Difference between Super LCD screen of Nexus S and Super AMOLED screen of Samsung Galaxy S — Which is better?

Question

I was wondering has anyone of you experience the difference among super LCD screen of Nexus S, and Super AMOLED screen of Samsung Galaxy S? Which type of screen is better?

Answer 1

As Ryan has pointed out there isn't that much of a difference between Super AMOLED and Super LCD screens - chances are you will be hard pressed to see the colour difference unless you have two mobiles side by side (or at least the difference is small enough it shouldn't really be an issue)

From what I've read, where the two differ are:

• Battery usage - AMOLED uses less power, thus longer use of the phone on one battery charge.

• Screen glare (under the sun) - LCD screens I believe have less glare and are more 'readable' compared to the standard AMOLED. Supposedly the Super AMOLED has improved from the AMOLED and is more readable under the sun too.

edit: It seems like Super AMOLED has indeed improved compared to AMOLED. According to engadget, Super AMOLED is now similar to LCD - both are slightly more visible than AMOLED under the sun.

Super AMOLED, AMOLED, LCD (screens left to right)

Answer 2

The US Nexus S has a Super AMOLED, But a lot of manufactures are moving to Super LCD for the screens because of the "Super AMOLED Shortages". Even the Galaxy S 2 is supposed to have a Super LCD.

From an engadget article comparing the two...

there really is no clear winner between SLCD and AMOLED when it comes to picture quality -- the former offers a sharper picture plus a more realistic color reproduction, whereas the latter shows off brighter, more vibrant colors. But as we concluded earlier, AMOLED seems to be slightly ahead of the game with its power efficiency

Now, I am not really sure if there is a big difference between AMOLED and Super AMOLED, but as you can see, visually, there isn't much of a difference between AMOLED and Super LCD. Super AMOLED is going to produce a darker black, as Super AMOLED doesn't transmit any light at all when displaying black, which helps on battery.

Answer 3

The most notable difference seems to be the rendering of black, where the Super AMOLED display rocks the socks off of the Super-LCD.

(Source: Comparison of Nexus-S models on flickr)

Otherwise the points seem to be that the SAMOLED takes less power and is a little bit thinner and lighter. The "vivid" colors may actually lead to over-saturation, but it doesn't look like a problem I'd worry about.