In both daily life and work, we frequently encounter various types of liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Whether it’s on mobile phones, televisions, small appliances, calculators, or air conditioner thermostats, LCD technology has been widely adopted across various fields. With so many types of screens available, it can often be challenging to distinguish between them. In general, however, they can be categorized into several main types, such as segment code LCDs, dot matrix screens, TFT LCDs, OLEDs, LEDs, IPS, and more. Below, we briefly introduce some of the major types.
Segment Code LCD
Segment code LCDs were first developed in Japan and introduced to China in the 1980s. They were mainly used to replace LED digital tubes (composed of 7 segments to display numbers 0-9) and are commonly found in devices like calculators and clocks. Their display content is relatively simple. They are also referred to as segment-type LCDs, small-size LCDs, 8-character screens, or pattern-type LCDs.
Dot Matrix Screen
Dot matrix screens can be divided into LCD dot matrix and LED dot matrix types. Simply put, they consist of a grid of points (pixels) arranged in a matrix to form a display area. For example, a common 12864 LCD screen refers to a display module with 128 horizontal points and 64 vertical points.
TFT LCD
TFT is a type of LCD and serves as the foundation of modern liquid crystal display technology. Many early mobile phones used this type of screen, which also falls under the dot matrix category and emphasizes pixel and color performance. Color depth is a key metric for evaluating display quality, with common standards including 256 colors, 4096 colors, 64K (65,536) colors, and even higher such as 260K colors. Display content is generally divided into three categories: plain text, simple images (such as icons or cartoon graphics), and photo-quality images. Users with higher demands for image quality typically opt for 64K or higher color depth.
LED Screen
LED screens are relatively straightforward—they consist of a large number of LED lights forming a display panel, commonly used in outdoor billboards and information displays.
OLED
OLED screens use self-emissive pixel technology to produce images. In terms of lighting principles, OLED is more advanced than LCD. Additionally, OLED screens can be made thinner, which helps reduce the overall thickness of devices.
Overall, liquid crystal displays can be broadly classified into two main categories: LCD and OLED. These two types differ fundamentally in their lighting mechanisms: LCDs rely on external backlighting, while OLEDs are self-emissive. Based on current technology trends, both types are likely to continue coexisting to meet diverse user needs for color performance and application scenarios.
Post time: Aug-30-2025