iPhone XR The case for the Xr LCD being superior to OLED

[Mildredop]

1 year in almost and it's doing fine. I'm not worried.

My phone is less than a year old and I have burn in on my OLED screen. I use my phone as a sat nav for long periods on full brightness, so it's quite an extreme (but I doubt uncommon) case.

I can clearly see the three round icons (magnifying glass, voice on/off etc) from Google Maps burnt into my screen, as well as the ETA and the top and bottom bars.

 

[Macalicious2011]

OLED has direct advantages over LCD. Especially with blacks and color saturation, side-by-side comparisons between LCD versus OLED have major disparity, where OLED is _much_ more notable.

A good OLED makes any content look amazing. My spare phone is a Galaxy S6 Edge+ and it's the best screen in my house. Blacks and dark scenes are substantially better compared to my iPad Pro. I cannot wait for an OLED iPad.

However you can't miss what you've never had. If you have owned an iPhone LCD user for ages then you'll likely to think OLED isn't worth the premium.

 

[mlody]

I think performance and battery wise the Xr will be superior to both Xs and Xs Max simply because the screen has smaller resolution - less pixels to power.

 

[Falhófnir]

Yes, quite often oled is billed as a successor technology or natural progression from LCD as opposed to what it actually is - a competing technology with its own set of advantages and drawbacks.

 

[MEJHarrison]

My phone is less than a year old and I have burn in on my OLED screen. I use my phone as a sat nav for long periods on full brightness, so it's quite an extreme (but I doubt uncommon) case.

I can clearly see the three round icons (magnifying glass, voice on/off etc) from Google Maps burnt into my screen, as well as the ETA and the top and bottom bars.

That really sucks. But given how I use my phone, it's not a concern for my situation. My screen is as beautiful today as it was when I got it.

 

[michial]

The macbook pro I'm using right now has a PPI of 227 and it looks great. 15" screen. The PPI wars got everyone obsessed with a number, but functionally 326 is already overkill.

It’s identical ppi to the iPhone 8. Looks great.
[doublepost=1536851297][/doublepost]

I think performance and battery wise the Xr will be superior to both Xs and Xs Max simply because the screen has smaller resolution - less pixels to power.

Compare the two on the Apple site. The Xr has two more hours of battery life internet browsing and one hour more of video watching than the Max.

 

[nviz22]

I rather have OLED over LCD, but I also have other more things to prioritize with finances. So LCD works for me.

I am glad I do get the advantage of better battery life and the contemporary form factor over my 8+. I'll watch videos in HD, which is fine.

You can try inventing ways to convince yourself LCD is better if you want though. I don't care that a Sony device has a 4k screen.

I am just as disappointed with not having a FHD screen like the next person, but if I really want to watch premium quality content? I have a 4k 43" TV and an Xbox One X to get 4k content on.

 

[itsmemuffins]

So far, the sentiment I've seen is that OLED is king and LCD is older, less cool tech. However, I think there is a case to be made that the LCD screen in the Xr is actually superior to any other X phone. Heres why:

-First: No PWM flickering. Check this thread if you've never heard of it. https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/7uv6m3/iphone_x_uses_pulse_width_modulation_which_is_a/
This flickering was definitely annoying to me, and causes eye strain

-Next: Better viewing angles. LCDs have way better viewing angles with no blue shift like the X suffers from

-No chance of burn in. OLEDs can suffer from burn in.

-Generally cooler color temps. Some, like me, love that

-Longer lifespan. OLEDs have shorter usable life

-No PenTile. The XR has ALL the sub pixels

The only advantage to OLED i've seen is slightly better black levels. Who cares.

To me, the Xr is definitely the phone to get, and I think once people see it and experience the uniformity, great viewing angles, and killer battery life, it'll be the obvious choice.

Pass da dutchie on the left hand side…

 

[matthijst]

I actually had an X, hated the screen, returned it for an 8+ and never looked back. The color shifting and unevenness was garbage to me. Some like it.

Same thing. Last year with the X.
Decided to give the Max a go this year, but next to my 8 Plus and iPad Pro, the colors and colorshifting annoy me. So I'll go for the XR in October.

 

[kre62]

Same thing. Last year with the X.
Decided to give the Max a go this year, but next to my 8 Plus and iPad Pro, the colors and colorshifting annoy me. So I'll go for the XR in October.

Yeah XR is the phone I'm getting. Can easily afford the Max, just don't want a terrible looking screen with color shifting and general bad tones. Glad the XR exists, though I do wish it didnt have any tradeoffs (included 3d touch, had 2 cam lenses)

 

[teknikal90]

the 326ppi is a no go for me.
Why they wouldn't have done 401ppi ala iPhone 8 plus is beyond me.
the iPhone 8 plus screen is amazing.

 

[kre62]

the 326ppi is a no go for me.
Why they wouldn't have done 401ppi ala iPhone 8 plus is beyond me.
the iPhone 8 plus screen is amazing.

Yeah, more PPI would be good, but in the end its more than enough, realistically. We have all gotten used to high PPI counts that we don't realize just how good 326 is. For a phone, it's really all you need. Thats not to say you cant see any difference whatsoever between 326 and 401, it's saying its a damn phone, who cares, 326 gets it done and looks great.

 

[Tubamajuba]

My phone is less than a year old and I have burn in on my OLED screen. I use my phone as a sat nav for long periods on full brightness, so it's quite an extreme (but I doubt uncommon) case.

I can clearly see the three round icons (magnifying glass, voice on/off etc) from Google Maps burnt into my screen, as well as the ETA and the top and bottom bars.

Exactly- I don't care how much better an OLED screen looks when it's new. I know that after a year of usage, the OLED screen will have burn-in and the LCD screen will look exactly the same as it did out of the box. I had my iPhone X for less than six months and noticed the Wifi logo burned in- I'll never buy an OLED phone again. Some people may not use their phones in such a way that burn-in is an issue, but it's LCDs for me until MicroLED screens find their way to phones.

 

[Macalway]

It's good to justify your purchase. Never mind what other say. YOU know you're right.

You save:

1) money
2) eyesight
3) resell value

And better viewing angles to boot.

I salute you.


Now if my Max would just get here

 

[Pez555]

Hope you enjoy the bigger bezels. XR looks ugly from the front.

 

[pdxmatts]

Yeah, more PPI would be good, but in the end its more than enough, realistically. We have all gotten used to high PPI counts that we don't realize just how good 326 is. For a phone, it's really all you need. Thats not to say you cant see any difference whatsoever between 326 and 401, it's saying its a damn phone, who cares, 326 gets it done and looks great.

Looks good on a 4.7" screen, but the XR is 6.1" If you have a 7/8+ it's a step backwards.

 

[martin2345uk]

Looks good on a 4.7" screen, but the XR is 6.1" If you have a 7/8+ it's a step backwards.

It’ll be exactly as sharp as the 8 and that’s fine for many people.

 

[Kram Sacul]

Exactly- I don't care how much better an OLED screen looks when it's new. I know that after a year of usage, the OLED screen will have burn-in and the LCD screen will look exactly the same as it did out of the box. I had my iPhone X for less than six months and noticed the Wifi logo burned in- I'll never buy an OLED phone again. Some people may not use their phones in such a way that burn-in is an issue, but it's LCDs for me until MicroLED screens find their way to phones.

Your X has burn-in? Really? Do you never turn off the screen? Pics or it didn’t happen.

 

[Supermallet]

Yeah, more PPI would be good, but in the end its more than enough, realistically. We have all gotten used to high PPI counts that we don't realize just how good 326 is. For a phone, it's really all you need. Thats not to say you cant see any difference whatsoever between 326 and 401, it's saying its a damn phone, who cares, 326 gets it done and looks great.

In the same way that some people can see PWM while others can’t, some can differentiate between 326 and 401+ ppi and others can’t. I can tell the difference and as soon as I saw the ppi of the Xr, I knew I wouldn’t be able to use it in the long term.

 

[pdxmatts]

It’ll be exactly as sharp as the 8 and that’s fine for many people.

Again, bigger screen than the 8 with the same ppi and lower ppi than the Plus, but you're right, a lot of people will see cheaper new iPhone and won't even consider looking at the specs

 

[AbSoluTc]

The XR (capital R, people) does have bigger bezels. I'd just wait to see one in person before comparing the quality of the screen. There's also something with the rounded corners, some sort of trick they did that may be visible from up close (not sure).

You mean capital little r? Xr ?

 

[Tubamajuba]

Your X has burn-in? Really? Do you never turn off the screen? Pics or it didn’t happen.

Thanks to T-Mobile Jump on Demand, I switched it out for an 8 Plus a while back and never thought to take a picture of the screen. I keep my phone at max brightness all the time except for the few minutes after I wake up in the morning- once I turn the lights on in my room, the brightness goes all the way back up. No auto-brightness either. I know that the settings I use aren't very common, and most people won't experience burn-in during the first year of using any recent OLED screen.

 

[MEJHarrison]

You mean capital little r? Xr ?

View attachment 786444

As I recall, the rules are capital X, capital R/S. Unless you have a lowercase, capital R/S or something like that. I didn't know such a thing existed until I read that. It's a capital R/S, but basically a smaller font than the X. It's marketing crap. I'm sure there's good reasons, but I also find it silly at times.
[doublepost=1537589017][/doublepost]

Thanks to T-Mobile Jump on Demand, I switched it out for an 8 Plus a while back and never thought to take a picture of the screen. I keep my phone at max brightness all the time except for the few minutes after I wake up in the morning- once I turn the lights on in my room, the brightness goes all the way back up. No auto-brightness either. I know that the settings I use aren't very common, and most people won't experience burn-in during the first year of using any recent OLED screen.

Thanks for clarifying that. I have no burn in. But I now understand why you could. Genuinely curious, not being a smart ass here. If you got another iPhone with OLED, would you change your habits or accept the inevitable? It almost sounds like you knew what was likely to happen and did it anyway, although I might have read that wrong.

 

[PBz]

Pass da dutchie on the left hand side…

This.

 

[MICHAELSD]

The XR would have been a better phone at $799 with a PPI on par with the XS. It makes sense that it’s such a drastic difference because it makes the XS more striking in comparisons, especially in stores, but the LCD display could have been more comparable to OLED (other than contrast) without the drawbacks.