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So it's a PenTile display [0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PenTile_matrix_family https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PenTile_matrix_family

by naoru 11y ago

M4v3R 11y ago
Not really, it's still RGB, because you still have the same number of red, green and blue cells. PenTile has twice as much green pixels than red or blue (RGBG).
- robotmlg 11y ago
  The blue pixels are twice as large as the green and red though. I've never seen anything like it, personally
  - drcode 11y ago
    It looks like they made the miniaturize the pixels to increase contrast and make more room for pressure detectors. However, since blue pixels can't be made as bright as the other colors they have to be bigger than the other pixels.
    - joezydeco 11y ago
      Has anyone actually confirmed that the display has physical strain/pressure sensors, or is Apple just using the diameter of the capacitive touch point as a faux-pressure calculation?
      - ChrisClark 11y ago
        Yeah, I find the pressure sensitive API in Android is good enough, it just uses the diameter of the touch. It's good enough for varying my pen strokes in a sketching app. I haven't tried a Note with a true pressure sensitive pen though.
userbinator 11y ago
From what I've seen, PenTile appears to be mainly a cost-reduction trick that works well for displaying photographs and other images with gradual variations, but looks horrible for text and sharp, straight lines. A similar pattern has been used in cheap cameras for many years: http://www.dansdata.com/images/cdv350/screenb560.jpg http://www.dansdata.com/images/cdv350/screenb560.jpg The Apple Watch pixels are not in the traditional stripe pattern, but there's still 3 distinct subpixels for each pixel and they're arranged in a square pattern. The unequal subpixel sizes are due to OLED brightness fade; the blues wear out the fastest, while the reds last the longest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLED#Disadvantages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLED#Disadvantages
- jsight 11y ago
  Don't the latest Samsung phones (S6) still use pentile? I don't think those look bad at all.
  - mirsadm 11y ago
    They look fine now because the resolution of the screen is so high. Previously you could definitely notice issues with it.
- glhaynes 11y ago
  The unequal subpixel sizes are due to OLED brightness fade; the blues wear out the fastest, while the reds last the longest: Does it vary the intensity as it ages? Otherwise, it seems like the displays would start out way too blue before eventually becoming "accurate". (And then going on to become too red, of course.) Edit: Oh, or maybe having a bigger blue subpixel means they can run the blues with less intensity, thus extending their life?

So it's a PenTile display [0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PenTile_matrix_family https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PenTile_matrix_family

by naoru 11y ago

So it's a PenTile display [0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PenTile_matrix_family https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PenTile_matrix_family

M4v3R 11y ago

Not really, it's still RGB, because you still have the same number of red, green and blue cells. PenTile has twice as much green pixels than red or blue (RGBG).

robotmlg 11y ago
The blue pixels are twice as large as the green and red though. I've never seen anything like it, personally
- drcode 11y ago
  It looks like they made the miniaturize the pixels to increase contrast and make more room for pressure detectors. However, since blue pixels can't be made as bright as the other colors they have to be bigger than the other pixels.
  - joezydeco 11y ago
    Has anyone actually confirmed that the display has physical strain/pressure sensors, or is Apple just using the diameter of the capacitive touch point as a faux-pressure calculation?
    - ChrisClark 11y ago
      Yeah, I find the pressure sensitive API in Android is good enough, it just uses the diameter of the touch. It's good enough for varying my pen strokes in a sketching app. I haven't tried a Note with a true pressure sensitive pen though.

userbinator 11y ago

From what I've seen, PenTile appears to be mainly a cost-reduction trick that works well for displaying photographs and other images with gradual variations, but looks horrible for text and sharp, straight lines. A similar pattern has been used in cheap cameras for many years: http://www.dansdata.com/images/cdv350/screenb560.jpg http://www.dansdata.com/images/cdv350/screenb560.jpg The Apple Watch pixels are not in the traditional stripe pattern, but there's still 3 distinct subpixels for each pixel and they're arranged in a square pattern. The unequal subpixel sizes are due to OLED brightness fade; the blues wear out the fastest, while the reds last the longest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLED#Disadvantages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLED#Disadvantages

jsight 11y ago
Don't the latest Samsung phones (S6) still use pentile? I don't think those look bad at all.
- mirsadm 11y ago
  They look fine now because the resolution of the screen is so high. Previously you could definitely notice issues with it.
glhaynes 11y ago
The unequal subpixel sizes are due to OLED brightness fade; the blues wear out the fastest, while the reds last the longest: Does it vary the intensity as it ages? Otherwise, it seems like the displays would start out way too blue before eventually becoming "accurate". (And then going on to become too red, of course.) Edit: Oh, or maybe having a bigger blue subpixel means they can run the blues with less intensity, thus extending their life?