on hand to compare, so I won't bother you about that
Thanks again for the good writeup!

They are the only site that lists the display spec that way. I checked the other day, and couldn't find any other place where the display was listed as HD SAMOLED+. All other places list it as being the same display as what's on the Galaxy Nexus.

 

[prediscover]

They are the only site that lists the display spec that way. I checked the other day, and couldn't find any other place where the display was listed as HD SAMOLED+. All other places list it as being the same display as what's on the Galaxy Nexus.

Wierd... Haha, seems like Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket HD vs Sony Xperia S got their info wrong then

 

[jroc]

For the screen tech I have actually used:

Amoled matters for me. I want all my future phone to have it. Unless LCD can fix some things with the contrast?, viewing angles, blacks?. Colors will be strictly preference...but I prefer colors on Amoled screens now. Used to be a big LCD fan until I got the RAZR.

Pentile does not matter. I repeat...Pentile does not. lol. My future phone can have it or not...no big deal. At my normal viewing distance...its a non issue.

Whatever is going on with the Bionic screen to make it so readable outdoors...I like that too.

I have a Rezound and RAZR. And for me...to me...I like looking at Netflix on my RAZR more. To me....the pros of Amoled outweigh the pros of LCD. The higher screen res, no Pentile on the Rezound had no effect on Netflix compared to my RAZR. What did have an effect was the blacks, colors, viewing angles,...and it seems like the contrast is out of whack on the Rezound...it seemed washed out. And like a previous poster was hinting at....at my viewing distance....the Rezound, G Nex and RAZR I had all looked so much alike it was a wash as far as sharpness. Thats different screen res and Pentile and non Pentile between all 3 phones. A wash at my normal viewing distance.

Using my phones laying in bed....yea...Pentile can be seen alot easier. I truly believe your normal viewing distance will dictate whether Pentile will be an issue or not. Cant speak much on the Bionic...but on the RAZR its a non issue for me.

 

[UCLA 15]

SAMOLED+ doing better in sunlight owes in large part to it's ability combat glare. AMOLED in any form cannot match LCD in brightness (measured by how bright a white screen can get). For example, I've seen measured results showing that the LCD on the Droid Bionic (which is a RGBW pentile layout) is three times brighter than the Galaxy Nexus.

What you're saying is very much true. Check out this comparison of the Sensation and Galaxy S: HTC Sensation's excellence on display

Ignoring his overall opinion (because it is based also on colors and resolution), just take a look at the pictures that compare display brightness. The first outdoor pic is a draw. The second one clearly shows how reflective the Sensation's screen is (and how the Galaxy S doesn't reflect at all). The 3rd shows what I was talking about earlier-the Sensation's SLCD looks washed out like what is actually being displayed disappears and all you can see is the backlight. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S screen looks just like it would in a dark room, just not as bright. This pic is probably the best for showing what I mean when SAMOLED blackness comes into serious play for outdoor brightness. 4th is another draw. 5th and 6th (viewing angles) pics show the SAMOLED's clear viewing angle advantages.

In those outdoor pics in that relevant and well executed test, the SAMOLED screen is as bright as the SLCD in pics 1 and 4, and brighter/more readable than SLCD in 2, 3, 5, 6. There's not a single case where the SLCD performs better outdoors. All of this is the case despite the Galaxy's max brightness of 395 nits and the Sensation's max brightness of 438 nits. So while you would think the Sensation should be brighter outdoors, the Galaxy's contrast ratio, black levels, and ability to combat glare actually make it more visible outdoors.

I'd say whichever way you go, be sure to check specs. For LCD, I'd say to look for 500+ nits brightness and a contrast ratio above 1000:1. My Sensation at 438 nits and a weak contrast ratio of 720:1 just doesn't cut it for outdoor use. The One X has greater brightness at 550 nits and critically a much better contrast ratio of 1410:1. I'd imagine that they've also managed to cut down on reflections with SLCD2. So speaking purely of outdoor visibility, SLCD2 can be great. The One X isn't the only LCD that stands out in terms of brightness; a select few LCDs have had ridiculous specs like 700+ nits and 1100+ contrast ratios (LG Optimus Black), though I should note that both the One X and Optimus Black are IPS LCDs, and IPS also brings with it other advantages such as better colors over TN displays. But LCDs that meet these specs are not the norm, and that is the main reason I state that overall LCDs tend to underperform in terms of outdoor visibility. Future SAMOLED+ should be great for outdoor use if they can start bumping up the brightness to 400+ nits, because as shown by the Sensations vs. Galaxy S comparison, a SAMOLED display doesn't need to have the same maximum brightness rating as a LCD screen in order to have the same visibility due to its inherent advantages I already made note of.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Wierd... Haha, seems like Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket HD vs Sony Xperia S got their info wrong then

Yes, and the press release from the announcement states HD SAMOLED without the +.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[scoobdude]

One other thing i did not see mentioned or might have missed is contrast ratio is defined as the diffrence between the darkest and brightest a screen can go. Since AMOLED can go almost down 0 they start lower and in essence will have a much different contrast ratio (its kinda like comparing a plasma to a LCD). So because the AMOLED can turn off individual pixels and has a non glare reducing coating (some models like the galaxy s) this will change the "perception" of what these numbers mean to people.

Another example is pentile (especially with the RGBW arrangement). This set up has been proven to SEEM brighter to the eye without actually being brighter. This set up was used on several phones to help save battery while keeping a decent "LOOKING" brightness level.

So basically, "perceived" contrast ratio is not that same as "actual" contrast ratios given on paper.

Me.. i like inky blacks. Not a fan of the over saturated colors of AMOLED (again can be changed with software), but i will live with it especially since it seems to be possible to use less juice without sacrificing total brightness

 

[Ry]

Would it be possible to update the previous posts to include which companies manufacture which displays? Read the awesome first few posts but skimmed the rest. I'm very curious to see who's making money off of who.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Would it be possible to update the previous posts to include which companies manufacture which displays? Read the awesome first few posts but skimmed the rest. I'm very curious to see who's making money off of who.

I can try to track that info down, but manufacturers aren't to keen on saying a "competitor" makes part of their phone.

Samsung, LG, Sharp, and Sony are who I can think of off the top of my head that manufacture displays. There are other smaller companies, too.

Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk 2

 

[Ry]

I can try to track that info down, but manufacturers aren't to keen on saying a "competitor" makes part of their phone.

Samsung, LG, Sharp, and Sony are who I can think of off the top of my head that manufacture displays. There are other smaller companies, too.

Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk 2

No worries, was just curious. Awesome if you could. I notice on teardowns (iFixIt), the don't really talk about the displays - but they'll list out who makes the other components.

 

[jeffreii]

I tend to try and stay away from demanding that my next phone have the best technology available. I thought "ok, if the Galaxy S3 ends up with a 720p Pentile display, as long as it looks great I'm fine with not having an RGB matrix."

HOWEVER: having played with the HTC One X's 720p SLCD2 RBG display this weekend...wow was I blown away. It was just gorgeous. (Of course the 16GB storage (~10GB available) kills it for me.)

I really don't think I can be satisfied with the Galaxy S3 having a 720P pentile display now...how can that even compete with what the HTC One X has to offer? I'm scrambling to think of backup plans like getting the EVO 4G LTE (have to switch to Sprint...) or important an international One X with 32GB...

Waiting 2 more days to decide.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

I tend to try and stay away from demanding that my next phone have the best technology available. I thought "ok, if the Galaxy S3 ends up with a 720p Pentile display, as long as it looks great I'm fine with not having an RGB matrix."

HOWEVER: having played with the HTC One X's 720p SLCD2 RBG display this weekend...wow was I blown away. It was just gorgeous. (Of course the 16GB storage (~10GB available) kills it for me.)

I really don't think I can be satisfied with the Galaxy S3 having a 720P pentile display now...how can that even compete with what the HTC One X has to offer? I'm scrambling to think of backup plans like getting the EVO 4G LTE (have to switch to Sprint...) or important an international One X with 32GB...

Waiting 2 more days to decide.

And I'm doubtful that you'll have the brightness that the One X has, too.

 

[DaRkL3AD3R]

And I'm doubtful that you'll have the brightness that the One X has, too.

SAMOLED will never produce as much brightness as a Super LCD, nor will a Super LCD ever reach the deep dark blacks that SAMOLED can have. It's part of the trade off.

Once we get Super AMOLED Plus HD displays, it'll be AMOLED all the way, but until the day when Pentile finally bites the dust, I'd personally avoid AMOLED like the plague.

<=== P/O'd ex Galaxy Nexus customer.

 

[NateBoii]

Ive been using amoled since my first android phone a few yrs ago (samsung moment)
til now on my og epic 4G. I definately wouldnt mind using a slcd2 display, atleast until sammy switches the pentile rgbg to rgb. But who knows that may never happen. If not i probably most definately will try slcd2.

 

[jean15paul]

I've learned a lot about LCD and amoled, pentile and RGB from this post. But I have another question. I've seen IPS and IPS+ come up recently. What's an IPS display?

Edit: I don't know if this should have been a seperate post. It deviates from the title of the post, but it still on the topic of display tech.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

The breakdown of IPS can be found HERE.

IPS+ improves overall brightness level, and probably some other areas, too.

It's generally accepted that IPS LCD's are the top shelf technology for LCD's, but eyes on with SLCD2 displays like the one used in the One X say that it's superior, but nobody is saying exactly what technology is behind it's awesomeness. If it's a refinement of SLCD then it's not IPS, but performs similarly if not better. The other possibility is that improvements have been made to IPS that aren't being shared yet, but like I said we don't know for sure.

 

[bigkid666999]

Display quality cannot be determined in an unbiased way. While the aforementioned parameters can be measured and compared objectively, their impact on and importance to a given user cannot.
I, for example, got my HTC One X because it had the best large display and camera on the market. To get these features, I was willing to put up with a non-removable battery and limited non-expandable storage. Other users may have different priorities.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Display quality cannot be determined in an unbiased way. While the aforementioned parameters can be measured and compared objectively, their impact on and importance to a given user cannot.
I, for example, got my HTC One X because it had the best large display and camera on the market. To get these features, I was willing to put up with a non-removable battery and limited non-expandable storage. Other users may have different priorities.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

Display quality can absolutely be determined in an unbiased way. There are standards for white point, color accuracy, measurements for brightness and black levels, viewing angles can be measured.

These are all qualitative measurements that can be compared side by side and be considered apples to apples.

What you may be talking about is trading other features for a better display. You said you traded a non-removable battery and non-expandable storage for the display and camera that you wanted. Those two features are important to you (happen to be the same top two features I look for, too). But neither of those has anything to do with SAMOLED vs LCD. By choosing the SLCD2 on the One X you accepted some trade-offs (black level) for a much better overall display.

FWIW in all side by side comparisons I've seen the SLCD2 display trumps the SAMOLED HD in everything except black level. Also, LCD will never be as good in this area, it's just a fact of the technology.

 

[icebike]

Display quality can absolutely be determined in an unbiased way. There are standards for white point, color accuracy, measurements for brightness and black levels, viewing angles can be measured.

These are all qualitative measurements that can be compared side by side and be considered apples to apples.

What you may be talking about is trading other features for a better display. You said you traded a non-removable battery and non-expandable storage for the display and camera that you wanted. Those two features are important to you (happen to be the same top two features I look for, too). But neither of those has anything to do with SAMOLED vs LCD. By choosing the SLCD2 on the One X you accepted some trade-offs (black level) for a much better overall display.

FWIW in all side by side comparisons I've seen the SLCD2 display trumps the SAMOLED HD in everything except black level. Also, LCD will never be as good in this area, it's just a fact of the technology.

Well said.

Your black is never going to be totally black. Get over it, it's not that big of a deal. Any one saying black level really matters on a cell phone is just someone looking for an excuse to hate on the phone.

Brightness on the other hand, translates to outdoor usability. It's critical.

Sent from my HOX