We recently wrote an article covering all the great aspects of IPS displays and what the advantages are compared to the standard TN panel display technology used in 99% of laptops. To summarize the points, IPS display technology such as that seen in the Apple iPad generally have the following benefits:
- Better Color Gamut – An IPS display compared to TN has a much better color gamut. IPS monitors have true 8-bit color representation while TN is only 6-bits.
- Better Color Accuracy – It is easier to calibrate an IPS display and get accurate colors on it than a TN panel. Blacks appear black, reds appear red, whites appear white.
- Better Viewing Angles – IPS displays can have viewing angles up to 178-degrees wide, while TN panels might be as little as 10 – 15 degrees before color shifting occurs.
Those points are mostly true but there are still varying levels of quality when it comes to IPS displays. For instance, the recent debacle with the Envy 15-3000 IPS display in which reds are appearing orange would indicate problems can still arise with color accuracy and gamut on a flawed IPS display. An example of a cheaper type of IPS display is designated as e-IPS, which uses a lower cost manufacturing technique and does not have the same quality as the original s-IPS display.
For the most part there’s a lot to like about IPS displays, the wide viewing angles are especially advantageous for mobile tech screens. However, there are certain characteristics of IPS that are not good for use in laptops. Depending on your needs, a cheaper and more traditional TN technology display may actually be better.
More Expensive
IPS Screens cost more due to the more expensive manufacturing technique necessary to product the screen. Since price is the biggest factor in buying a laptop for most people they might view a $150 upgrade, such as that on the 2012 model HP Envy 15, as being too much or not worth it. You not only have to consider the fact it costs more to actually buy a new laptop with an IPS screen, but should the screen get damaged or break it’s going to cost a lot more for a screen replacement down the road.
Slower Screen Response Time and Refresh Rate
If you’re into gaming and movie watching then the rate at which a screen refreshes and pixels can change color matters. The faster the pixel response time the less ghosting and more fluid motion on the screen will appear. Response time is basically a reference to how fast pixels on the screen change from one color to another and by extension how fast a picture on the screen can change. Though modern IPS panels have much improved response times, they are still not as fast as TN panels. If an IPS panel has a slow response time it’s possible that you’ll get ghosting and blurring when watching movies or playing games.
More Power Required for Backlight, otherwise Dimmer Screen
An IPS display requires a stronger backlight to achieve the same level of brightness as that of a TN display. We won’t go into the technical details of why this is the case, but if you’re interested in the details this article will explain. Since most people like to have a bright screen, manufacturers often have to compensate by supplying a stronger backlight for an IPS screen and as such the power draw on the battery is increased. If a stronger backlight is not provided, the effect will simply be a dimmer screen. So keep in mind, if you see an IPS screen advertised as having a 300-nit brightness level then it will probably only be as bright as a 200-nit TN panel display.
Conclusion
For the most part IPS displays are a beneficial feature to have in laptops and most certainly tablets due to the fact you want to be able to view the screen from any angle and have colors appear the same. However, as with any technology there are pros and cons and one size does not fit all. Many people complain about lack of IPS screen availability, but the extra cost for both new and after market IPS panels (for when a screen breaks) can be cost prohibitive to large companies and individual buyers. Furthermore, those that simply want the fastest response screen available for gaming and movie watching will find that TN panels are the best option. And if you’re hung up on battery life and find the stronger backlight necessary for an IPS display is increasing power draw on your laptop you may start to view TN panel screens in a more positive light. No doubt, IPS screens are nice to have, but they’re not perfect and sometimes a TN screen can be a better option even when cost is not a concern.
Again, thank you, Andrew, for bringing some coverage to IPS LCDs and viewing angles. I’ll echo your article; for most people, it’s cost. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The iPhone and iPad don’t really need IPS screens, but they have them, and they must comprise most of the IPS screens in consumer use today.
What about Samsung’s PLS technology? There’s that 27-inch 1440p monitor that’s said to have stunning viewing angles, and there are a couple of posts on Engadget and such that indicate PLS viewing angles are better than IPS, with less dimming from off-axis and so forth.
Similarly, there are battery-efficient color e-ink Mirasol displays and Pixel Qi displays that already exist.
And then there’s OLED. It’s already thin enough.
Supposing those technologies fall in price, do you think we might one day see laptops branch into new and unconventional screen tech?
Thanks for the feedback Jonathan. I think that OLED displays are certainly the most promising, the low power and very thin nature are perfect for laptops or other mobile devices. However, the issues with lifespan and blue colors fading over time (I’ve heard blues can fade to half their brightness in 5-years) and the current cost of production obviously have to be worked out. Cost is everything with PC manufacturers these days. I don’t see anything new coming to displays in the next couple of years, it seems like we’re always waiting I know
I disagree on that TN can be a better option…it’s not. OFC TN panels became better over time, but manufacturers do keep on choosing the cheaper option…they always do, unless it comes with a serious premium in price or is aimed for a specialized market.
iPad and iPhone are simply catering for a market they’ve created, trying to look better than the competition. Now the comparison to previous models would be relentless and would favor the IPS “past” so much, that they cannot afford “marketing” a TN in place any more.
It’s silly to think that IPS panels are “needed” for tablets which are anything but professional tools as far as image fidelity requirements, yet it’s perfectly passable for $2500 “pro” laptops, used for graphics and general design work using TN panels…
And ofc volume is not an issue, unless we believe that the top laptop brands combined could not order enough IPS panels to bring pricing to more reasonable levels…they could, they simply did not care. They did not care for limiting their profit margins, they did not care for driving a higher resolution screens cause that would require perhaps better integrated GPUs than the could get without lowering their profit margins etc. It’s 99.9% profit margin. And apple is not any different in that aspect. Thus Macbook Pros get TNs, yet the “gadgets” get IPS.