OLED is an acronym for Organic Light Emitting Diode, and it is a type of technology used for screens.
OLED screens have a layer made of organic material (carbon and other substances) located between two electrodes that, when supplied with electricity, emit light.
LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display which is a display device for letters, figures, graphics and images, consisting of a matrix of liquid cells that can become opaque or change their color under the influence of a current or electric field.
Liquid crystals are, in this case, chemical combinations of organic nature in a liquid state. They have the property of being able to be controlled by a proper electrical voltage, so they order their molecules going from “transparent” state to “non-transparent” state. Specifically, it is an electrical polarization of liquid molecules which, in contrast to the rest of the “field,” form a visible image.
Difference between OLED and LCD:
1. OLEDs use independent-illuminated pixels, while LCD screens use background light to display the image. In other words, on an OLED screen, each pixel has its own “background light,” and thus it renders its light and color independently. On an LCD screen, there is a background light source for the entire screen, which is usually provided by a lamp, and the light goes through the pixels on the screen. On an LCD screen, the pixels do not emit their light but block the output of the backlight (from the lamp). No matter how well it is made, no LCD screen can completely block the background illumination it receives, which means that no LCD screen can offer the same “absolute black” as an OLED screen.
2. OLEDs can turn on or off each pixel independently, which means they can provide better and more natural colors than LCD screens. LCD screens (Liquid Crystal Screens) do not illuminate pixels independently: they use background light and a pixel panel that blocks the white light behind them to create colors. This technology cannot provide the same natural colors as OLED.
3. Also, due to the different color display, OLED and LCD screens are not the same regarding the level of brightness they can offer. Each of the pixels on an OLED screen has its own (light) source of light, while the LCD screens have background light that is usually provided by the lamps behind the display. Thus, LCD screens tend to provide higher levels of brightness than OLED screens.
4. Another consequence of how OLEDs and LCD screens illuminate pixels is that OLED delivers true black (by shutting down independent pixels), while LCD screens offer cleaner white (because it has a stronger backlight).
5. When talking about using OLED or LCD on a battery powered screen, power consumption is a problem. Because OLED can completely disable pixels independently, it’s possible for you to assume that it’s more efficient than LCD technology. However, it depends on how you use your device. OLEDs require less power than LCD screens when the images they display do not have much of the white color, but they consume more power when they display much white. When there are lots of bright colors to display, OLED needs more power to activate pixels. On the other hand, LCD screens require the same amount of constant power regardless of the type of images they display, as background lights are always on.
6. OLEDs have an organic component in their pixels, while LCDs do not. It means that the life of OLEDs tends to be lower than that of LCD screens.
7. Because OLED technology is expensive, AMOLED displays cost more than LCDs