Smartwatches have different kinds of displays in different price segments including AMOLED and LCD being the most popular ones. But do you know what display is used on your smartwatch? In this article, we’ll share the methods to find the type of display on your smartwatch.
Related | 3 Ways To Check Smartwatch Display Brightness Levels
Type of Display On Your Smartwatch
There are generally three different types of displays available in smartwatches including AMOLED, LCDs (its types), and E-Ink. LCD further includes IPS, TFT, and Transflective types. These are the most common display used in budget smartwatches. To know the exact display type of your smartwatch, check out the ways below.
1. Check on the Manufacturer’s Website/E-commerce Listing
The most common way to find the type of display on your smartwatch is to check on the manufacturer’s website. You can go to the brand’s website and open the product page of the smartwatch you have. Then jump to the specifications of the product and there you will see the display life of your smartwatch.
Apart from that, you can also visit E-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart to check the display type. Go to the product page of your smartwatch and see the specifications, there it will be written under the display specs. However, there can be listing errors at times- so keep a note of that.
2. Check the Retail Box
The other way to check the display style of your smartwatch is on the retail box of the watch. You can check the rear side of the smartwatch box for the display type. Generally, brands mention it on the box in highlighting features of the product.
3. Find the Display Type Yourself
You can check the display type of your smartwatch manually by looking at it. Different displays have different traits of appearance that differentiates them from each other. Below are the traits that you can look for on your smartwatch to know about the type of display:
AMOLED Display: An AMOLED display shows the black color by simply turning off the pixels. And this is why you see punchy deep blacks in areas with black content. The colors are punchier and the brightness is also higher in the AMOLED panels.
AMOLED display smartwatches also have the always-on display feature. You can look out for these traits and if your smartwatch has it, then it has an AMOLED display.
IPS LCD Display: The IPS LCD display has a good brightness level that can be seen clearly in direct sunlight. This type of display consumes more battery life. The colors are not much saturated and it also does not have the always-on display feature. If you are noticing these traits on your smartwatch, it means it has an IPS LCD panel.
TFT LCD Display: TFT LCD Display is commonly found in budget and entry-level smartwatches because of its low cost. This type of display has low viewing angles, less clarity on the screen, and shows inaccurate colors. If your smartwatch is available on a very less budget and has traits like these, chances are high that it has a TFT LCD panel.
Transflective LCD Display: The Transflective LCD Display is a power-efficient type of display that comes in budget smartwatches too. This panel can turn off the internal backlight and rely on the outdoor light for visibility. As a result, the screen gets brighter as you go out under the sun.
It has the always-on display mode, and the main noticeable thing is this display brights up very high in direct sunlight and brights down to very low in dark conditions. The Amazfit Bip and Bip S models would be a perfect example.
E-Ink Display: The E-Ink display shows black-and-white content on the screen. Like the transflective LCD display, it also brights up high in direct sunlight and adjusts the brightness automatically based on the light passing through it. It also provides weeks of battery life as it consumes very low power.
Which Display is Best on Smartwatches?
Like smartphones, it’s the AMOLED that holds the crown for best display on a smartwatch. It provides the best colors, punchy blacks, and AOD functionality, while also saving power when compared to an LCD. These panels are also generally very bright.
But again, it also boils down to your preference. If you’re someone who often goes on outdoor adventures or trekking, then an e-ink or transflective LCD would be the ideal option due to their extremely low power consumption.
Nowadays, brands are providing AMOLED displays in budget smartwatches as well. And you can find many AMOLED display smartwatches under Rs 5000 in the market. You can check this listicle to see the best smartwatches with AMOLED displays and Bluetooth calling.
Wrapping up
These were the ways to find the type of display on your smartwatch. We also discussed what’s the best display type for a smartwatch. Do share your smartwatch’s display type in the comments below, and stay tuned with WearablesToUse for more informative articles!
