What a display is made of
Every phone or tablet screen is a grid of tiny dots called pixels, each combining red, green and blue light. The differences between display types come down to how each pixel produces light and how the screen redraws the image. Three questions cover most of what matters: how the pixels make light, how often the picture refreshes, and how many pixels there are.
LCD: a backlight with filters
In a liquid crystal display, or LCD, a light source sits behind the panel. Layers of liquid crystals and color filters control how much of that light passes through each pixel. The backlight is on all the time the screen is on, and pixels block the light to show darker areas.
Because the pixels can only block light and not truly stop it, dark areas on an LCD can look slightly gray, especially in a dark room. LCD panels tend to be less expensive to make, which is why they are common in cheaper phones and tablets. Good LCDs can be bright and color-accurate, and they generally avoid some of the problems of OLED, like uneven aging.
Many phone screens marketed with the term IPS are LCDs that use a particular arrangement to keep colors consistent from wide viewing angles.
OLED: pixels that make their own light
In an organic light-emitting diode display, or OLED, each pixel makes its own light. A pixel that is switched off emits no light at all, so black areas can appear truly black. This generally gives stronger contrast, which can make photos and video look more dramatic in dim rooms. OLED screens can also be very thin and flexible, which is why folding and curved designs use them.
OLED has trade-offs. When displaying dark content, it can save battery, since black pixels use little power. With bright, white-heavy content such as web pages, the savings shrink. Over many years, OLED pixels can age unevenly, and static images shown for very long periods can sometimes leave faint marks, a problem known as burn-in. Modern phones include measures to reduce this, and normal use rarely triggers it. Some OLED screens also use a rapid flicker technique to dim, which a small number of people find uncomfortable. If you are sensitive to this, look for information on the dimming method before buying.
You may also see names that sound new, such as other variations of LED or quantum-dot enhancements. Many are refinements or marketing names for LCD or OLED designs. When you meet an unfamiliar term, check which of the two underlying types it describes.
Refresh rate: how often the picture updates
Refresh rate is measured in hertz, meaning how many times per second the screen redraws. A common standard rate is 60 Hz. Some devices offer higher rates, such as 90 or 120 Hz.
A higher rate makes scrolling, swiping and animations look smoother, and can make handwriting with a stylus feel more responsive. Fast games can also look and feel smoother when the game supports it. The difference is easiest to notice when you switch back to a lower rate after using a higher one.
The cost is power. A screen that refreshes more often generally uses more energy, so many phones use a variable refresh rate that lowers the rate when the screen shows static content. If your phone has a setting to limit the rate, using the lower option may extend battery life, which our guide to phone battery life discusses. For reading text, watching most video, or occasional use, a standard rate is perfectly adequate, and video content is usually recorded at lower rates anyway.
Do not confuse refresh rate with touch sampling rate, which describes how often the screen checks for your finger and mainly affects responsiveness in games.
Resolution and sharpness
Resolution counts the pixels across and down the screen. More pixels in the same size screen means a sharper image, but beyond a point, the human eye cannot see the difference at normal viewing distance. On phones, this point is reached at fairly modest resolutions, so very high resolution adds more to marketing than to everyday experience, while using extra power. Larger screens, such as tablets, benefit more from higher resolution, and the same principles apply when choosing a television, as discussed in our guide to television buying.
Brightness, color and HDR
Peak brightness matters most outdoors, where sunlight can make a dim screen hard to read. Maximum numbers often apply only to small areas for short periods, so sustained brightness is more relevant. Automatic brightness helps comfort and battery.
Color accuracy matters if you edit photos or care about natural skin tones. Many phones offer a vivid or a natural mode, and which looks better is partly taste. Support for HDR, which expands the range between bright and dark in compatible content, works best with panels that can get bright and dark at the same time, and our explanation of HDR video covers it in more detail.
Comfort features
Many devices include a night or warm mode that reduces blue light in the evening. Some people find it more comfortable. Evidence on whether it improves sleep is mixed, which our article on sleep and screens discusses. Dark mode is a style choice that can reduce glare in dim rooms and save power on OLED, but it is not necessarily better for your eyes in daylight. If screens cause discomfort, reduce brightness, take breaks, and speak with an eye care professional about persistent problems.
Which should you pick?
For most daily use, any current phone screen is good. Priorities might be:
- Watching video in dim rooms or wanting rich contrast: OLED is generally the stronger choice.
- Tight budget or wanting a durable, simple panel: a good LCD is often fine.
- Gaming, scrolling and handwriting: a higher refresh rate helps, if you accept the battery cost.
- Outdoor use: look for brightness and anti-glare behavior.
Where possible, look at the screen in person, in lighting like yours, before deciding. Spec sheets say less than your own eyes.