MWC 2012: Mobile screens 101

by Aloysius Low | 15 February 2012 7:43pm SGT

With the Mobile World Congress tradeshow happening at the end of the month, it's time to take a look at some of the latest screen technologies that are likely to appear in the upcoming smartphones. We'll be focusing on the displays of high-end devices. We haven't forgotten about the lower-end handsets, but usually they come packing cheaper TFT (thin film transistor) panels.

What we have now

While some handsets, like Apple's iPhones, have kept to a very standard 3.5-inch display size, Android and Windows Phone manufacturers have tried to differentiate their products by introducing smartphones with various form factors.

It's not surprising to find devices such as the Sony Ericsson Xperia active with its tiny 3-inch display at one end of the spectrum while at the other, you have giant phone-tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Note and its 5.3-inch screen. Most current higher-end smartphones tend to sport at least a 4.3-inch display, while newer devices are looking at 4.65 inches and beyond.

Samsung Galaxy Note
(Credit: Samsung)

While panel size is one thing, there's also the issue of screen resolution. Generally speaking, the more pixels, the better. Last year, the magic buzzword in Android handsets was qHD (960 x 540 pixels), while the iPhone 4 and 4S came with a 960 x 640 pixels Retina Display. Due to Microsoft's restrictions, the Windows Phone range comes only with a fixed WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) resolution, though that could change if rumors about the Tango update are true.

Panel types are another factor to note--by far the most common found on smartphones is the TFT LCD display, which is generally cheaper and helps keep the price down. Midrange devices are likely to use Super LCD for a more premium feel. Higher-end devices such as the iPhone may come loaded with an IPS (in-plane switching) display, while other devices may use an AMOLED (active matrix organic light-emitting diode) screen.

What does it all mean

Let's start with the panel technology first, we have a previous guide that you may want to read if you want to get into the nitty gritty. Each panel offers its own advantages--AMOLED is supposedly better with colors, and that's possibly why Samsung includes colorful wallpapers on its handsets.

IPS, on the other hand, offers very good viewing angles, though it's easily matched by AMOLED and Super LCD. To be honest, most of the time, you won't actually notice the difference unless you are switching from a TFT panel. The three technologies mentioned here tend to be very similar in terms of quality offered.

Another factor that's often brought up is the way pixels are laid out on your screen. There are two main types used--RGB and PenTile. RGB has three sub-pixels while PenTile uses a different layout, two sub-pixels each for a pixel. You may want to read more on the difstinction over here if you're interested, but unless you are really close to your phone (like nose-on-screen close), it probably won't matter. Just take note that PenTile is technically more power-saving compared with the RGB layout while still being brighter.

The RGBW scheme used in the Motorola Atrix screen compared with the RGB layout in the HTC Sensation's LCD.
(Credit: Leo Ganzon/CNET Asia).

Brightness is measured in nits, and the brighter the screen the more readable it is in the sunny outdoors. LG has a screen technology called Nova, and it is used on most of the company's newer smartphones. It's currently the brightest at 700 nits, while the iPhone's Retina Display hovers around the 500-nit mark.

Then there's pixel density. Apple likes to talk about its Retina Display and how the pixels are so dense at 326 ppi (pixels-per-inch), and to be honest, it does make a difference. Your fonts will be sharper and smaller objects can be seen much more clearly. The general rule of thumb is, with two screens, the one with the more resolution with have higher pixel density.

While harder to quantify, the type of screen technology used may affect your battery life. Super AMOLED claims to be more power efficient in this sense, so until the day arrives where more powerful batteries can make smartphones last longer than a day, it might be a good thing to look out for handsets with Super AMOLED panels.

What we expect to see

Based on rumors so far, and using the Samsung Galaxy Nexus as a reference device, it's likely we will see plenty of Ice Cream Sandwich handsets sporting larger 4.65- and 4.7-inch displays. 720p screens should also be the norm for handsets debuting at MWC, though we wouldn't rule out the qHD resolution just yet.

The rumored HTC Endeavour will supposedly have a 4.7-inch display. (Credit: pocketnow.com)

New Windows Phone devices are likely to also have a wider range of screen sizes, and resolution should continue to remain fixed unless something changes--like the early introduction of the leaked Apollo update due Q4 that's supposed to have support for HD screens. While Apple will be a no-show at MWC, expect its presence to be felt as manufacturers are likely to come out with smartphones that feature pixel densities that are close or equal to the iPhone's Retina Display.

One last thing--it's likely a lot of these newly announced handsets wil come sporting the new thinner and stronger Corning Gorilla Glass 2 to protect the displays. Expect to see many of the upcoming high resolution handsets featuring this new technology.

About the author

Aloysius Low is a Senior Writer at CNET Asia and covers all things mobile. A former World of Warcraft addict, he now dabbles in social media to stave off the withdrawal symptoms. As a lover of all things furry, he's also the unfortunate slave/minion of two adorable cats.

Aloysius Low, Senior Writer

MWC 2012: Mobile screens 101

What we have now

What does it all mean

What we expect to see

About the author

Be the first to comment