When it comes to modern smartphones, users generally have a choice of two main types: LED or LCD. The screen can often have a big impact on the cost of the phone, as well as how likely a customer is to purchase a specific phone.

The two types of screens, while similar in many ways, are also different enough in that they can affect how a user interacts with their device. If you’re currently on the fence on two devices with competing screen types, keep reading to find out what the differences are and which is right for you.

LCD Screens

LCD screens are the kind of screens that you’re most likely to find being used on a laptop or desktop monitor, and the technology itself is a few decades old now. LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display, which are special crystals that are capable of projecting light as well as various colours off of the RGB spectrum. LCD screens themselves can also come in their own subtypes, such as an IPS version, which has become fairly commonplace in modern phones.

There are plenty of reasons to use LCD screens. They tend to have extended lifespans compared to their LED counterparts, and are generally hardier; for example, even if there are a few dead pixels on the screen, the rest of the screen should continue to work fine. Another reason that LCDs remain popular is due to the fact that they are generally cheaper to install, meaning that a phone with an LCD will often be on the cheaper side.

LED Screens

Light Emitting Diode screens, or LEDs, use tiny diodes across the screen for both light, colour, and for black, which is why an LED is capable of “true” blacks where an LCD isn’t. They tend to also be a lot brighter in general, sometimes offering hundreds of nits more in brightness than even a top-of-the-line LCD, and also tend to provide much better colour saturation in general.

LED technology, while not quite as old as LCD, has been developing at a rapid pace, and don’t suffer from the same issues that plagued earlier LED screens. Despite that, LEDs are usually found in more expensive phones, and perhaps one of the biggest downsides is the much-dreaded burn-in, which occurs when there’s a static image on the screen for long periods of time. LED is also superior when it comes to playing videos or playing games like real money pokies while also usually having an overall better response time.

The Final Verdict

It ultimately comes down to you to make a choice when looking at two different phones with different types of screens. LED phones have better colour saturation, true blacks, and are much bright, but suffer from burn-in and are generally more expensive. LCD screens, on the other hand, tend to have a much longer life in general, are hardier, but don’t provide quite the same level of clarity of brightness.