Pentile Screens Last Longer, Says Samsung after Controversy
Samsung’s decision to use a Pentile display on the new Galaxy S III left many scratching their heads. Samsung makes the best screens on the market--that iPad 3 screen? Made by Samsung. Pentile is not a technology that we think of when we thing “premium.”
But Samsung apparently has an excuse, and it’s not because Pentile displays are much cheaper to make. Apparently, a pentile pixel arrangement makes the screen last longer. But seeing as how phones tend to be used for a maximum of 2 years at the most, is that really a valid concern?
What is Pentile?
A Pentile subpixel arrangement has 2 green pixels for every 1 red and 1 blue. That makes the green pop much more and can lead to some significant color reproduction issues. In addition, the extra green pixels means that anything with a sharp, high-contrast edge is going to look a bit blurry because of color fringing.
Pentile screens have become less of an issue as screen resolutions have increased, but they still have trouble replicating colors properly. And despite the apparent resolution of many displays, they still suffer from color fringing.
Samsung’s Super AMOLED displays are the best on the market. They are bright, mostly crisp, have true blacks, and generally look amazing. Except that Samsung seems to think that the Pentile arrangement is best for them.
Sure, better pixel arrangements cost a bit more, and they don’t last as long. But we’re all consumers. We will cycle phones before our screens wear out. Since phones are now pretty much all display, why not put the best display there is in them? At least on your flagship phones.
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