Why fancy OLED displays might not last long in electric cars
(This story originally appeared in on Oct 17, 2023)
As consumers we all want the latest, shiniest and most cutting-edge tech in every gadget that we buy. Moreover, as mobility moves increasingly towards electrification, our cars are also becoming an extension of our smart devices and today we want seamless connectivity between all our personal devices. However, in the case of EVs, we are seeing another trend and that is bigger and even multiple digital displays on the dashboard. In high-end EV models, we are seeing that OEMs are now offering not only two but three digital displays on the dashboard in a bid to appeal to the tech-savvy buyers. However, all that flashy tech and displays come at an indirect cost. That cost is power consumption which is correlated with the overall range that an EV offers.
Take for instance, the shiny latest-generation OLED displays which look cool due to their bright and sharp resolution. While they look better than a traditional LCD screen, these displays are not suitable as an automotive solution in EVs for multiple reasons. According to Michael E. Hurlston, President and CEO, Synaptics, California-based hardware and software OEM, while LED displays are good in performance they can also get power hungry as the performance demand goes up in various scenarios, such as streaming content and movies.
He further stated, “OLED screens generally fatigue more, they have a shorter lifespan. So, they do not play as well for cars as they do for a smartphone. Most of the high-end mobile phones that are on the market today, have OLED screens because the lifecycle of a phone is four, maybe five years. The lifecycle of a car is much longer, and OLED really does not last beyond that four-to-five-year
