Which Watch Display Is Better: MIP or AMOLED?

If you’re comparing fitness watches, you’ve probably come across a debate about different display technologies. Manufacturers are moving to AMOLED-style screens (bright! colorful! crisp! modern!), while some long-time users are staunch adherents of the old MIP-style or LCD-style screens (the general vibe is: get them out of my cold, dead hands). So what makes you, the buyer, wonder what to buy for your first or next watch? I will reveal all the pros and cons.

What is the difference between MIP and AMOLED displays?

I’m going to gloss over a lot of the details that you need to be an engineer to love and focus on what it means to use these screens. With this in mind:

• AMOLED displays have tiny pixels that light up to create an image, leaving black areas where the pixels are not turned on. (Your phone’s screen is probably AMOLED.) AMOLED displays are full color and consume power every time they are turned on. They are bright and easily visible in the dark, but can potentially wash out in very bright sunlight.

• MIP (memory pixel) displays , also called memory LCDs, do not light up on their own. These displays reflect light like old-school LCD watches, so they are easily visible in sunlight, but require a backlight to be visible in the dark. They can display color, but only in a limited range of colors, and they are not as bright 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 can be left on all the time without draining battery power (provided you have the backlight turned off).

AMOLED displays are generally touchscreens, but MIP displays can also have touchscreens. For example, the Coros Pace 3 has a touchscreen, but the Garmin Forerunner 55 does not. (If you don’t need a touchscreen, know that most sports watches can turn it off.)

Which watches have MIP and which ones have AMOLED displays?

We are currently in a transition phase where most manufacturers are moving to AMOLED if they haven’t already. Any fancy smartwatch will most likely be AMOLED; for example, there is no Apple Watch MIP. But among sports watches there are many models with MIP displays that are still sold new. Here’s a breakdown of some of the more popular watches:

AMOLED (or similar) displays:

• Apple Watch

• Samsung Galaxy Watch

• Pixel clock

• Fitbit Charge 5 and Charge 6

• Koros Pace Pro

• Garmin Forerunners 165, 265 and 965

• Garmin Vivoactive 5

• Garmin Venu 2 and 3

• Garmin Phoenix 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 (all except Pace Pro)

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

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

• Garmin Vivoactive 4

• Garmin Phoenix 7

• Garmin Phoenix 8 Sunny

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

• Suunto Core, 9 baro, 9 peak

Real visibility tests

I’ve been reviewing watches non-stop for a few months now, mostly AMOLED models, so I was surprised when I poked around on the running watch forums and found that people were saying they would never upgrade to an AMOLED watch because they simply weren’t readable in sunlight . . Hm? All the AMOLED watches I tested performed great in the sun. But okay, maybe I was missing something.

Since reading these posts, I’ve been paying attention to visibility to better form my own opinions. I encountered differences in display types, for example , when comparing Coros Pace 3 (MIP) and Pace Pro (AMOLED) . And for today’s analysis, I also borrowed the Forerunner 55 (MIP) to compare it to my Forerunner 265S. So let’s take a look.

In bright sunlight at right angles, the MIP has a slight skew.

This is the best example of MIP’s excellence, and there are caveats, so let’s enjoy it while we can. When bright light shines directly on the MIP screen, it practically sparkles. Modern AMOLED screens also tend to be quite bright, but on the brightest days in direct sunlight they can be a little washed out. However, AMOLED screens don’t show up very well in photos on sunny days, so I don’t think the photo above really does justice to the AMOLED screen. (Those black horizontal lines on AMOLED are also a result of the camera taking a photo faster than the display can refresh; they’re not visible in real life.)

I didn’t get many good photos side by side in sunlight, so for another test I placed both Forerunners directly under a bright desk lamp. A table lamp is not the sun. However, it seems to me that this is the best demonstration of typical conditions, as judged by my own eyes and brain. Your own opinion may differ. If you’re making a purchasing decision based on how displays look in sunlight, trying them out in person will tell you much more than any photograph. (An underrated shopping tip: go to a running club and ask everyone about their watches. They’ll be more than happy to show them.)

In the shade (even on a sunny day) AMOLED remains visible

I went on a few runs on bright sunny days with both Coros watches and found that I preferred the AMOLED display even in the sun. This is because sunny days are also days with deep shadows. You need to get the angle right to get the bright sparkly effect on the mip screen. But AMOLED will shine in the shadows. Most of the time it was slightly obscured by either my body or the screen’s own frame. The photo above was taken on the same day and day as the photo of Koros outdoors in sunlight. The sun didn’t go behind the cloud, I just stood in a different position.

And in the photo – the same setup with a table lamp, but the clock is tilted just a few degrees down. Dramatic difference in readability. Now, if you’re used to MIP watches, you’re used to pointing them at the sun to get a better look. If you’re okay with that, great. In this situation, I prefer AMOLED.

In medium light scenarios, both are good.

Here’s both watches outdoors, on a cloudy day, with the screen you’d most often see while running or other athletic activity. This is perhaps the most eloquent photo of all: they are both fine. The MIP clock compensates for its potential visibility issues by defaulting to a white background, and the AMOLED simply continues to show bright numbers on a dark screen as usual. I use the AMOLED (265S) in this photo for most of my runs – it’s not a review device, it’s a watch I actually have – and it’s always visible, always looks great, in any weather, with or without sunglasses . What about MIP? That’s good too! Nobody loses points here.

In the dark, both screens glow normally.

You probably expected me to say that AMOLED performs better in the dark. To be fair, while AMOLED is prettier in the dark (and prettier almost any time because AMOLED displays tend to have a much higher resolution), both screens are equally readable. The same gesture that activates the AMOLED screen can activate the MIP screen backlight. (Note that both watches are much sharper in real life than in the photo. The blur you see is simply that I can’t hold the camera perfectly steady in a dark room.)

In complete darkness, such as when you’re putting the kids to bed, it’s best to use an AMOLED watch with a “sleep mode” that displays the time dimly. This way you don’t need to turn on the backlight to see the time. So if you’re concerned about light being too bright, you probably want an AMOLED.

Battery usage

MIP proponents like to say that MIP screens are more cost effective. Technically this may be true, but no one buys a watch based on the battery life of its display . We want to know about the battery life of all watches .

And to be fair, AMOLED watches generally have the same battery life as their MIP counterparts. Whether it’s better battery technology, power savings in other software or hardware components, or whether AMOLED itself is more efficient than you’d expect, it doesn’t matter. Forerunner 965 (AMOLED) and Forerunner 955 (MIP) have a battery life of 8.5 hours during multi-band GPS activity and music playback. In smartwatch mode (without activity tracking), 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, you’ll want an AMOLED in this situation.

Of course, this will depend on the model. Look up the battery life specs for the specific watch you’re interested in. Perhaps the MIP model will last longer, and maybe the AMOLED. Don’t make assumptions about the battery based on the appearance of the screen.

How to make a decision

You’ve seen my photos and heard my opinions, but ultimately you have to make the decision for yourself. And I’ll be honest of the two types of displays: neither of them are unusable, terrible, or have any terrible fault that should be a deal breaker. I think most people will prefer the AMOLED style. But if you end up with a MIP display, then everything will be fine . So let me talk about a few things to keep in mind:

• If you already have a MIP watch and love it , I wouldn’t blame you for sticking with MIP. You already know the shortcomings and do not pay attention to them.

• If you like MIP watches but are afraid you won’t like AMOLED watches , don’t let that stop you from buying AMOLED models. The disadvantages of AMOLED (as the Internet tells them) are greatly exaggerated.

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

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

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

This last point is where you need to do some math. You can often get an older generation of feature-rich watches for the same price as the newest generation of a simpler model. This is the case now with many Garmin models, where almost 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 back a generation and purchased 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? This is your call. But many people would choose the 955 if the 9xx series’ features (like maps and ski functions) interested them more than the screen. And now that you’ve seen the photos and read my detailed description, you can make that decision for yourself.

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