Display tech can get a bit confusing with not only LCD and OLED but variants like AMOLED and pOLED further muddying the waters. pOLED is the latest in the growing trend of OLED panel variants, but what makes it so different from the rest?
You might be surprised at just how different pOLED panels are to standard OLED panels, with more manufacturers opting for the former due to better durability, more flexibility – crucial for foldable smartphones – and, most importantly, a lower production cost.
So, the question is, what is a pOLED display and what consumer tech uses it in 2023? We at Trusted Reviews have all the answers for you right here.
What is a pOLED display?
pOLED is essentially an evolution of the OLED tech we’ve seen on smartphones for years, with a few crucial differences.
The biggest difference between the two is the material used as a substrate. Standard OLED displays place all the organic materials on a glass substrate, which make it rigid. That’s fine for standard smartphones, but it’s about as ill-suited as they come for foldables.
That’s why we now have pOLED, which is essentially an OLED panel with a plastic substrate instead of glass, allowing it to be much more flexible. The ‘p’ of pOLED essentially stands for plastic.
Other benefits of pOLED include improved durability with better resistance to scratches and cracks, reduced bezels and, crucially, a lower production cost. The benefits of pOLED over its pricier OLED sibling have made it increasingly popular in the smartphone market, not just for foldables but smartphones of all shapes and sizes.
Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
What tech uses a pOLED display?
With its flexible, lightweight nature, it should come as no surprise that pOLED displays are the panel of choice for foldable smartphones, with the tech appearing in recent foldables like the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra and the ever-popular Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.
It’s not just foldables though; the durable nature and smaller bezels compared to standard OLED panels also make it an excellent choice for wearables like smartwatches, with some of the more premium options including the Apple Watch opting for the pOLED tech.
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Google’s Pixel 2 XL also used the tech, though it suffered from an increased risk of burn-in compared to standard OLED panels, with Pixel 2 XL owners complaining about burn-in after just a few months of use.
Don’t worry, though; with the tech becoming more prevalent in smartphones in 2023, it’s assumed (read: hoped) that manufacturers like LG have gotten over this issue in the years since the Pixel debacle. There certainly haven’t been any rumours about burn-in with the Z Flip 4 or recent models of Apple Watch anyway!
