LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) technology is an important milestone in the development of mobile phone screens. Its working principle is based on the electro-optic effect of liquid crystals, which displays images by changing the passage of light through the arrangement of liquid crystal molecules. LCD screens typically consist of a backlight, polarizing film, liquid crystal layer, and color filters. The backlight provides uniform light, the polarizer controls the direction of light passing through, the liquid crystal layer changes the molecular arrangement under the action of an electric field, and the color filter converts the passing light into the three primary colors of red, green, and blue, thereby forming a color image.
LCD screens have the advantages of low cost, stable display, high color reproduction, large viewing angle, and relatively low power consumption. In the early mobile phone market, LCD screens became the mainstream screen technology due to their mature technology and wide applicability. For example, TFT-LCD (Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display) became popular in the early 21st century and gradually became the mainstream display technology for mobile devices, providing users with clear and stable image display.

In the era of LCD screens, many well-known mobile phone brands have adopted this technology. The classic models launched by established mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia and Motorola were mostly equipped with LCD screens, meeting the basic display function needs of users at that time. However, LCD screens also have some shortcomings. Its response speed is relatively slow, and it is prone to dragging and ghosting, which is particularly evident when watching high-speed moving images. In addition, LCD screens require backlight modules to illuminate the screen, resulting in relatively high power consumption, and the black color performance is not pure enough, with low contrast.

The Rise of OLED Screens: Innovation and Breakthrough

Technical principles and advantages

OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) screens are a major innovation in mobile phone screen technology. Unlike LCD screens, OLED screens use self luminous technology, where each pixel can independently emit light without the need for a backlight source. The basic structure of OLED screens consists of several thin films, including an anode, a cathode, and an organic material layer located between the two. When current passes through, electrons and holes in the organic material layer combine to produce an excited state. When the excited state returns to the ground state, light is emitted.

OLED screens have many advantages. Firstly, its vibrant colors and high contrast can present more realistic and vivid images. Due to each pixel emitting light independently, it can truly turn off when displaying black, achieving almost infinite contrast. Secondly, OLED screens have faster response times and smoother visual effects, which can effectively reduce ghosting and residual effects. In addition, OLED screens also have the characteristics of being lightweight, bendable, and foldable, providing more possibilities for the appearance design of mobile phones.

Market Development and Trends

With the increasing demand of consumers for the display effect and appearance design of mobile phone screens, OLED screens have gradually become the standard configuration of high-end mobile phones. Apple, Samsung and other mobile phone brands have adopted OLED screens in their flagship models, driving the rapid development of the OLED screen market. According to Omdia's latest OLED Display Panel Market Tracking Report, smartphone AMOLED display panel shipments are expected to continue to grow in 2024, surpassing TFT LCD shipments for the first time. This growth trend is mainly driven by the strong demand for flexible AMOLED displays in the market.

In the OLED screen market, the performance of flexible AMOLED displays is particularly outstanding. Starting from the second half of 2022, Chinese display panel manufacturers have significantly reduced the manufacturing cost of flexible AMOLED panels, driving major smartphone original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to upgrade mid-range smartphone screens from traditional rigid AMOLED and LTPS TFT LCD panels to flexible AMOLED panels. The trend of replacing this display technology will further accelerate in 2024, increasing the market share of flexible AMOLED from 28% of the total smartphone display panel market in 2022 to 40% in 2024.

Comparative analysis of LCD and OLED screens

Display effect

In terms of display performance, OLED screens have significant advantages. Its color vividness, contrast, and viewing angle are superior to LCD screens. OLED screens can present richer colors and deeper black, making images more realistic and vivid. LCD screens, on the other hand, have relatively weak color saturation and contrast, and their black color performance is not pure enough, making them prone to light leakage when displaying dark scenes.

power consumption

Due to the self luminous technology used in OLED screens, each pixel emits light independently and can be turned off when displaying black, resulting in relatively low power consumption. LCD screens require continuous operation of the backlight module, which requires a certain amount of power to maintain the backlight even when displaying black, resulting in relatively high power consumption. In practical use, phones equipped with OLED screens usually perform better in terms of battery life.

Cost and lifespan

LCD screen technology is mature and the manufacturing cost is relatively low, so it still has a certain competitiveness in the mid to low end mobile phone market. The manufacturing cost of OLED screens is relatively high, resulting in higher prices for smartphones equipped with OLED screens. In addition, the organic materials of OLED screens have a relatively short lifespan and are prone to aging and screen burn-in, which is also a challenge they face.

Application scenarios

LCD screens are suitable for the mid to low end mobile phone market that is cost sensitive and does not require high display performance, as well as certain specific application scenarios that do not require high power consumption. OLED screens are more suitable for the high-end mobile phone market, meeting consumers' pursuit of high-quality display effects and personalized appearance design. At the same time, the bendable and foldable characteristics of OLED screens also provide more possibilities for the design innovation of future mobile phones.

Outlook for Future Mobile Screen Technology

Exploration of Emerging Technologies

In addition to LCD and OLED screen technologies, emerging screen technologies such as Mini LED and Micro LED are also constantly developing. Mini LED achieves higher brightness and more precise light control effect by reducing the size of LED beads; Micro LED, on the other hand, designs the LED structure into a tiny size, achieving higher pixel density and finer image display effects. However, these emerging technologies are still in the early stages of development and face some technical challenges, such as the relatively complex backlight design of Mini LED, which requires precise control of the luminous effect of each LED bead; Micro LED is facing technological challenges such as chip manufacturing and mass transfer.

Combining with cutting-edge technology

In the future, mobile screen technology will be deeply integrated with cutting-edge technologies such as 5G and AI. The high-speed and stable transmission of 5G networks will bring higher resolution and refresh rate content display to mobile phone screens, enhancing users' visual experience. AI technology can achieve intelligent optimization of screen display effects, automatically adjusting parameters such as brightness, color, and contrast of the screen according to different usage scenarios and user needs, providing more personalized display effects.

Flexibility and Diversified Design

As consumers' demands for mobile phone appearance design and portability continue to increase, future mobile phone screens will further achieve flexible design, creating thinner, more durable, and bendable mobile phone screens. New screen forms such as foldable screens and curled screens will continue to emerge, bringing users new ways of use and interactive experiences. At the same time, the design of mobile phone screens will become more diversified to meet the personalized needs of different users.
conclusion

The evolution of mobile screen technology from LCD to OLED is a vivid manifestation of continuous technological progress. LCD screens played an important role in the early development of mobile phone screens due to their low cost and stable display, while OLED screens gradually became the mainstream choice for high-end phones due to their bright colors, high contrast, and bendability. In the future, with the continuous emergence of emerging technologies and deep integration with cutting-edge technologies, mobile screen technology will develop towards higher resolution, higher refresh rate, lower power consumption, greater flexibility, and greater diversity. We have reason to believe that future mobile screens will bring us more stunning visual experiences and more convenient ways of human-computer interaction.