Looks like Apple hit another company’s nerves with their proclamation that the iPhone’s Retina Display is far superior to the Super AMOLED technology used in Samsung mobile phones.
Samsung then responded to that statement with an analysis that says that the Retina Display only makes a minor difference in resolution. The noticeable improvement is only about 3 to 5 percent but saps about 30 percent more battery power.
“Structurally, [Apple's] IPS LCD technology cannot catch up with AMOLED display technology… The visibility difference is only 3 to 5 percent. But raising resolution to that level increases battery consumption by 30 percent.”
It seems that this really pushed Samsung’s buttons because they are considered to be the industry leader when it comes to screen technology. Their AMOLED display is more energy efficient because it does not rely on an additional backlight. Also, it is able to compensate for any resolution loss with the use of color accuracy, a higher contrast against true black and limitless viewing angles.
On the other hand, the upcoming iPhone 4 makes use of an upgraded display technology which is designed to overcome LCD weaknesses by being able to deliver a wider color gamut as well as more viewing angles. It also boasts an “invisible pixel” system which makes the display look more crisp.
The Samsung spokesperson has of course skipped the known weaknesses of their AMOLED technology which includes poor outdoor visibility as well as its sky high production costs. Their Galaxy S mobile phone tries to overcome this with an updated Super AMOLED technology but of course, that is not perfect either.
Despite their stand, reports says that Apple could have tied up with the Korean company if not for the shortage of AMOLED screens. Now that the Cupertino-based company is tied up with LG instead, this may just be the way they assert their superiority.
Tags: Apple, Apple-iPhone, Apple-iPhone-4, Apple-Retina-Display, LG, samsung, Samsung-Galaxy-S, Super-AMOLED