Differences between In-cell, On-cell, Out-cell

To find out all about the quality differences in cellular structures, the LCD-Phone team explains everything. As we know, the original iPhone LCD screens (with the exception of AMOLED models) feature a cellular structure. As the technology developed, In-cell and On-cell screens appeared on the market from 2019 onwards. So, what are the differences between In-cell On-cell and Out-cell displays for iPhone. What is an In-cell screen? In-cell is a quality that consists of front glass, front polarizer, touch sensor + LCD, rear polarizer and backlight. This grade places the ITO touch film under the screen's glass substrate. The In-cell screen therefore consists of just 2 layers, making it as close as possible to the original screen. It's a very popular screen quality since 2019, thanks to its high quality, close to the original. What is an on-cell screen? Current LCD technology consists of a protective glass, a touch layer, an air layer and a display layer. On-cell places the ITO touch film on the top glass substrate of the screen, reducing the air and touch layers. This quality of screen is not widely manufactured, as it is not popular. What is an Out-cell screen? It's a screen made up of the same layers as the other two grades, but all arranged separately. This increases thickness, but still maintains good quality. It's sold in large quantities on the market because it's so inexpensive. It accounts for around 70% of market share. This image shows the arrangement of the layers according to the different qualities: 

Comparaison of the 3 screens: 

1. Visual aspect :

In theory, the In-cell screen has one less layer, as it combines the LCD layer, touch and 3D touch, unlike the On-cell and Out-cell screens. The In-cell screen's image is therefore clearer than the other two.

2. Thickness

In-Cell screen quality combines LCD+tactile layers and 3D touch in one, which means it's lighter and thinner than both On-Cell and Out-cell screens.

3. Tactile sensibility

The In-Cell display directly fuses the touch layer and the liquid crystal layer together, and detection noise is significant. A special touch chip is required for filtering and correction processing.

4. Yield rate

Thanks to its high quality, the performance of the In-cell screen is very close to that of the original. Indeed, other screens can be a little duller than the In-cell quality screen. To sum up:

To conclude, Out-cell has two extra layers than the other two qualities, On-cell has an extra touch layer, which increases thickness to some extent and has limited display effects. In-cell has a touch sensor integrated into the pixel, and the area available for display will be reduced. As a result, the quality of the In-cell screen is closer to that of the original, giving it the best quality.