Instinct Display Technology

Thank you for the information ! They could have triggered a "clear screen" all black then ! :-)

It also means the consumption of energy is relative to the refreshment of the screen. Better not use a "every second" watchface (heart rate and second display) to keep power ?

I think the battery life is fantastic on this watch, so it probably wouldn't be any problem.

Again, no, this is incorrect. While it does look like white/transparent is the natural state for the current gen displays, the only time they consume energy is the moment a pixel is switched "on" and into a color (or black); but when energy is completely removed from the pixel, it retains its current state (i.e. doesn't require more energy to remain "on" — which is a misnomer, 'cause in this case it's not really "on" in the traditional sense, it is in fact "off", but retains state). That's why it's similar to E-Ink.

When the device is turned off, a "clear screen" event is triggered which actually consumes a bit of energy to, well, clear the screen.

How do they switch color? What happens inside the display when color is switched? What materials are involved etc?

Here you will find info on how an LCD display works:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid-crystal_display

Here you will find info on how an LCD display works:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid-crystal_display

I know how regular LCD's work, but not how the special one the watch works.

Transflective MIP LCD operates on the same principle in terms of how it displays colors and what materials are used. There are only two special characteristics, which make the distinction:
1. The method of handling both external (reflected) and internal (transmitted backlight) light.
2. During a refresh only pixels that change are refreshed, and not the whole display. This allows to save a lot of power.

Transflective MIP LCD operates on the same principle in terms of how it displays colors and what materials are used. There are only two special characteristics, which make the distinction:
1. The method of handling both external (reflected) and internal (transmitted backlight) light.
2. During a refresh only pixels that change are refreshed, and not the whole display. This allows to save a lot of power.

1. Yeah I know this, buy HOW does it handle the reflected light? There are no RGB filter in the Instinct of course, so how do the color filters works (black and white) and what materials?

2. Yeah I know this butHOW are the individually pixels refreshed?

Look, I don't want to sound patronizing, but the physics behind an LCD are quite complex, if you're interested in details. This forum is no place to explain the principles of it. Almost all your questions can be answered if you study the wikipedia article about LCD displays (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid-crystal_display), the one I gave you before. For example:

Yeah I know this, buy HOW does it handle the reflected light?

The very first image in that article, the one on the right, shows you how.

There are no RGB filter in the Instinct of course, so how do the color filters works (black and white)

Read the first paragraph in the "General characteristics" section of the article. There is a very specific answer to your question there.

Yeah I know this butHOW are the individually pixels refreshed?

Exactly the same way from the point of view of physics as in any other LCD display. The difference is that there is additional electronics which is smart enough to control what pixels need to be refreshed. I admit there is no info about it in the article, probably because it has little to do with the LCD technology itself. But try googling MIP (or Memory-in-pixel) display. Here's something to get you started:
https://www.sharpsma.com/sharp-memory-lcd-technology
Check out the "Data memory in each pixel" section.

One more advice:
These kind of questions are better asked on some electronics forums. There you'd have better chance of getting competent answers. I'm not an expert on these topics, although I have some basic understanding.

Anyway, the bottom line is - from what I managed to learn from a brief internet study - that there's nothing special in the type of display that can be found in the Instinct. Monochrome LCD displays are nothing new, although they do come in different flavours. Technologically, the display in your Instict has more in common with a display in a cheap casio watch than with an e-ink display in a kindle.

One more advice:
These kind of questions are better asked on some electronics forums. There you'd have better chance of getting competent answers. I'm not an expert on these topics, although I have some basic understanding.

Anyway, the bottom line is - from what I managed to learn from a brief internet study - that there's nothing special in the type of display that can be found in the Instinct. Monochrome LCD displays are nothing new, although they do come in different flavours. Technologically, the display in your Instict has more in common with a display in a cheap casio watch than with an e-ink display in a kindle.

There may be "nothing special" about the display used in the Instinct, but the most significant characteristic of the Instinct display that is often not appreciated by those familiar only with Casio, etc. isd that the Instinct display can be toggled between a positive display AND a negative display. Take your pick:

Negative display


Positive display


HTH

Nice bands, gaijin. May I know what it's called and where you get it from?