Which Is the Better Watch Display, MIP or AMOLED?

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If you’re deep into comparison shopping for fitness watches, you’ve probably come across some debate on the different display technologies. Manufacturers are moving toward AMOLED style screens (bright! Colorful! Sharp! Modern!) while some longtime users are diehards for the older MIP or LCD style screens (the general vibe is: pry them out of my cold dead hands). So where does that leave you, the shopper, wondering what to get for your first or next watch? I’m going to break down all the pros and cons. 

What’s the difference between MIP and AMOLED displays? 

I’m going to gloss over a lot of the detail you’d need to be an engineer to love and concentrate on what it’s like to use these screens. With that in mind: 

• AMOLED displays have tiny pixels that glow to create the display, leaving black areas where the pixels are not turned on. (Your phone’s screen is probably AMOLED.) AMOLED displays are full color, and they use power any time they’re on. They’re bright and highly visible in the dark, but can potentially get washed out in extremely bright sunlight.

• MIP displays (memory-in-pixel), also called memory LCD, do not light up on their own. These displays reflect light, much like old-school LCD watches, so they are highly visible in sunlight but require a backlight to be seen in the dark. They can display color, but only a limited range of colors and they are not as vibrant or as high-resolution as AMOLED screens.

AMOLED displays tend to be higher resolution, brighter, and sharper. MIP displays look more old-fashioned, but they always look good in bright sunlight, and they can be always-on without running down the battery life (assuming you have the backlight turned off). 

AMOLED displays tend to be touchscreens, but MIP displays can have touchscreens as well. For example, the Coros Pace 3 has a touchscreen, while the Garmin Forerunner 55 does not. (If you don’t want a touchscreen, you should know that you can disable the touchscreen on most sports watches.) 

Which watches have MIP and which have AMOLED displays? 

We’re currently at a transition point where most manufacturers are moving toward AMOLED if they haven’t switched already. Any fancy-looking smartwatch is likely to be AMOLED; there’s no MIP Apple Watch, for example. But among sports watches, there are plenty of models with MIP displays still being sold new. Here’s a breakdown of some of the more popular watches: 

AMOLED (or similar) displays: 

• Apple Watch

• Samsung Galaxy Watch

• Pixel Watch

• Fitbit Charge 5 and Charge 6

• Coros Pace Pro

• Garmin Forerunners 165, 265, and 965

• Garmin Vivoactive 5

• Garmin Venu 2 and 3

• Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED

• Polar Vantage, Ignite 3, Grit X2 Pro

• Suunto Race

MIP (or similar) displays: 

• Coros Pace 3, Apex 2, Apex 2 Pro, Vertix 2 (everything except the Pace Pro)

• Garmin Forerunners 55, 255, 955, and any other Forerunner not ending in -65

• Garmin Instinct (this is actually not MIP but a regular 2-color LCD)

• Garmin Vivoactive 4

• Garmin Fenix 7

• Garmin Fenix 8 Solar

• Polar Pacer, Pacer Pro, Grit X, Grit X Pro

• Suunto Core, 9 Baro, 9 Peak

Real-world visibility tests

I’ve been reviewing watches nonstop for a few months now, mostly AMOLED models, so I was surprised when I dug into the running watch forums and found people saying they would never upgrade to an AMOLED watch because they just aren’t readable in sunlight. Huh? Every AMOLED watch I’ve tested has been great in the sun. But OK, maybe there was something I was missing. 

Ever since I read those posts, I’ve been paying attention to visibility, the better to form my own opinions. I got into the difference in display types in my comparison between the Coros Pace 3 (MIP) and Pace Pro (AMOLED), for example. And for today’s analysis, I’ve also borrowed a Forerunner 55 (MIP) to compare to my Forerunner 265S. So let’s take a look. 

In bright sunlight, at the right angle, MIP has a slight edge

This is the best case for MIP superiority, and it comes with caveats, so let’s enjoy it while we can. When you have bright light shining directly on a MIP screen, it practically glitters. Modern AMOLEDs tend to be pretty bright as well, but on the brightest of days in the directest of sunlight, they can be a bit washed out. That said, AMOLEDs don't show up well in photos on sunny days, so I don't think the photo above really does the AMOLED screen justice. (Those black horizontal lines on the AMOLED are also an artifact of the camera taking the picture faster than the display could refresh; they're not visible in real life.)

I didn’t have a lot of great side-by-side photos in sunlight, so for another test I put both Forerunners directly under a bright desk lamp. A desk lamp is not the sun. However, I feel like this is a better demonstration of typical conditions—as judged by my own personal eyes and brain. Your own opinion might differ. If you're making your shopping decision based on how the displays look in sunlight, trying them out in person will tell you a lot more than any photo will. (Underrated shopping tip: show up to a running club and ask everybody about their watch. They'll be more than happy to show them off.)

In shadow (even on a sunny day), AMOLED stays visible

I went for a few runs on bright sunny days with both of the Coros watches, and found I actually preferred the AMOLED display even in the sun. That’s because sunny days are also days with deep shadows. You have to get the angle just right to get that bright glittery effect on a MIP screen. But an AMOLED will shine from the shadows. Most of the time, either my body or the screen’s own bezel was shading it a bit. The photo above was taken on the same day, same run, as the outdoor Coros photo in sunlight. The sun didn't go behind a cloud, I was just standing in a different position.

And the photo here is the exact same setup with the desk lamp, but with the watches angled just a few degrees downward. Drastic difference in readability. Now, if you’re used to MIP watches, you’re used to angling them into the sun to get a good look. If you’re fine with that, great. I prefer the AMOLED in this situation.

In medium-light scenarios, both are good

Here are both watches outdoors, on an overcast day, displaying the kind of screen you'd see most often during a running or other sports activity. This is probably the most telling photo of all: they are both fine. The MIP watch makes up for its potential visibility issues by defaulting to a white background, and the AMOLED just keeps showing bright numbers on a dark screen like usual. I use the AMOLED (the 265S) in this photo for most of my runs—it's not a review unit, it's the watch I actually own—and it's always visible, always looks great, in any weather and with or without sunglasses. But the MIP? It's good too! Nobody loses points here.

In the dark, both screens light up just fine

You probably expected me to say that AMOLED is better in the dark. Honestly, while AMOLED is prettier in the dark (and prettier almost anytime, because AMOLED displays tend to be much higher resolution), both screens are equally readable. The same gesture that wakes the AMOLED screen can wake the MIP screen’s backlight. (Please note that both watches are much sharper than the photo in real life. The blur you're seeing is just me failing to hold the camera perfectly steady in a dark room.)

In actual darkness, like when you’re putting your kids to bed, your best bet is an AMOLED watch with a “sleep mode” that displays the time dimly. That way you don’t need to turn on a backlight to see the time.  So if you’re concerned about the light being too bright, you probably want AMOLED.

Battery usage

MIP diehards like to say that MIP screens are more battery efficient. That may be technically true, but nobody buys a watch based on the battery life of its display. We want to know about the battery life of the entire watch. 

And honestly, AMOLED watches tend to have just as good a battery life as their MIP counterparts. Whether it’s better battery technology, power savings elsewhere in the software or hardware, or AMOLED itself being more efficient than you’d expect, it doesn’t matter. The Forerunner 965 (AMOLED) and the Forerunner 955 (MIP) both have a battery life of 8.5 hours during an activity with multi-band GPS mode and music playing. In smartwatch mode (not tracking activities), the 965 lasts 23 days in smartwatch mode, compared to 15 days for the 955. In other words, the AMOLED watch lasts eight days longer. If battery life is your priority, in this situation you’d want the AMOLED. 

This will vary by model, of course. Look up the battery life specs for the specific watches you’re interested in. Maybe the MIP model will last longer, but maybe the AMOLED will. Don’t make assumptions about the battery based on the look of the screen.

How to make a decision

You've seen my photos and heard my opinions, but ultimately you need to make a decision for yourself. And of the two display types, I'll be honest: neither is unusable or terrible or has some horrific misfeature that should be a dealbreaker. I do think that most people will prefer the AMOLED style. But if you end up with a MIP display, it will be fine. So let me run through a few things to keep in mind:

• If you already have a MIP watch and love it, I wouldn’t fault you for sticking with MIP. You already know the downsides and you don’t mind them. 

• If you love a MIP watch but are afraid that you wouldn’t like an AMOLED watch, don’t let that stop you from shopping AMOLED models. The downsides of AMOLED (as the internet tells them) are wildly exaggerated. 

• If you have seen both watches in person, in a wide variety of lighting conditions, and have a strong opinion, just go with your preference.

• If you’re new to all of this and feeling confused right now, you’ll probably like AMOLED better. All the new watches are AMOLED anyway.

• If your dream watch needs to be an older MIP watch to fit in your budget, go ahead and get it. It will be fine.

That last point is one where you’ll want to do some math. Often you can get an older generation of a feature-rich watch for the same price as the newest generation of a more barebones model. That’s the case right now for a lot of Garmin models, where pretty much everything released in the last year or so has an AMOLED screen, and everything before it is MIP. 

For example, looking only at the newest models, the Forerunner 965 is a more feature-rich watch than the 265, and costs $599 versus $449. But if you went a generation back and got the Forerunner 955, with a MIP screen, that watch is available right now for $399—which is $50 less than the new, AMOLED Forerunner 265. Worth it? That’s your call. But a lot of people would go for the 955, if they care about the 9xx series features (like maps and skiing features) more than they care about the screen. And now that you've seen the photos and read my deep dive, you're able to make that decision for yourself.