LCD mobile phone, disappeared

Editor: Winter Jam Do you remember the new iPad Pro released some time ago? One of the biggest upgrades is switching from LCD panels (MiniLED backlight) to OLED. Just today, Xiao Lei also saw a piece of news, that is, Yonhap News Agency said that LG Display is accelerating the sale of its last LCD panel factory: announcing a full shift to OLED. As a third-generation display technology, the trend of OLED replacing LCD has actually started a long time ago. Some people have long claimed that OLED will replace LCD and become the absolute mainstream. However, what best reflects the passing of LCD glory and OLED sweeping the world may be looking back at the mobile phones we use most. Starting in 2017, flagship phones represented by iPhone X quickly came with OLED screens as standard equipment. Even though the voice of "LCD will never be a slave" continues, a large number of mid-range products have gradually abandoned LCD screens and replaced them with OLED. To this day, many people may have discovered that even on mainstream brand models that cost over 1,000 yuan, you can hardly see an LCD screen anymore, and there is no LCD mobile phone to choose from. For example, iQOO Z8 last year was equipped with what is known as "the most powerful LCD in iQOO history", and the iQOO Z9 just released not long ago also gave up LCD.

iQOO Z9, Photo/iQOO

From flagship phones to thousand-yuan phones, there is no doubt that LCD phones are coming to an end, but how did LCD get to this point? Is the ending really irreversible?

The disappearance of LCD thousand-yuan phones,

makes LCD party selection no longer an option

If we talk about the mobile phone market in 2023, there will still be two thousand-yuan phones - Redmi Note 12T Pro and iQOO Z8. Got a Dimensity 8200 and a nice LCD screen.

In 2024, there is still no decent LCD thousand-yuan phone.

The newly released iQOO Z9 is equipped with Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 and a 1.5K OLED screen. The starting price is the same as the previous generation Z8, starting at 1,599 yuan. Although there is also a lower-positioned Z9x equipped with an LCD screen, the combination of Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and the neglect of publicity make it difficult to become the choice of LCD parties.

On the other hand, although it is not yet certain whether the Redmi Note 12T Pro will have a follow-up model, Xiaomi released the Redmi Note 13 series at the beginning of this year, which is positioned lower than the former. The standard version is equipped with MediaTek Dimensity 6020, starting from The price is 1,099 yuan, and it is also equipped with:

"OLED flexible direct screen".

Redmi Note 13, photo/Xiaomi

This trend is not unexpected. In fact, in 2020 we can still see sub-flagship products such as the K30S Extreme Commemorative Edition and Xiaomi 10T using LCD screens. Since then, the positioning of LCD mobile phones has continued to decline, leaving almost no models left for LCD parties to choose from.

The following are LCD mobile phones with certain selling points and product strength in the past few years, based on incomplete statistics from Lei Technology:

• In 2020, K30S Extreme Commemorative Edition, Xiaomi 10T, iPhone SE 2, Sharp AQUOS R5G;
• 2021: Honor X30 Max, iQOO Neo5 Active Edition/SE, Redmi Note 10 Pro, moto edge Year, Redmi Note 12T Pro, iQOO Z8;
• 2024, none yet.
• Of course, this does not mean that there will not be a thousand-yuan LCD mobile phone in 2024. But unlike before, where the configuration and price were still worth talking about, and unlike before, where manufacturers would emphasize “reviving the glory of LCD,” in 2024, no mainstream manufacturers or users will still care about LCD.

The shortcomings of LCD have been widely discussed, mainly including the reduction of thickness and weight and the improvement of display effects such as contrast. But the most puzzling thing is why some users who chanted "LCD will never be a slave" in the past have disappeared.

The simplest answer is: the experience has changed.

Today’s OLED, is a better choice no matter from any angle

In the past, although OLED screens were rapidly popularized in flagship phones, controversy continued for a period of time. In addition to the lifespan of OLED organic materials, one of the biggest controversies is various display problems at low brightness, such as rag screens and low-frequency PWM dimming that are more irritating to the eyes.

However, with the advancement of materials and processes, many edge problems of OLED have been solved or greatly improved, including the low-frequency PWM dimming problem that troubles many people.

Realme GT Neo6 is equipped with a first-class OLED screen, picture / Lei Technology
Simply put, PWM dimming essentially uses the visual persistence effect of the human eye to control the brightness of the OLED screen by switching the frequency of the screen, but this also results in Inevitably causing the screen to flicker or flicker. For a large number of sensitive users, such stroboscopic effects have seriously affected eye comfort.
Low-frequency PWM dimming was once the "Achilles heel" of OLED in the eyes of many mobile phone users, and has also become a strong reason for LCD parties to insist on LCD screens. In the process of exploring improvements, mobile phone manufacturers have even tried DC-like dimming methods, but this has a relatively large impact on the screen display effect.
However, even this last "one kilometer" has been "opened up" by domestic OLED manufacturers, and it has been directly sold from flagship phones to thousand-yuan phones.
Now open the product introduction page of Redmi Note 13 (5G) on Xiaomi's official website, and you will see that even the Redmi Note 13, which costs a thousand yuan, is equipped with a processor that supports 120Hz, global excitation brightness of 1000nit, and hardware-level low blue light. The flexible OLED screen also has:

1. 1920Hz high-frequency PWM dimming.

   

   Picture/Xiaomi

Even OLED screens using LTPO technology still use high-frequency PWM dimming today. The solution of high-frequency PWM dimming can be said to have overturned the last obstacle for OLED screens in mobile phones. In addition, various manufacturers are paying more and more attention to the "eye protection" performance of the screen, and even the LCD party will find it difficult to refuse.

What’s more, OLED has better colors, unlimited contrast, and higher brightness.

In a word, OLED has made up for many of its past shortcomings and has a lot of display advantages. Coupled with the cost reduction brought about by the maturing process, it is a better choice no matter how you look at it.

In contrast, if the display effect of large-size LCD products with Mini LED backlight has been significantly improved, and the small-size LCD has almost no improvement, the top-notch LCD on Redmi Note12T Pro that has received rave reviews is actually The performance does not surpass the LCD screen on the iPhone 8 many years ago.

From this perspective, it is easy to understand why the voice of "LCD will never be a slave" is almost missing today, and manufacturers simply stop talking about "LCD glory".

Written at the end

The screen can be said to be the most critical component of the mobile phone we use every day, and its importance has long been self-evident. But whether LCD or OLED, it may be an extremely critical technical route for panel manufacturers, and it may be an important part of product definition for mobile phone manufacturers. However, for terminal consumers:

is just a display technology, an implementation A means for better screen display.

In the final analysis, display effect and actual experience are what consumers should focus on, so a few years ago, LCD screens might have been a good choice, but today, LCD may have really come to an end.

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