Why did they go with a amoled display?

MikeJezZ

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I know that many are liking the AMOLED displays, but I just can't understand, why on a expensive phone like this (at least in Denmark), that Microsoft decided to use such a horrible display?

I mean, after so many years, AMOLED STILL does burn in. I want my 600 USD phone to last much longer than a year - and usually from 8-15 months, you can see horrendous burn in.

I really like my Lumia 640, and pre ordered Lumia 950 a while ago, KNOWING that it has AMOLED.

But now, that we are close to launch, I might cancel my pre order, for that reason alone, that I know the screen will be **** within 8-15 months.

Why on earth didn't they just go with a LCD screen so we could use this phone for years? I'm not the usual "pick up a flagship phone and then upgrade next year", so a AMOLED screen is a bad choice for me.

I also hear people saying "AMOLED has less burn in than before", yet I can google that 930 suffered from burn ins, and even the new Samsung Galaxy S6 has already pictures of burn ins.
 

Geo Hutchings

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I know that many are liking the AMOLED displays, but I just can't understand, why on a expensive phone like this (at least in Denmark), that Microsoft decided to use such a horrible display?

I mean, after so many years, AMOLED STILL does burn in. I want my 600 USD phone to last much longer than a year - and usually from 8-15 months, you can see horrendous burn in.

I really like my Lumia 640, and pre ordered Lumia 950 a while ago, KNOWING that it has AMOLED.

But now, that we are close to launch, I might cancel my pre order, for that reason alone, that I know the screen will be **** within 8-15 months.

Why on earth didn't they just go with a LCD screen so we could use this phone for years? I'm not the usual "pick up a flagship phone and then upgrade next year", so a AMOLED screen is a bad choice for me.

I also hear people saying "AMOLED has less burn in than before", yet I can google that 930 suffered from burn ins, and even the new Samsung Galaxy S6 has already pictures of burn ins.

my Lumia 1020 is two years old and nothing happen to it if AMOLED does break MS will replace no matter what
 

MikeJezZ

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I heard theres no warranty for burn in on AMOLED screen since its pretty standard they do this.

Also are MS performing warranty on it? And not the phone company I bought it from?
 

eusty

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I've had several AMOLED screens and have never seen this issue. My 930 is nearly 18 months old and is still ok...
 

a5cent

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I heard theres no warranty for burn in on AMOLED screen since its pretty standard they do this.

Also are MS performing warranty on it? And not the phone company I bought it from?
I heavily used a L800 for many years. No burn in. Just make sure your display is set to turn off after a minute of not being used. Also don't pause a movie and leave the device laying around (or do anything else that prevents the screen saver from activating), and then you'll be fine.


WM's/WP's UI, with the dark theme, is destined for use on an OLED display. The inky blacks look so much better and the colors pop. I far prefer the dark theme, so any WP device with an LCD display is an instant fail for me. The LCD is one of the things I like least about my L830.
 

MikeJezZ

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But dark colors means that a black pixel is actually turned off on the AMOLED display right? Which means, ligher areas should burn in instead of the constant dark?

I dont recall my Galaxy S3 had a still picture on, all the time, It was automatically turned off after a minute or two, so I wonder how at least mine did it.
 

a5cent

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But dark colors means that a black pixel is actually turned off on the AMOLED display right? Which means, ligher areas should burn in instead of the constant dark?

If you're saying that only areas that are constantly displaying bright colors can burn in, not those that are constantly showing black, then that is correct. Burn in is a result of high power delivered to the same pixels over time. You need both. Black areas require practically no power.
 

bg2b

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My 2-year old 1020 has some burn, mostly noticeable where the Wordament rotate icon is. You can tell what I spend too much time doing...
 

RumoredNow

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I'm firmly in the IPS LCD rules over AMOLED camp.

I feel your pain, brother.

Would have been nice to see one IPS and one AMOLED for some variation. However, that not how it works with Model & Model XL. Same screen type, same number of pixels, one just spread on a larger diagonal. That's the pattern. I'm sure it has to do with supply chains and price points from the display manufacturer...
 

TLRtheory

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I would've rather seen them use a ClearBlack IPSLCD... but only because the colors are more real/less saturated.

I've got a 1020, 930 and 820... honestly for all the stink made about burn in I've had none of it. I don't think people quite grasp just how badly you've gotta screw up to get screen burn-in.
 

anon(5383410)

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On an I-don't-know-if-it's-related-or-not note, my 950 came out of the box with a greenish light that flashes in the top right corner when it boots. I remember this being a big uh oh in the CRT days but it looks like the spot is only visible when the phone is booting up. Is this normal? If not I wanna exchange it now while I can.
 

Skyway

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Another benefit to AMOLED is that it uses less power than an LCD, which will help with battery life. AMOLED is also more expensive to manufacture than LCD.
 

uselessrobot

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The fears of AMOLED burn-in remind me of similar fears with plasma TVs. I've had my TV for 6 years now and I still haven't had a problem.

This is not to say I don't think it's a concern. There's a reason why AMOLEDs, like plasmas, use features like pixel orbiters to mitigate burn in. However, from what I've read, most of the issues out there seem to arise with older displays. I know someone who's had an older HTC with an AMOLED display and it still looks good after two years. Of course, the supplier of the display might be a factor.

As for color, I think the 950 has an extremely accurate display. While the option does exist to boost saturation, by default it looks natural. I think it's primarily Samsung who's given AMOLED the perception of being inaccurate because they really crank up the saturation.
 

Dewg

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There are two concepts: Burn-In and Image Retention. IR is temporary and usually goes away when content is varied, or full screen grey images are used to blast the pixels for an hour or so. Burn-In is permanent - where some pixels are aged WAY beyond other pixels and therefore cannot hold the same brightness as other pixels.

Both can occur on Plasma, LCD and LED displays. Essentially pixels darken with age - they cannot hold their brightness as they are used. That means that you should vary the content on the screen as much as possible to ensure the pixels are aging at roughly the same rate.

If a static image is displayed for long periods of time (such as a HUD on a video game) in the same place, those pixels will age faster than the others around it which are varying their content.

So - to avoid the problem, vary your content. Play different games with different static displays, keep things in motion. You can also download apps to help. Try searching the store for "screen burn" and find an app that will help. It usually blasts color or grey screens at full brightness for an hour or more.
 

Krystianpants

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True, I've actually been reading about this recently and was sort of not happy that the screen is pentile vs. full stripe rgb. But this is actually one way that these amoleds become less susceptible to burn in. If you take care of it then you really should have no issues.
 

astondg

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Glance is a big reason for me, I use that a lot instead of turning on my phone. I also like to use it at night (while charging) as a bedside clock but I've stopped doing it with my Lumia 920 because of the LCD backlight. However the Glance in W10M doesn't seem to move around the screen like it does in WP8 so it will probably lead to burn-in with the Lumia 950 anyway.

I'm also starting to think that maybe a smartwatch with an OLED display would be better for this use case and leave an LCD display on the phone.

Another thing to consider is that Windows Mobile has the option of dark & light themes that often are respected by apps as well and the OLED display seems more useful with a dark themed OS, particularly for battery life. iOS doesn't offer this as far as I know and I don't think Android does by default either (at least not to the extent of Windows Mobile)?

I'm quite excited about trying an OLED display when I get my 950 BUT
1. I've been disappointed by the saturated colours & white balance of all phone OLEDs I've seen so far & the burn-in does concern me
2. I think I have a different perspective on phones than many, mine is a tool for connecting, creating & keeping my life in order and I love the productivity & convenience features, like Glance, Gestures Beta, wireless charging, Cortana, etc., much more than I care about apps or consuming text, images & video on the device.
 

RTGent

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OLED and AMOLED (active matrix OLED) are actually the latest technologies that you'll soon be seeing in the best televisions since it has recently been developed for bigger screens. I believe LG is the first one to have OLED in their latest 4K screens: OLED TV: Discover LG's Curved OLED TVs | LG USA

Look up AMOLED in Wikipedia, including the Comparison to other technologies section.

Learn, chill, and enjoy your phone.
Best viewing to all. :wink:
 

cracgor

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I had a purple dot in the upper left when my 950xl booted. At first I thought it was a messed up pixel, but it only showed on boot. Other than making the OS look about as polished as Ubuntu Narwhal, I don't think it did anything. Though I only used my phone for 3 days before I sent it back.
 

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