© atdigit / Shutterstock.com
The term “Micro LED” has recently gained some recognition in the television and technology industries. Micro LED televisions are widely regarded as an improvement over OLED models. It is not an exaggeration to state that Micro LED TVs may one day completely alter the television production industry.
Since first witnessing Samsung’s ‘The Wall’ at CES 2018, we have been curious to see if this cutting-edge panel technology succeeds where others have failed. The fact that Micro LED technology can be used in other contexts outside of television is crucial.
For example, at CES 2021, Vuzix unveiled a new pair of smart glasses driven by Micro LED technology. Furthermore, Micro LED technology has been rumored to be under consideration for inclusion in a future Apple Watch model.
Samsung’s Crystal LED B-Series and C-Series are two new modular offerings for businesses and discerning consumers. These Series are coming much closer to becoming actual televisions. And you may notice features like bit mapping and video processing that enhance visuals. It is mainly due to its ability to generate brightness levels of up to 1800 nits.
However, when it comes to high-quality TVs, you just cannot forget about OLEDs. Things indeed keep getting better in the form of new technology or a more attractive price. But, it is clear from the last decade or so that OLED is here to stay. In fact, the next generation of OLED televisions are likely to be three times more durable, twice as brilliant, and one-third more energy efficient.
Although Micro LED shows promise, it is still in its infancy and far from being ready for mass manufacturing. So, there is no need to worry about it replacing OLED any time soon. Nevertheless, it makes sense to check its potential applications, and whether or not it will eventually replace OLED.
OLED vs Micro LED: Side-by-Side Comparison
| Micro LED | OLED | |
|---|---|---|
| Display type | Emissive | Emissive |
| Response time | Very high | High |
| Contrast | High | High |
| Lifetime | Long | Medium |
| Power efficiency | High | Medium |
| Sunlight visibility | High | Medium |
| Flexibility | Medium-high | High |
| Tech maturity | Low | Medium-high |
| Operating temperature | -100 to 120C | -30 to 70C |
OLED vs Micro LED: What’s the Difference?
The Basics
Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is state-of-the-art in terms of display technology right now. In 2013, the first OLED televisions became available in the United States, making it a relatively young market for this technology.
OLED has always been a high-end technology, providing excellent picture quality but costing more than other display technologies like LCD. Moreover, OLED is unique in its flat design, making it suitable for direct application to glass.
And its light-emitting properties do away with the need for a dedicated backlight. This results in thinner TV designs and greater efficiency compared to LCDs.
- Contains about 8.3 million self-illuminating pixels that switch on and off
- AI-powered processor behind the intuitive Smart TV Hub
- Quantum HDR OLED 4K
- Built-in Dolby Atmos
Micro LED technology, like organic light-emitting diode (OLED), employs self-illuminating pixels comprised of multicolored microscopic LEDs. This allows for an extremely precise picture to be displayed without a backlight.
Since each pixel may be individually activated or disabled, the results are comparable to OLED, especially in terms of dark levels. Therefore, a Micro LED panel’s HDR control is more impressive. And you will instantly notice deeper blacks and brighter whites than competing technologies.
Samsung’s The Wall is a good example of how manufacturers can customize the Micro LED tech to meet a variety of needs. In addition, the modularity of Samsung’s The Wall demonstrates the adaptability of Micro LED technology. It’s mainly because the display consists of many screen sections joined together to form a larger display.
Display Tech
OLED panels work on an “emissive display technology,” which is why they have received such positive reviews in the television industry. On an OLED display, each pixel generates its own illumination, eliminating the need for backlights.
Emissive displays, such as OLED, have a number of advantages over transmissive ones. They deliver higher contrast ratios, more vivid colors, and nearly unimpaired visibility from any viewing angle. To put it another way, OLED televisions excel at every task at which LCD and LED models fail.
Micro LED is interesting since it is an emissive display quite like OLEDs, but it does not use organic molecules to generate light. Instead, each microscopically small RGB LED in a Micro LED display represents a single pixel on the display.
The pixels are self-illuminating, adjustable in brightness, and off by default. It is quite like how it is in OLED and plasma screens, so no additional lighting is required.
Black Levels
When comparing LCD and OLED televisions, the accuracy of the black levels is a major point of differentiation. This phenomenon, termed as “elevated blacks,” occurs because LCD televisions are illuminated at all times, even while showing black.
In contrast, OLED TVs are capable of producing true blacks by selectively lighting only the pixels that are being displayed. This is a feature that regular TVs lack and OLED sets have mastered. Micro LED televisions, on the other hand, will be able to rival OLED in terms of per-pixel capability and provide the same deep blacks.
Contrast and Brightness
Limited brightness is one of OLEDs’ few flaws. It has certainly improved in recent years, but LCD TVs have always had the upper hand because ultra-bright LEDs power them.
As a general rule, even the brightest OLED televisions can only reach a maximum brightness of 2,000 nits. Even though LG’s new OLED Evo technology is supposed to make OLEDs brighter, it is only available on one model in the company’s OLED lineup at the moment.
In contrast, Micro LED claims to achieve up to 5,000 nits of brightness, which is brighter than the best OLED and on par with the best direct luminance of LCDs. Without any intervening filters, the increased luminosity of Micro LED is sent unaltered to the viewer’s eyes.
Micro LED also appears to be ahead of the pack, which is another metric evaluating the difference between any screen’s brightest white and darkest dark. The contrast ratio of a Micro LED TV will be higher than that of an OLED TV since Micro LED TVs can reach far higher brightness levels.
Nevertheless, both technologies provide excellent contrast in real use, and theoretical contrast measurements rarely correspond to the actual visual experience.
Viewing Angles
What we mean when we talk about a TV’s “viewing angle” is how well the picture holds up when seen from an off-center position. Broad viewing angles are highly favored because most people watch TV in groups, and only one person at a time can sit right in front of the screen.
This means that everyone in the room, including those in recliners off to the side, can see and hear everything on the screen. LCD TVs are notorious for their limited viewing angles, with colors shifting and images becoming blurry when seen from angles wider than 45 degrees.
But, Micro LED displays are likely to provide you with exceptional viewing angles. It is probably the case because each pixel is responsible for producing color visible on the screen’s surface. Since there is no glass between the observer and the pixels, micro LEDs may have superior viewing angles to OLED.
However, if the viewing angle is a concern, you can never go wrong with OLEDs. These TVs have made great strides, with realistic colors and good viewing angles of over 90 degrees. This is because, unlike LCD TVs, which require a precise viewing angle to avoid color filtering and parallax errors, OLED TVs place the entire display system directly on the glass of the display.
Resolution and Clarity
©ED Reardon/Shutterstock.com
There are a handful of factors that contribute to a fantastic picture. Sharpness is the most prominent of these qualities. When describing an image, “sharpness” refers to the level of information that you can make out with ease.
When you opt for a 4K super HD display, you end up noticing incredible detail. As both Micro LED and OLED TVs boast 4K resolution, the picture quality is pretty much the same.
It is worth mentioning that video processing can make on-screen objects stand out more by creating a thin black outline around them, in contrast to traditional sharpness settings. This is irrelevant for comparing OLED and Micro LED because it is not a feature of the display technology.
Limitations
Both OLEDs and Micro LEDs are not without their limitations.
OLEDs
It is worth mentioning that due to its organic nature, OLED display technology has a shorter lifespan than its competitors. Therefore, over time, the brightness and vibrancy of a TV display can diminish as the pixel efficacy decreases. Still, this may take a very long time.
While the brightness of OLED TVs is typically not as great as that of high-end LED TVs, they do have a reputation for having excellent color saturation and accuracy. In many ways, OLED’s screen preservation abilities are comparable to those of plasma TVs, which is arguably more crucial.
Micro LED
The size of the pitch or gaps between the tiny individual LEDs that make up the pixels is another challenge. It is crucial to stress the inherent limitations of miniaturization in electronics and other components. Conventional circuit design and engineering practices currently hinder the development of Micro LEDs in a range of sizes.
It is only practical for higher screen sizes because each module comprises a collection of pixels measuring a millimeter. So far, a 77-inch model is the smallest Micro LED TV on the market, and the 4K version of the original Wall TV was 146-inch.
Cost
The cost is the primary distinction between the two. It would be inefficient to mass-produce TVs using Micro LED technology, so OLED has the upper hand because it can be printed.
But there is still the problem of how long this will all last. Since organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) use a chemical that breaks down over time, their lifespan is finite. This is a problem since, when shelling out several thousand dollars for high-end television, most people expect their investment to last for several years.
Even if your device’s quality does not degrade for at least the first five years of use, that will not always be the case. What’s more, burn-in will become a major news story as the number of people playing video games continues to rise, thanks in large part to the accessibility of systems like the Nintendo Switch. This is especially true now that OLED displays are becoming increasingly affordable.
On the other hand, a Micro LED display will not degrade over time, which is a major benefit. In the absence of external factors, the brightness of a Micro LED display will not naturally decrease over time.
This is great news for gamers and the makers of smartwatches and smartphones. It is mainly because now, they would not have to take into account user interface elements that could burn into the display and shorten the devices’ lifespans.
OLED vs Micro LED: 5 Must-Know Facts
- Micro LEDs can achieve a maximum brightness of 5000 nits, which is a lot brighter than OLEDs can ever get.
- Micro LEDs come with a little risk of the image becoming permanently fixed due to the special electro-luminescent and chemical qualities.
- Because of their characteristics and diminutive size, Micro LEDs can achieve a resolution of up to 6,000 PPI, with stunning colors.
- In contrast to conventional LEDs, Micro LEDs generate significantly less heat, which means they are less likely to have pixel failure.
- OLEDs maintain high-quality black levels, but Micro LEDs are stunning in this regard because of their higher per-pixel capability.
OLED vs Micro LED: Which One Is Better?
Large-scale Micro LED displays are really breathtaking as their brightness and color reproduction are just unparalleled in displays of their size. Unless you get right up to a panel and examine attentively, you will not be able to tell that there were ever any seams there in the first prototypes.
Micro LEDs might be an improvement over OLED TVs, but it depends heavily on the screen size that you are after. Micro LED displays in the 70-120-inch range currently cannot match the resolution of OLED and LED televisions of the same size. To sum up, OLED is still the best option regarding picture quality and cost, unless you plan to cover a whole wall.
But, is there a chance for Micro LEDs to replace OLEDs completely? For the foreseeable future, say, the next five years, OLED is likely to maintain its position as the dominant technology in premium televisions. The current high price of panel production is the primary reason behind this.
Samsung’s “The Wall” has been a fantastic demonstration of the tech, but it is still probably not a realistic or economical solution for most people. The 2021 update to “The Wall” fixes that by making it modular and, most crucially, allowing it to be mounted on walls without the aid of a handyman. However, the price point suggests that it is unlikely to enter the mass market anytime soon.
We believe that, eventually, manufacturing tech will catch up and Micro LED panels will become cheaper to produce. Unfortunately, this is when OLED is more likely to fail, exactly how Plasma left the market after LED announced its arrival.
After all, consumers would be more likely to invest in a TV if they knew it would survive longer without sacrificing picture quality. But, how long it truly takes for Micro LED to become more affordable is still a mystery. And until then, it seems you will have to live with your good old OLEDs.
