LCD vs OLED iPhone Screens Explained

An LCD screen lights the whole display with a backlight, while an OLED screen lights each pixel individually. OLED gives true blacks, stronger contrast and richer colours, but costs more to replace. The iPhone 11, iPhone XR and iPhone SE use LCD. The iPhone X, XS, 11 Pro and every iPhone from the iPhone 12 onwards use OLED. When replacing a screen, your iPhone’s screen type and the grade of replacement you choose decide both the price and how good the display looks afterwards.

At our counter, a cracked screen is the repair we see most often. And the question that comes right after “how much?” is usually “what’s the difference between these screens?” Here’s the plain-English answer, so you know exactly what you’re paying for.

Which iPhones Have LCD and Which Have OLED?

Screen type	iPhone models	Apple calls it
LCD	iPhone 11, iPhone XR, iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation), iPhone 8 and older	Liquid Retina or Retina HD
OLED	iPhone X, XS, XS Max, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, and every iPhone 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 model, including iPhone 16e and iPhone Air	Super Retina or Super Retina XDR

To check your model, go to Settings → General → About and look at the Model Name.

The iPhone 11 trips up a lot of people. It looks almost identical to the 11 Pro from the front, but the regular iPhone 11 has an LCD screen, while the 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max have OLED.

How Apple Moved From LCD to OLED

Year	What changed
2017	iPhone X becomes the first OLED iPhone
2018	iPhone XS gets OLED, while the cheaper iPhone XR stays with LCD
2019	iPhone 11 Pro uses OLED; the iPhone 11 keeps LCD
2020	Every iPhone 12 model switches to OLED
2021	iPhone 13 Pro introduces ProMotion, refreshing at up to 120Hz
2022	iPhone 14 Pro adds the Always-On Display
2025	iPhone 16e replaces the SE, ending LCD in Apple’s lineup; the iPhone 17 lineup brings ProMotion to the standard model

So if you bought your iPhone in the last five years, it almost certainly has an OLED screen.

How LCD and OLED Screens Work

LCD (liquid crystal display): A backlight sits behind the screen and stays on whenever the display is on. Liquid crystals in front of it twist to let more or less light through. Because the backlight never fully switches off, black areas look slightly grey, which you’ll notice when scrolling your phone on a dark MRT ride home.

OLED (organic light-emitting diode): Each pixel makes its own light. To show black, a pixel simply turns off. That gives true blacks, punchier colours and a thinner screen, since there’s no backlight layer.

LCD vs OLED: What You’ll Actually Notice

	LCD	OLED
Black levels	Slightly grey	Truly black
Contrast	Good	Excellent
Colours	Natural, a little less vivid	Rich and vivid
Outdoor visibility	Good	Very good, especially on newer models with higher peak brightness
Battery in dark mode	No real saving	Can save power, as black pixels use none
Thickness	Thicker	Thinner
Burn-in	No risk	Possible, but rare with normal use
Typical drop damage	Cracks, black ink-like spots, bleeding colours	Green or pink lines, black patches, no display
Repair cost	Lower	Higher

Is OLED Burn-In Something to Worry About?

For most people, no. Burn-in is a faint ghost image left behind when the same thing stays on screen for very long periods. iOS works to prevent it by dimming the screen and shifting static elements slightly. The risk goes up if the same app sits at full brightness for hours every day, for example Google Maps on a car dashboard mount, which is common for Grab and delivery drivers.

Green Lines Are an OLED Problem

A thin green or pink vertical line usually appears after a drop or pressure on the screen, and sometimes just with age. It means the display panel itself is damaged, so the screen needs replacing. We cover this in detail in [iPhone Screen Flickering, Green Lines or White Screen: What It Means].

What If OLED Screens Strain Your Eyes?

Many OLED panels control brightness by flickering very quickly. Most people never notice, but some find it tiring at low brightness. Turning on Reduce White Point under Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size lets you keep brightness a little higher while the screen looks dimmer.

Features That Need an OLED Screen

• Always-On Display, on supported models from the iPhone 14 Pro onwards
• ProMotion (up to 120Hz), on Pro models from the iPhone 13 Pro and across the iPhone 17 lineup
• HDR photos and videos at full brightness and contrast
• Dark mode battery savings

This is why the replacement screen matters. A low-grade replacement on an OLED iPhone can lose some of what made the original display worth paying for.

The Four Kinds of Replacement Screen for OLED iPhones

This is where most of the confusion, and the price differences, come from. An OLED iPhone can be fitted with any of these:

Replacement	What it is	How it looks	Trade-offs	Price level
Genuine Apple display	Original Apple part, for example sourced through Apple’s Independent Repair Provider programme	Same as factory	None	Highest
Soft OLED	Aftermarket OLED on a flexible base, built like the original	Very close to original	Colour and brightness may be slightly different	Mid to high
Hard OLED	Aftermarket OLED on a rigid base	Good, with true blacks	Slightly thicker, can be more fragile	Mid
Incell LCD	An LCD screen made to fit an OLED iPhone	Greyish blacks, lower brightness	Thicker, can use more battery, touch may feel less smooth	Lowest

For LCD iPhones (iPhone 11, XR and SE), it’s simpler: a genuine Apple display or a good-quality aftermarket LCD.

Which Replacement Screen Should You Choose?

What we usually recommend depends on your situation:

Your situation	What we’d suggest
Newer iPhone (14 and above) you plan to keep for years	Genuine Apple display or a good soft OLED
You’ll sell or trade in the phone later	Genuine Apple display, as buyers check Parts and Service History
You use your phone heavily for photos, videos or gaming	Genuine or soft OLED, to keep colour accuracy and smoothness
Older iPhone, tight budget, still want a decent display	Hard OLED
Phone you’ll replace within months	Incell LCD is acceptable as a stopgap
iPhone 11, XR or SE	Good-quality LCD, or genuine if you want an exact match

Whatever you choose, ask the shop to name the screen grade before the repair. “Original quality” can mean very different things from one shop to the next.

What Happens After a Screen Replacement?

“Unknown Part” message: On iPhone 11 and newer, iOS checks whether the display is a genuine Apple part. If it can’t verify it, a message appears. The screen still works normally. You can see the repair record under Settings → General → About → Parts and Service History.

True Tone: True Tone adjusts the display’s colour to the light around you. With some aftermarket screens it may stop working. A good shop will tell you upfront whether your replacement keeps it.

Face ID: A properly done screen replacement doesn’t affect Face ID. On some models, small components attached to the old screen have to be carefully moved to the new one, so experience matters.

How Much Does LCD vs OLED Screen Replacement Cost in Singapore?

The screen type is one of the biggest factors in the price. Across Singapore, screen replacement runs from around $80 for an older LCD iPhone to about $500 for a current OLED Pro model, depending on the part grade.

Where	What you’ll pay
Apple, out of warranty	$199 to $575, depending on model
Apple, with AppleCare+	$42 service fee per cracked screen
LYK Repair	From $45, depending on model and screen grade

If you have AppleCare+, check that first. A $42 claim is hard to beat.

Out of warranty, our iPhone screen repair page lists the price for every model, from the iPhone 11 to the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Only the top glass cracked, and the display underneath still looks perfect? Apple replaces the full display either way, as it doesn’t offer glass-only repair. Our guide to iPhone glass-only vs full screen replacement cost explains when a cheaper option may apply.

What a Screen Replacement at LYK Involves

1. Free check. We confirm whether it’s the glass, the display, a loose connector or a swollen battery pushing the screen up.
2. Clear options. We tell you which screen grades are available for your model, how they differ and the price of each.
3. Repair. Most screen replacements take 30 to 60 minutes, so you can wait at the branch or pop out for a coffee.
4. Testing. We check touch across the whole screen, brightness, True Tone, Face ID, the front camera and the earpiece before handing it back.
5. Warranty. Your new screen is covered by our 100 days warranty. If a fault comes back, bring it in.

How to Tell If Your iPhone’s Screen Has Already Been Replaced

Useful if you’re buying a used iPhone on Carousell, or you’re not sure what a previous shop fitted:

1. Check Parts and Service History under Settings → General → About.
2. Look for True Tone under Settings → Display & Brightness. If it’s missing, the screen may be aftermarket.
3. Test the blacks. Open a fully black image in a dark room. On an OLED iPhone, a greyish glow suggests an incell LCD replacement.
4. Check the fit. A screen that sits slightly raised from the frame, or has a wider black border, is often aftermarket.

Signs Your iPhone Screen Needs Replacing

• Cracked glass that keeps spreading
• Green, pink or white lines
• Black spots or patches growing larger
• Flickering, or the screen randomly going black
• Touch not working in some areas, or ghost touches
• The screen lifting away from the frame (this can also mean a swollen battery)

If you’re seeing any of these, our iPhone screen repair technicians can tell you within minutes whether it’s the glass, the display or something else.

Keeping Your Screen in Good Shape

• Use a tempered glass screen protector. It takes the hit from minor drops.
• Pick a case with a raised lip around the screen.
• Keep your phone away from keys and coins in the same pocket.
• On OLED iPhones, avoid leaving the same app at full brightness for hours on end.
• Leave auto-brightness on. It’s kinder to both the battery and the OLED panel.

For more practical guides on screens, batteries and everyday care, browse our iPhone Help Centre.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my iPhone have an LCD or OLED screen?
The iPhone 11, XR and SE models use LCD. The iPhone X, XS, 11 Pro and every iPhone from the iPhone 12 onwards use OLED. Check your model under Settings → General → About.

Is OLED better than LCD?
For picture quality, yes. OLED offers true blacks, higher contrast and richer colours, and can save battery in dark mode. LCD costs less to repair and has no burn-in risk.

Does the iPhone 11 have an OLED screen?
No. The iPhone 11 has an LCD screen. The iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max have OLED.

Can you put an LCD screen on an OLED iPhone?
Yes. These are called incell LCD screens. They’re the cheapest option, but blacks look greyish, brightness is lower and they can use more battery.

What’s the difference between soft OLED and hard OLED?
Soft OLED is built on a flexible base like Apple’s original screen, so it’s closer in quality and thickness. Hard OLED uses a rigid base, which makes it cheaper but slightly thicker and more fragile.

Why does OLED screen replacement cost more?
OLED panels are more complex to make than LCD panels, and newer iPhones use larger, brighter OLED screens with higher refresh rates.

Will a screen replacement affect Face ID?
Not when it’s done properly. Some parts may need to be moved from the old screen to the new one, so it’s worth choosing an experienced repair shop.

What does “Unknown Part” mean after a screen repair?
It means iOS can’t verify the new display as a genuine Apple part. The screen still works normally. Check your repair record under Settings → General → About → Parts and Service History.

Does a replacement screen affect resale value?
It can. Buyers increasingly check Parts and Service History, so a genuine display generally holds value better than an aftermarket one.

So, Which Screen Is Right for You?

LCD and OLED screens look and behave differently, and so do their replacements. When your iPhone needs a new screen, don’t just compare prices. Ask what type and grade of screen you’re getting. A genuine or good-quality OLED keeps your iPhone looking the way it did on day one, while the cheapest option can leave you with a duller, greyer display.

Not sure what your iPhone needs? Our iPhone repair team will check it for free, explain your options and give you a clear price before any work starts. Walk in to any LYK Repair branch in Tai Seng, Jurong, Woodlands or Bugis, or WhatsApp us your model for a quote.