What Is an IPS Display?
To understand Nano IPS displays, it helps to have an idea about the IPS or In-Plane Switching displays. IPS is one of the three main liquid crystal display (LCD) technologies, alongside VA and TN displays. The primary difference between IPS and other LCDs is how the liquid crystals shift in their display stack when an electric current is applied. This difference in the rotation of liquid crystals gives IPS displays some advantages.
IPS displays are known for offering better viewing angles and color accuracy than VA and TN displays. This is why you will find that many premium monitors use IPS panels. However, IPS technology is not perfect. Display manufacturers are constantly finding new ways to make it better. And Nano IPS is one such advancement in the IPS technology space.
Improving IPS
Nano IPS is an improved version of the conventional IPS display technology. It uses nanoparticles to filter excess or unnecessary light wavelengths to produce a cleaner and more accurate white backlighting. This is needed because the “white” LEDs used in the traditional IPS and other LCDs have some imbalances in the spectrum of light they produce.
According to LG, in a Nano IPS display, nanoparticles are applied to the LED backlight, and they absorb the unnecessary wavelengths to remove dull color tones and imbalances. So when purified white light passes through color filters, it results in a more accurate and richer color representation than conventional IPS displays.
Thanks to this richer color expression, the Nano IPS displays have a wide color gamut. They can cover 98% of the DCI-P3 and 135% of the sRGB color space. The wide color gamut is helpful in creative work and crucial for the monitor’s HDR performance.
In addition, the Nano IPS displays have all the benefits of regular IPS displays and are fully compatible with variable refresh rate technologies like Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync.
So with Nano IPS, you can expect better overall picture performance than the conventional IPS. However, the benefits of Nano IPS come at the expense of higher price tags because of increased manufacturing costs.
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How Can You Get a Nano IPS Display?
As LG Display has developed the Nano IPS technology, it’s most commonly used in monitors from LG Electronics. However, Nano IPS is not exclusive to LG. ViewSonic, AOC, Dell, and Asus also sell monitors with Nano IPS displays.
Some popular Nano IPS monitors include LG 27GL850-B, LG 34GP83A-B, Alienware 38, Dell S2721DGF, and ViewSonic Elite XG270QG.
Apart from computer monitors, Nano IPS technology is also present in TVs. But it is referred to as NanoCell on the televisions. As of May 2022, LG is the sole manufacturer releasing TVs with NanoCell technology.
Nano IPS vs. QLED
Nano IPS isn’t the only display technology using a color purifying layer. Samsung also uses a quantum dot layer in its QLED monitors to offer similarly accurate and lifelike colors.
However, unlike Nano IPS displays that have a nanoparticle layer, the QLED displays use a film of quantum dots. This film is used to convert the blue LED backlighting to red, green, and blue colors, which are then combined to form white light. It is passed through the color filters to get the red, green, and blue colors again, which are then used to create pictures on your screen.
As the white light created thanks to quantum dots is much more accurate than the white LED backlighting of traditional LCDs, the resulting red, green, and blue colors are also more accurate. So quantum dot-enhanced LCDs are capable of a wider color gamut and vibrant colors.
But the color purifying technique isn’t the only difference between Nano IPS and QLED. The panel type used in Nano IPS and QLED displays is also different. While Nano IPS displays, as their name suggests, have an IPS-type panel, the QLED displays have a VA-type panel. Both panel types have different advantages and disadvantages. As mentioned earlier, IPS or Nano IPS panels have great viewing angles. However, their native contrast ratio is low. On the other hand, VA panels have narrow viewing angles but a fantastic native contrast ratio.
Should You Choose Nano IPS displays?
When it comes to picking Nano IPS over other display technologies, you need to weigh your priorities. If you want great viewing angles, a wide color gamut, and excellent color accuracy, Nano IPS displays should definitely be on the top of your list. But if you care about deep blacks and contrast ratio, VA-type LCDs, OLEDs, and QD-OLEDs are more suitable.
