Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone XS Max Apple OLED vs LCD quality/clarity
- Thread starter janeauburn
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Cherry picking a video or two that shows one phone dying before the other is not conclusive evidence.
I really don't care about the math
Real world use is what matters. True blacks are totally different on OLED than they are on LCD. And this is discernible for sure.
The fact is, when looking at a spec sheet everyone will notice a difference in OLED vs LCD. When looking at them side-by-side most folks will spot the differences. However, when looking at them separate from each other, most folks won't notice a crucial difference. At most, they will notice a difference in black levels, but again, it's not really significant enough to matter in day-to-day unless you are a display nerd. This is strictly speaking for Apple's OLED and LCD panels of course. Battery gains for OLED are negligent at best because Apple is not taking full advantage of the panels ability to turn off pixels. I'd bet a large sum of money that a true dark (as in black) mode has not come to iOS yet because of the black crush/smear issue that is a side effect of any and all current OLED panels.
Last edited:
I don’t need YouTube to show me some botched test.
I have owned the 8+, XS and now XR. My wife uses the X.
Neither the X or XS can come close to keeping up with the battery of the 8+. It was a monster.
The XR bests the 8+, XS and X.
This is my last post on this.. you can keep claiming false realities but people here know it’s not the case.
This is why almost every recent Android I've tried (oddly enough my OnePlus 6T has been the least offensive) exhibits horrible black crush that also leads to a blotchy mess when watching content with dark / transitioning dark scenes. Apple has done something with its calibration to minimize the black crush and I have to give them credit. Not calibrating the screen to utilize "true black" has got to really impact battery life if that's how they've done it. But it's a trade off I'll take at the moment. OLED QC issues aside, the X and XS have by far been the best OLEDs I've seen in a phone re: crush. In day to day use, Netflix, etc, all of my video tests don't demonstrate any black crush.
I read alot. And I read on my iPad Pro 12.9 (1st gen).
Until I got a iPhone X. I felt the display's tech was much more compact and didn't have a 3Dish effect to the typography that the iPP's LCD had.
So I switched to that for the past year+ (upgraded to XS Max).
But now I have a new iPP 12.9 and think it's LCD is comparable for reading to the XS Max.
So back to the iPP as my primary reading device.
Until I got a iPhone X. I felt the display's tech was much more compact and didn't have a 3Dish effect to the typography that the iPP's LCD had.
So I switched to that for the past year+ (upgraded to XS Max).
But now I have a new iPP 12.9 and think it's LCD is comparable for reading to the XS Max.
So back to the iPP as my primary reading device.
Hey if you don’t notice detail is being crushed in those blacks, all the better for you!
Has anyone proven black crush with the OLED iPhones? Black crush doesn't seem to affect all Android OLED models for example. It's something that has been said to be fixed in software patches for proper screen calibration. I don't see any OLED iPhones mentioning it but this was an issue with the Samsung Galaxy S9:
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/...issue-what-it-is-and-how-you-could-fix-it.htm
The workaround in this case or solution mentioned is using an app called Screen Balance, though that is only available on Android.
I've never heard of a 'fix' for black crush, and to my understanding, it's just a current drawback of a technology (OLED) that has not fully matured. Folks may have found some sort of backdoor workaround to fix it, but having to install an app to re-calibrate the screen sounds like a) something a user should not have to do, and b) something that could have its own set of side effects.
If it's said to be only affecting certain models such as in the case especially of the S9+, then it tells me it's likely calibration or software issues. OLED has been used in mobile tech for 8 years now? So it's definitely had some time to mature. Enough time to mature that every major and successful smartphone Company is using it in their flagship phones.
The fact that earlier models of Samsung models don't have the issue, tells me "maturity" doesn't explain it at all. It could be software and/or QC.
Take jlp2979's post above for example: "OLED QC issues aside, the X and XS have by far been the best OLEDs I've seen in a phone re: crush. In day to day use, Netflix, etc, all of my video tests don't demonstrate any black crush."
I certainly don't think it affects all models of device that use an OLED panel the same, but I do think given the right lighting conditions, display brightness levels, etc, you'll be able to detect to some varying degree of it with any OLED panel.
The issue I see abundantly on any OLED I've used though is black smear. Black smear drives me absolutely mad because I'm consistently in low-light areas most of my day, both at work and home, and it's easily noticeable. I have noticed it clearly on the X, XS Max and Note9 that I have used more recently. It's pretty much the sole reason I currently prefer Apple's perfected LCD panel.
LCDs are far from perfect too, they both have their pros and cons.
Blacklight bleed, less accurate black levels, and much more finite contrast ratio affect the perceived color reproduction and image quality as well.
Take the OP for example... "why are people obsessed with black levels so much?". It's very simple...when your black levels aren't pitch dark, it still affects the perceived contrast of the entire viewing experience.
I think either display technology could be enjoyed by the vast majority of people. Most people don't run into these "issues" unless they look closely for them, or are Googling around. The very high dislike ratio with many of these clowns uploading things on Youtube is a high sign of that as well.
Last edited:
Based on the votes of members of this forum most concur OLED is better than LCD /thread.
Not sure why anyone would want to pick an LCD inferior screen over an OLED but there is a small percentage of people where OLED affects their eyes but just because it affects them, it’s only for them and doesn’t change what most people feel or make it better with specifications.
When was the last time anyone saw a commercial that is trying to sell an LCD display on TV, monitor or mobile phone as it’s main selling point recently?
Not sure why anyone would want to pick an LCD inferior screen over an OLED but there is a small percentage of people where OLED affects their eyes but just because it affects them, it’s only for them and doesn’t change what most people feel or make it better with specifications.
When was the last time anyone saw a commercial that is trying to sell an LCD display on TV, monitor or mobile phone as it’s main selling point recently?
Based on the votes of members of this forum most concur OLED is better than LCD /thread.
Not sure why anyone would want to pick an LCD inferior screen over an OLED but there is a small percentage of people where OLED affects their eyes but just because it affects them, it’s only for them and doesn’t change what most people feel or make it better with specifications.
When was the last time anyone saw a commercial that is trying to sell an LCD display on TV, monitor or mobile phone as it’s main selling point recently?
LED is LCD in TVs and OLED tvs are still very pricey. Most adds are for led/LCD TVs. Not oleds.
I maybe found one OLED commercial from LG over a year ago. Fact is, consumers generally have no idea what OLED even is, when they go to a store to purchase a new TV, they simply are choosing the manufacture brand name and the size, when they see the price of OLED, and then they can’t differentiate between LCD, there is a reason why LCD TVs are still very popular in that segment because of the price point alone.
Thie salesmen in this promo promotes iPhones OLED display by actually stating it’s an OLED.
Just saying.
https://ispot.tv/a/d99y
Just saying.
https://ispot.tv/a/d99y
I've had every iPhone except the 5, 6s, 8 & X.
I also in that time had the HTC 1x, SG3, SG4 & SG5.
The OLED in the SG4 was a mess when it came to white uniformity. Also even the iPhone X from last year that I saw in the wild were a yellowish mess. I used to defend LCD vehemently. I realize now, I was only defending what I knew.
Whatever Apple has done between the X and the Xs (first OLED for me since SG5) is nothing short of a miracle.
This screen on my Xs is so well calibrated and crisp it's ridiculous. I love how the text seem to float on the top of the screen, and my whites are as crisp as any LCD I've had in the past. Even with the 3 Xr I bought for my family, I see the superiority of OLED over LCD.
There seems to be almost like a haze over LCD screens when you compare them next to an OLED. The screen on my Xs is the best I've ever had... LCD or OLED.
Don't think I could or would want to go back to LCD, even though historically that's all I mostly ever had and "thought" I preferred. IMO, Apple implementation of OLED is simply superior to that of Android.
Ex. My roommate fiancee has the LG G 7 ThinQ. Her screen is damn near pink... This is what I remember from my time with the SG4... A freaking hot mess of uniformity, or should I say lack thereof.
The only thing missing from my Xs is always on display, which I still envy the Galaxy phones, and Pixel for. Other than that, Apple has the best all around calibrated OLED out right now. It's the best of OLED and LCD qualities.
I also in that time had the HTC 1x, SG3, SG4 & SG5.
The OLED in the SG4 was a mess when it came to white uniformity. Also even the iPhone X from last year that I saw in the wild were a yellowish mess. I used to defend LCD vehemently. I realize now, I was only defending what I knew.
Whatever Apple has done between the X and the Xs (first OLED for me since SG5) is nothing short of a miracle.
This screen on my Xs is so well calibrated and crisp it's ridiculous. I love how the text seem to float on the top of the screen, and my whites are as crisp as any LCD I've had in the past. Even with the 3 Xr I bought for my family, I see the superiority of OLED over LCD.
There seems to be almost like a haze over LCD screens when you compare them next to an OLED. The screen on my Xs is the best I've ever had... LCD or OLED.
Don't think I could or would want to go back to LCD, even though historically that's all I mostly ever had and "thought" I preferred. IMO, Apple implementation of OLED is simply superior to that of Android.
Ex. My roommate fiancee has the LG G 7 ThinQ. Her screen is damn near pink... This is what I remember from my time with the SG4... A freaking hot mess of uniformity, or should I say lack thereof.
The only thing missing from my Xs is always on display, which I still envy the Galaxy phones, and Pixel for. Other than that, Apple has the best all around calibrated OLED out right now. It's the best of OLED and LCD qualities.
Just compared my Xr to a family member’s xs max and wow
At max brightness my Xr is substantially brighter and whiter in settings menu. Even when auto brightness is off at max.
I definitely prefer it and the xs max unit is one of the nicer xs max’s I’ve seen
Holds a stronger signal too on average in the same area
At max brightness my Xr is substantially brighter and whiter in settings menu. Even when auto brightness is off at max.
I definitely prefer it and the xs max unit is one of the nicer xs max’s I’ve seen
Holds a stronger signal too on average in the same area
Difference in contrast ratios of about 1400 to 1 vs 1,000,000 to 1. Ymmv. Yes the xr screen is very good for an lcd and I spent much time in the apple store before making a decision. I’m happy with my max.
Based on the votes of members of this forum most concur OLED is better than LCD /thread.
Not sure why anyone would want to pick an LCD inferior screen over an OLED but there is a small percentage of people where OLED affects their eyes but just because it affects them, it’s only for them and doesn’t change what most people feel or make it better with specifications.
When was the last time anyone saw a commercial that is trying to sell an LCD display on TV, monitor or mobile phone as it’s main selling point recently?
Well maybe not a commercial but apple promotes the screen on the iPads as a main selling point.
I think LCD will always have brighter whites, so no surprises there.
I'll take the inky blacks, along with the most crisp white on a OLED currently available with the Xs.