Hi Dogbowl,
There are two types of OLED displays. Active Mative (AMOLED) and Passive Matrix (PMOLED). AMOLED are the superior product in terms of lower power consumption and higher resolution. AMOLED also does not suffer from the refresh issue that can make PMOLED displays appear to flicker or strobe when moved.
Unfortunately, there are very few panel manufacturers making AMOLED displays. Those that are making AMOLED are focused on the large volume consumer market products like smartphones. These suppliers simply don't care about low volume products like dive computers. Even if we could get supply for a suitable AMOLED display, it would not be a stable supply on which to base a product or business. Five or six years ago there was a AMOLED manufacturer selling to low volume markets, and several dive computer manufacturers used the same display (Shearwater Predator, OSTC Mark II, Uemis PDA, Atomic Cobalt). When this AMOLED company stopped making OLEDs, all these manufacturers changed to LED LCDs. After a gap of a few years, some low-volume suppliers are introducing AMOLEDs again, but supply stability and suitable form factors for dive computers remain an issue.
PMOLED displays are a simpler technology and are easier to find in form factors suitable for dive computers, and the suppliers are selling to low volume users. Several dive computers are using PMOLED displays. We do not feel that the PMOLED displays offer a good balance of power consumption, resolution, sunlight readability, and screen size. We feel that the current LED LCDs available are a better product.
Shearwater currently uses high quality LED backlit LCD displays. The displays we use have an excellent balance of very low power consumption, good sunlight readability, wide viewing angle, and high contrast. There is a slight trade-off in that color saturation (i.e. vividness) is not as high as some LCDs or OLEDs, but the low power consumption and sunlight readability are more important for diving. Brightness is not really an issue. We can make the LCD go much brighter, but limit the brightness to keep power consumption under control. In bright sunlight, for the same power consumption, our current LCDs outperform the AMOLED we used in the Predator.
In short, both AMOLEDs and high quality LED LCDs are a good choice for dive computers. While some users prefer the Predator AMOLED's deep blacks and vivid colors, our current LCDs have benefits too such as lower power consumption and they offer very similar image performance under most viewing conditions.
Best regards,
Tyler Coen
Engineering Manager
Shearwater Research
