What is OLED?

OLED, which stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode, is a relatively new type of display for televisions, smartphones, and computer monitors. After only being invented in 1987, OLED is already one of the two top display technologies in the industry. OLED display technology uses organic (carbon-containing) compounds that emit light when a current is passed through it. OLED materials can be small molecule organic material or polymer material. OLED displays are known for their high picture quality, flexibility, and lower power consumption along with its premium price point. They are also extremely long-lasting with a lifespan of around 22 years if used 6 hours a day.

Since the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display was rendered obsolete, OLED’s only competitor has been the cheaper liquid crystal display, abbreviated LCD. However, OLED’s picture quality is substantially better with higher contrast ratio (also known as HDR high dynamic range) and larger viewing angles making it ideal for high-end electronics. OLED panels are also lighter and more flexible than LCD displays.

OLED vs. LCD

OLED has better image quality, contrasts, viewing angles, color accuracy, flexibility, and power-efficiency in comparison to LCD. OLED provides better color contrasts because it can create a pure black unlike LCD displays. LCD only works with backlighting. Backlighting is when a light is put behind a device in order to display an image. Because this backlight is always on, LCDs can never achieve a full-black like an OLED can. An OLED can show deeper and truer black levels.

Also because of the LED backlight, the power consumption of the OLED is less than that of LCD. OLED only emits light when electric current is passed through, so if there is no current, there is absolutely no light. OLED can also change the brightness of a picture pixel by pixel.   Because of the limitation of the backlight, LCD displays can at best only dim the screen by small regions. This is because the only way to dim the picture is to reduce the brightness of the backlight, and it is not feasible to have a backlight for every pixel.