Japanese technology blog Tech On! talked to Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House about the switch to LCD screens for the new model of the Vita. House cited several reasons, but also claimed that LCDs can now match the image quality of OLEDs.
House explained further that the LCD panel also helped them reduce the Vita’s dimensions, shrinking the thickness by 20 %. Of course, he acknowledges that LCD is just cheaper to use, but also brings up that LCD allowed them to improve the yield rate, and that OLED is difficult to manufacture with.
On this last point, a Sony engineer chimed in, explaining that the OLED often breaks when they assemble the OLED panel, touch panel, and cover together.
I guess Sony could stand to explain some of these points a little further. While it’s true that LCD has some advantages over OLED, for example, the newer LCD screens are more readable out in the sun, OLEDs are supposed to be lighter and more flexible. Maybe Sony came up with a way to deal with assembling the front screen that works better on LCDs than OLEDs, but we don’t really have enough details here.
Overall, however, House’s statement is very open to scrutiny. LCD’s disadvantages vs. OLEDs are numerous, including smaller viewing angles, ghosting, and less brightness. A high resolution video demonstration of each model’s screens side by side would certainly be helpful. Ultimately, of course, it would be up to the consumer if they find the new model’s changes are good enough to warrant a purchase, but the older model is still going to be out there, and if you’re lucky, retailers may cut its price again soon.
Source: Tech On!
