OLED vs. LCD Display - What's the difference?

When choosing a replacement screen for iPhones from model 12 and above, two screen types are increasingly offered, LCD, Soft OLED and Hard OLED. At uBreakiRepair Ltd we opt for soft OLED screens but what are the main differences?

What is OLED ?

OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode, an advanced screen technology that utilizes organic materials to emit light when an electrical current is applied allowing the screen to display deeper blacks as pixels can be turned off individually resulting in high contrast and vibrant colours. Unlike traditional screen technologies such as LCD, OLED displays do not require a backlight. There are 2 types of OLED screens available:

soft OLEDs which use a flexible plastic (polyimide) substrate, making them bendable and more durable

hard OLEDs which use a rigid glass substrate, making them more fragile.

What is LCD?

LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display, a screen technology that uses liquid crystals to display images. In an LCD screen, each pixel consists of multiple layers, including liquid crystals placed between two glass plates. When an electrical current is applied to the liquid crystals, they can change their orientation, allowing light to pass through or block it, creating various colors and images.

LCD technology is widely used in smartphones, televisions, monitors, and other electronic devices due to its cost-effectiveness and widespread availability in various formats. Devices such as iPhone 8, iPhone XR, and iPhone 11 utilize an LCD display.

The differences between OLED and LCD?

The distinctions between OLED and LCD screen technologies lie in image quality, design, lifespan, power consumption, and price. Here are the differences outlined:

Feature	LCD	OLED
Backlighting	Requires backlighting to illuminate the screen. This can lead to less deep black tones and limited contrast.	No backlighting is needed. Each pixel emits light independently, resulting in deeper black tones and high contrast.
Contrast and Colour	Less deep black tones and less vibrant colours.	Better contrast by dynamically managing individual pixels, resulting in vibrant colors and deeper black tones.
Flexibility and Thinness	Less flexible and often thicker compared to OLED screens. LCD will be raised 1-2mm above the frame.	Can be flexible and produced in curved or thin forms, allowing for thin profiles. OLED will sit flush with the frame.
Viewing Angles	Viewing angles may be more limited, with potential colour shifts at extreme angles.	Provides wide viewing angles with consistent colour and brightness levels, regardless of the viewing position.
Power Consumption	Constantly consumes energy, regardless of the displayed content, due to the ever-present backlighting. If you notice the battery draining quicker than normal it is most likely due to an lcd screen being installed.	Consumes less energy when displaying dark images since black pixels are completely turned off.
Price	LCDs are cheaper to produce, which can reduce the initial costs of LCD screens.	The production of OLEDs is more expensive than that of LCDs. The production processes and materials for OLED are more complex and costly.

Conclusion: What is the Best Choice, OLED or LCD?

OLED is typically considered the newer and more advanced display technology, due to this the screens are more expensive but offer superior image quality, better design , power consumption and durability.

On the other hand, LCD screens are more affordable making them a more cost-effective option depending on consumers' needs and budgets. By default uBreakiRepair will always use the better option of Soft OLED screens which have a lifetime warranty (does not cover accidental damage). If you are planning on just extracting data on the phone and need a cheap screen to get it working LCD would be the choice but not recommended for long term use.