What is OLED? Are new Nintendo Switch and iPhone screens any good?
IF you've looked at any new TV models (or Apple iPhones or the new Nintendo Switch OLED) lately, you might have seen the phrase OLED – but what does it actually mean?
This easy guide will explain exactly what an OLED screen is, what makes it so good, and whether it's worth you paying extra for.
What is OLED?
On a standard television or smartphone, you'll have an LCD (or liquid-crystal display) screen.
This means your screen contains loads of tiny crystals, which are illuminated by a giant backlight at the back of your telly or phone. When the crystals light up, you see an image – and that's television!
But OLED screens work in a slightly different way.
OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode, and it's a way of describing the type of screen on your TV or phone.
It's basically an organic compound that emits light when you pass an electric current through it.
This means your OLED screen doesn't need a big old backlight, because the pixels on your screen light up on their own.
How do you know if a TV or smartphone is OLED?
If a TV is OLED, you'll know about it.
TV makers like to make a big deal about the tech, so the branding will be very obvious. It might even be in the name or model number of the TV.
Apple made much of the OLED displays on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max announced in September 2018, for instance.
And the new Nintendo Switch OLED has made a similarly welcome change.
Not all telly makers offer OLED screens, mind. For instance, Samsung doesn't currently sell OLED TVs.
LG is the main brand that flogs premium OLED screens, but you'll also find other firms selling them – including Sony.
This means you'll have to fork out a pretty penny for a quality OLED TV or phone.
If you're looking for super high-quality televisions, then OLED is the way to go – if you're willing to pay upwards of £1,500 for a screen, that is.
Alternatively, you could wait a few years for manufacturing methods to improve and OLEDs to become more common, driving the price down.
If you buy an OLED screen, you will notice the difference, but they're really only for the telly-mad right now.
Have you got any tech jargon you want us to decode? Let us know in the comments!
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