Tim Cook calls Samsungs OLED screens awful, is he right?

Geekbabe · Feb 17, 2013

I've had three Samsung phones, have a 50 inch Samsung tv , Galaxy Tab 10.1 & made sure when I bought my Macbook Air that I got one with a Samsung display. Retina is great, I love my ipad but Samsung makes some beautiful screens as well. My Note 2 display is lovely.

MACis122 · Feb 17, 2013

SnowLeopard2008 said:
OLED IS awful. Here's why:

1. Extremely poor color reproduction
2. Extremely poor visibility under sunlight
3. Awful sub-pixel structure that results in grainy text even with fairly high pixel density (it's not a simple RGB per pixel type of thing)
4. Very low brightness
5. Poor viewing angles

Most of these (exception is 2) are the polar opposite of IPS/LCD characteristics. Why IPS is the best, OLED is just the worst. I saw a post above that stated not all OLED screens are made equal. That is perfectly true. But overall, LCD is much better. Forget the negligible power savings of OLED, it doesn't make enough difference for anyone to notice. Of LCD panels, IPS is the best. It's not surprising Apple uses the best (metal, glass, IPS, etc.) while Samsung uses the worst (crappy/creaky/cheap plastic, OLED, etc.).

Both companies use gorilla glass and the metal that apple is using in the iPhone 5 doesn't seem to be "the best".

mm201 · Feb 17, 2013

OLED is ahead of its time and the technology still has some major issues to work through:

Poor colour calibration leading to extremely wonky whites
Lack of decent colour management in the OS leading to exaggerated colours in many situations, like tangerine coloured faces.
Even with colour management, 99% of the content you're viewing is confined to sRGB anyway.
PWM flicker, leading to eyestrain
Bad spectrum distribution leading to eyestrain, especially for people with high prescription glasses.

Also doesn't "retina" refer to pixel density, not the display technology?

Vegastouch · Feb 17, 2013

SnowLeopard2008 said:
OLED IS awful. Here's why:

1. Extremely poor color reproduction
2. Extremely poor visibility under sunlight
3. Awful sub-pixel structure that results in grainy text even with fairly high pixel density (it's not a simple RGB per pixel type of thing)
4. Very low brightness
5. Poor viewing angles

Most of these (exception is 2) are the polar opposite of IPS/LCD characteristics. Why IPS is the best, OLED is just the worst. I saw a post above that stated not all OLED screens are made equal. That is perfectly true. But overall, LCD is much better. Forget the negligible power savings of OLED, it doesn't make enough difference for anyone to notice. Of LCD panels, IPS is the best. It's not surprising Apple uses the best (metal, glass, IPS, etc.) while Samsung uses the worst (crappy/creaky/cheap plastic, OLED, etc.).

LOL, ....according to who? Last i checked the Gorilla glass is made by the same company. Clueless statement.

matttye · Feb 18, 2013

Vegastouch said:
LOL, ....according to who? Last i checked the Gorilla glass is made by the same company. Clueless statement.

He didn't actually say the screen glass was different, although his statement was a bit ambiguous.

Looks like he's just referring to the materials used to construct the phone; metal, glass, IPS screen vs. plastic, OLED screen.

mib1800 · Feb 18, 2013

isn't there an article recently that said Apple is looking at OLED screen for its phone? if OLED is so crap why is apple even considering it.

I bet if you put a OLED next to a lcd, most consumers will prefer the high contrast vivid screen of the oled.

SnowLeopard2008 · Feb 18, 2013

Vegastouch said:
LOL, ....according to who? Last i checked the Gorilla glass is made by the same company. Clueless statement.

OLED != cover glass. OLED != Gorilla Glass. Gorilla Glass is used as the cover glass. Cover glass COVERSE the actual panel (IPS, OLED, TN, etc.). Btw, I did not even use the phrase Gorilla Glass in my entire post that you quoted. Clueless statement refers to yours.

----------

matttye said:
He didn't actually say the screen glass was different, although his statement was a bit ambiguous.

Looks like he's just referring to the materials used to construct the phone; metal, glass, IPS screen vs. plastic, OLED screen.

Exactly. The cover glass is all the same. Gorilla Glass 2 and in a few recent phones, Gorilla Glass 3.

----------

MACis122 said:
Both companies use gorilla glass and the metal that apple is using in the iPhone 5 doesn't seem to be "the best".

Again, OLED != cover glass. OLED != Gorilla Glass. Not once in my post that you quoted did I mention Gorilla Glass. You and the other guy I quoted above are both completely clueless as to the difference between display panel and cover glass.

TheHateMachine · Feb 18, 2013

SnowLeopard2008 said:
OLED IS awful. Here's why:

1. Extremely poor color reproduction
2. Extremely poor visibility under sunlight
3. Awful sub-pixel structure that results in grainy text even with fairly high pixel density (it's not a simple RGB per pixel type of thing)
4. Very low brightness
5. Poor viewing angles

Most of these (exception is 2) are the polar opposite of IPS/LCD characteristics. Why IPS is the best, OLED is just the worst. I saw a post above that stated not all OLED screens are made equal. That is perfectly true. But overall, LCD is much better. Forget the negligible power savings of OLED, it doesn't make enough difference for anyone to notice. Of LCD panels, IPS is the best. It's not surprising Apple uses the best (metal, glass, IPS, etc.) while Samsung uses the worst (crappy/creaky/cheap plastic, OLED, etc.)

1. Touchwiz versions past the Note 2's version now have 4 different color calibrations. You can actually set it to a realistic tone where colours aren't blown out and over saturated. This update is actually scheduled to be brought to the GS3 aswell.

2. Full brightness I can still use my Note 2 (And my GS3) in direct sunlight and it is not like i struggle to see the screen. Maybe not as good as a high brightness IPS but you are over exaggerating with a term "Extremely poor".

3. Panels after the GS3 use sRGB instead of Pentile. While I agree Pentile is absolute **** their arrangement now does not have this issue.

4. Overblown, turning up brightness results in a bright screen that can do a good job of illuminating a room with a white page. You guys run around saying how it is dim all the time in every situation. FUD.

5. I don't even...

Also about your materials... that is your preference. Some people like plastic some like metals. Please don't try to spread lies about creakiness though. Ive owned a few Galaxy devices and never had this issue. I do like metal over plastic but not having to baby your phone and worry about scuffs and scratches is a very nice feature.

Also for everyone complaining about poor whites with AMOLED... Look at this. Becoming less of an issue now.

48278GALAXY%20NOTE%202%20VS%20Galaxy%20S3%20screen%20difference.jpg

blairh · Feb 18, 2013

If white performance and brightness are important to you, then yes, I'd say current amoled screens are very poor in that respect (even in the Note II). Perhaps the technology will improve in the future.

But to generalize such screens as awful is pretty ignorant. I think Cook is just doing what many tech CEO's have done before which is to exaggerate the weakness of a competitor. At the same time amoled screens don't seem to be hurting SIII and Note II sales. The debate between amoled and IPS is a matter of taste and what you value.

Vegastouch · Feb 18, 2013

SnowLeopard2008 said:
OLED != cover glass. OLED != Gorilla Glass. Gorilla Glass is used as the cover glass. Cover glass COVERSE the actual panel (IPS, OLED, TN, etc.). Btw, I did not even use the phrase Gorilla Glass in my entire post that you quoted. Clueless statement refers to yours.

Like nobody knows that Gorilla glass is what Samsung and Apple both use.

adildacoolset · Feb 19, 2013

mib1800 said:
isn't there an article recently that said Apple is looking at OLED screen for its phone? if OLED is so crap why is apple even considering it.

I bet if you put a OLED next to a lcd, most consumers will prefer the high contrast vivid screen of the oled.

Tim Cook just said that he doesn't like OLED screens.

As fir the patents which involve OLED screens in them, it clearly shows that they know the potential, but the screen technology isn't there yet.

Jibbajabba · Feb 19, 2013

Ask the BMW CEO if he likes the interior of Mercedes.

cynics · Feb 19, 2013

cynics said:
Is there a difference between LCD and OLED TV displays compared to mobile devices?

http://oled.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/oled-tv-articles/oled-tv-vs-lcd-tv.html

Is it just a matter of proper calibration or higher quality oled's? Seems like OLED TV's are better.

I'm quoting myself because I don't think I got (or I missed a response).

Why do OLED TV's rated higher in most things but mobile displays don't? Is it calibration or quality?

Seems like with advances too the tech in a mobile platform it should exceed LCD.

I have a 46" Samsung LCD and a 55" Samsung LED (yes I know its not similar to OLED) but with even comparing them side by its easily to see which is better and I calibrated both (standard mode on a Samsung TV is near perfect for colors). My point being it seems like LCD is dated and there isn't much more room for improvement whereas OLED has plenty of room for improvement.

blasto2236 · Feb 19, 2013

blackhand1001 said:
They have no native app dpi scaling mechanism. That's why the switch from the iphone 4s to iphone 5 had black bars and why it it will be even more difficult for them to offer a larger iphone. Android on the other hand tackled this issue at version 1.0 ( aka since the beginning) and was designed with multiple resolutions and screen sizes in mind which is why it doesn't have the same limitations.

Ironically, while this makes it "easy" for developers to tackle the litany of screen size/resolution combinations available on Android devices, it's the reason the Android tablet experience is lacking. Rather than actually invest time in to optimizing an app for tablet use, they just upscale it for the larger screen/resolution and call it a day.

JHUFrank · Feb 19, 2013

Yeah, I am not buying Tim Cook's characterization. Granted, it's harder than hell to see my Galaxy Note 2 out in the sun, but otherwise it has a great display.

Bahroo · Feb 19, 2013

mib1800 said:
isn't there an article recently that said Apple is looking at OLED screen for its phone? if OLED is so crap why is apple even considering it.

I bet if you put a OLED next to a lcd, most consumers will prefer the high contrast vivid screen of the oled.

yeah... then tell them to look closely how grainy and pixelated things look, along with the much lower brightness and screen clarity.

OLED is crap in its current state, but with improvements it will overtake IPS,LCD etc... im pretty sure Apple is investing heavily in OLED to improve it from where its currently at today.

Tinmania · Feb 19, 2013

Bahroo said:
yeah... then tell them to look closely how grainy and pixelated things look, along with the much lower brightness and screen clarity.

OLED is crap in its current state, but with improvements it will overtake IPS,LCD etc... im pretty sure Apple is investing heavily in OLED to improve it from where its currently at today.

My Note 2 doesn't look grainy and the screen is bright and vivid. I bought the thing for the screen. The pentile display is last year--it's done as far as Samsung as is concerned. And this year it is going to be another big leap.

Whatever Apple is "investing in" I doubt they can touch what Samsung is actually doing.

Michael

TheMTtakeover · Feb 19, 2013

Tinmania said:
My Note 2 doesn't look grainy and the screen is bright and vivid. I bought the thing for the screen. The pentile display is last year--it's done as far as Samsung as is concerned. And this year it is going to be another big leap.

Whatever Apple is "investing in" I doubt they can touch what Samsung is actually doing.

Michael

Do you have inside information about what each company is developing or is your doubt of Apple just stem from that fact you think everything about Samsung/Android is amazing?

cynics · Feb 19, 2013

TheMTtakeover said:
Do you have inside information about what each company is developing or is your doubt of Apple just stem from that fact you think everything about Samsung/Android is amazing?

Does the other poster? Or does their investment assumption stem from the fact they thing everything that Apple does/will do is amazing?

Personally I think a company that is the leader in the tech will do better with it then a company that's rumored to be toying with the idea of using it one day.

ravenvii · Feb 19, 2013

Dunno, I really liked the Galaxy Nexus' screen when I had it. Blacks are blacks -- so black that you couldn't tell whether the screen is turned on or not when it's all black.

The color reproduction isn't as good as the iPhone's, but the deep black more than makes up for it. Beautiful display on that phone.

Mr. Retrofire · Feb 19, 2013

onthecouchagain said:
The main draw with LCD is the supposed ability to see the screen better in sunlight. Since getting the Nexus 4, I've learned that LCD or AMOLED, it makes no difference -- can see neither in the sun without boosting the brightness to nearly maximum.

My point is, I wouldn't mind going back to Amoled in the S4.

Just for comparison:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_100_watt_light_bulbs_would_equal_the_brightness_of_the_sun

wiki.answers.com said:
Our Sun is nearly 4 quadrillion times brighter than a 100W light bulb.

Or in other words: A display, which shows you all details in direct sunlight is impossible, even if your iOS/Android/Blackberry/Ubuntu device has a thermonuclear reactor as a power source.

Tinmania · Feb 19, 2013

TheMTtakeover said:
Do you have inside information about what each company is developing or is your doubt of Apple just stem from that fact you think everything about Samsung/Android is amazing?

lol.... "im pretty sure Apple is investing heavily in OLED" trumps actual shipping products with a new-release right around the corner? In what universe does that convoluted logic exist?

Michael

Tim Cook calls Samsungs OLED screens awful, is he right?

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Tim Cook calls Samsungs OLED screens awful, is he right?