What is the difference between super retina and liquid retina when both perform the same function? A very common misconception arises between these two terms. The terms are almost the same but have a different name. Both the Super Retina and the Liquid Retina come with the iPhones. Nonetheless, there is evidence that both are different from each other. So let’s find Super Retina vs Liquid Retina.
Comparison Table: Super Retina vs Liquid Retina
| Criteria | Super Retina | Liquid Retina |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | It’s an OLED display that has high resolution and extremely high contrast. | Liquid Retina is an LCD with a higher pixel level, which creates a paper-like screen effect where all pixels are not noticeable. |
| Availability | Super Retina is an OLED display that comes in iPhone X, XS, and XS Max. | The liquid retina is an LCD that comes with iPhone XR And iPads. |
| The contrast | Contrast ratio of Super Retina is 1,000,000:1. | The contrast ratio of the Liquid Retina is 1400:1. |
| Brightness | The maximum brightness of Super Retina is 800 nits. | The maximum brightness of Liquid Retina is 625 nits. |
| Haptic Touch | Haptic touch is missing in the super retina OLED display. | Haptic touch is present in the liquid retina LCD. |
| Expensive | The cost of producing Super Retina is more than Liquid Retina. | It is less expensive compared to Super Retina. |
| Quality | An iPhone with a super retina display has a better screen display, and visuals are also reasonable compared to a liquid retina. | Its visual quality is not as good as compared to the super retina display. |
| Pixel Ratio | Super Retina has a pixel density of 458 PPI in both XS and XS Max. | Liquid Retina has a pixel density of 326 PPI on the iPhone and 264 PPI on iPads. |
What is Super Retina?
Super Retina is an OLED display that has been found recently on phones like iPhone X, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max. Apple designed the Super Retina so that it meets the higher standard of the people. It is one of the best OLED displays in the smartphone industry which offers impressive color accuracy.
The quality of its display is certainly the best, on top of that it has high brightness, extremely good contrast, and excellent cinema-standard with a wide scope. It has the best system for color management, which delivers an optimal viewing experience.
Both Super Retina and Super Retina XDR, which were found in iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, provide a wide range of dark and light areas video and photo and give High Dynamic Range (HDR). It puts in using the organic emitting diode technology.
Super Retina uses advanced technology to provide an excellent viewing experience and raises the standard of the iPhone series. OLED technology gives high contrast and high resolution with no backlight; it discharges light through each pixel and provides a thin display.
It is one of the best OLED displays that undoubtedly provide high contrast, high brightness, excellent color accuracy, and broad color support. An OLED display sometimes shifts color and hue; it is the feature of an OLED display. After long-term use, an OLED display can show visual changes.
What is Liquid Retina?
On 26th October 2018, Apple introduced the iPhone XR with the all-new display called the ‘Liquid Retina’ HD screen, the most advanced LCD display in the industry was introduced to the world that day. The iPhone XR features an LCD screen over OLED, which is just as good as the Super Retina, except it gives you a larger screen in a smaller build.
It crams up millions of pixels so tightly packed that even when you look very closely you cannot see them. It is a super high-resolution display and the innovative engineering allows us to stretch the display into the corners.
The result is an all-screen design with the largest LCD display ever used in an iPhone which still fits comfortably in your hands. The new iPhone 11 also boasts the Liquid Retina HD display.
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Difference Between Super Retina and Liquid Retina
1) Display Technology
The Liquid Retina display is by far the most advanced LCD display technology in an iPhone ever. It is the Apple-designed liquid crystal display that is just as good as the Super Retina which was designed to make the older LCD screens that were found on every iPhone model better for improved color accuracy.
Super Retina is a high-density display that uses OLED technology which emits light through each pixel (with no backlight) to deliver an exceptionally higher contrast ratio and better resolution superior to any other kind of display available.
2) Contrast Ratio
The Super Retina display in the iPhone X is a huge improvement from the iPhone XR’s Liquid Retina display. It sports a higher resolution at 2436-by-1125-pixel, which means more pixels are spread across the surface, which in turn, results in a higher contrast ratio, from a mere 1400:1 to an extraordinarily higher 1,000,000:1.
The Super Retina XDR has a contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1. The Liquid Retina displays have a contrast ratio of 1400:1, which is much lower than that of Super Retina displays.
3) Pixel Density
The Liquid Retina is a term used by Apple for the LCD display on the iPhone XR and the iPad Pro. Basically, it is the same LCD display found on other iPhones except for the iPhone X, XS, and XS Max.
The pixel density of Liquid Retina is 326 PPI for iPhones or 264 PPI for iPads. On the other hand, the Super Retina, is an even higher pixel density OLED display found on the iPhone X, XS, and XS Max. The pixel density of both iPhone XS and XS Max is 458 PPI, which accounts for sharper, and more accurate images.
4) Found In
Super Retina usually comes in-built in iPhone X, XS, and XS Max. On the other hand, the Liquid retina is found in iPhone XR And iPads.
5) Price
The parts of Super Retina are more expensive than Liquid Retina.
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Summary
It is clear as day that both the displays are not the same as the significant difference between Super Retina and Liquid Retina are painfully obvious. We can clearly say that one is the older method of technology, and the other is the newer technology.
Apple uses both types of displays in their devices, but if you are feeling confused about which one is better than the other, then this evident fact that the costlier model is better than the cheap one as they take more, they provide better function.
Naomi is an educator with 2 decades of experience working with children of all ages. She is a keen observer of the magic and importance of Maths in our daily lives. Follow me on Linkedin