iPhone screens: Incell vs Hard vs Soft OLED
What Incell, Hard OLED, Soft OLED and Original mean in an iPhone replacement screen listing, with the price range of each in India.
Short answerIncell is an LCD fitted in place of an OLED and costs the least. Hard OLED is a rigid OLED panel in the middle. Soft OLED is flexible like the original and costs more. Listings that call the panel Original cost the most. The ranges below are RepairFully’s own listings.
The four panel types at a glance
Every iPhone screen in our catalogue carries one of four words in its title. They describe the panel, not the quality tier. The tier badge on the product page (Compatible, Premium or Original Grade) is separate and carries the warranty rules, so read both before you quote.
| Panel type | What it is | How it looks and feels | Price position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incell | An LCD panel with the touch layer built into the display itself | Greyer blacks and a different look from an OLED original; fine for budget jobs | Lowest |
| Hard OLED | A real OLED panel on a rigid glass base | True blacks and OLED colour; stiffer, and it can sit slightly thicker than the original | Middle |
| Soft OLED | A real OLED panel on a flexible base, as the original has | The closest aftermarket match for thickness, edges and feel | Higher |
| Original | The title calls the panel original | The closest match to the factory screen; read the product page for the exact wording | Highest |
What each type means
Incell is an LCD. An LCD lights the whole screen from behind, so black is a dark grey instead of switched-off pixels, and it can use more battery than an OLED at the same brightness. On the iPhone XR and iPhone 11, which were sold with LCD screens, it is the same kind of panel as the original. On every OLED model it is the budget option.
Hard OLED uses the same OLED technology as the original but on a rigid glass base. Blacks and colour are close to the original. The trade-off is toughness: a rigid panel is less forgiving if the phone frame is bent or the phone is dropped.
Soft OLED is built on a flexible base, as the original is. It is thinner, copes better with a flexed frame, and is the closest aftermarket match for edges, feel and brightness. It costs more than Hard OLED.
Original in a title means the supplier lists the panel as original-spec. It is the closest match to the factory screen and the highest price. Check the product page for the exact wording, the tier badge and the warranty before you quote it.
The letters in front of a panel (GX, JK, ZY, RJ, DD, ALG, YK) are the maker or line code the supplier uses. They are not quality tiers and the listings do not name the factory, so compare panels by type and price, not by the letters.
What each type costs on RepairFully
Each cell shows the lowest and highest listing price for that panel type in an iPhone generation on 4 October 2026, with the number of listings in brackets. The ranges are wide because a generation runs from the base model to the Pro Max. Combo Folder, TFT and glass-only listings are left out, and so are OLED listings that do not say Hard or Soft.
| iPhone generation | Incell | Hard OLED | Soft OLED | Original |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone X, XS, XS Max | ₹688–₹1,557 (10) | ₹2,012–₹2,999 (6) | ₹2,557–₹3,398 (4) | ₹3,697–₹4,816 (3) |
| iPhone XR, 11 | ₹818–₹1,603 (7) | none listed | none listed | ₹1,805–₹1,892 (2) |
| iPhone 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max | ₹963–₹1,764 (8) | ₹1,953–₹3,225 (2) | ₹3,230–₹3,611 (3) | ₹4,983–₹6,359 (2) |
| iPhone 12 series | ₹980–₹2,468 (12) | ₹2,969–₹4,829 (7) | ₹3,804–₹4,298 (3) | ₹4,899–₹11,156 (4) |
| iPhone 13 series | ₹1,083–₹2,771 (13) | ₹3,267–₹4,841 (7) | ₹3,635–₹4,396 (4) | ₹6,480–₹12,829 (5) |
| iPhone 14 series | ₹1,117–₹2,773 (13) | ₹3,314–₹6,991 (5) | ₹3,635–₹10,691 (6) | ₹6,991–₹21,568 (5) |
| iPhone 15 series | ₹1,427–₹2,957 (9) | ₹6,470–₹8,181 (6) | ₹7,670–₹11,528 (5) | ₹12,764–₹26,030 (6) |
| iPhone 16 series | ₹1,260–₹8,785 (10) | ₹8,004–₹12,829 (6) | ₹3,818–₹10,319 (3) | ₹7,670–₹30,492 (7) |
To see what is in stock for your model, open the Display or Display With Frame hub, or pick the phone on its device page, for example the iPhone 13.
Which type to quote
- Budget repair on an OLED iPhone: Incell. Tell the customer blacks will look greyer and battery life can be a little shorter.
- iPhone XR or iPhone 11: these were sold with LCD screens, so Incell is the same kind of panel as the original.
- A customer who will notice screen quality: Soft OLED, or a panel listed as Original.
- In between: Hard OLED, when the frame is straight and the customer wants OLED blacks without the Soft OLED price.
- A bent or cracked frame: fix the frame first. Any panel can fail again on a flexed frame, and a rigid Hard OLED is the least forgiving.
Check before you order
- Confirm the exact model, not just the name. The A-number is under Settings, General, About (how to find your model code).
- Pick your phone on RepairFully first. The page then shows whether each listing is a verified fit (how the checks work).
- Read the title for “Remove IC Need Professional Repair”. As the supplier words it, the IC from the original screen has to be moved across to the new panel. That is micro-soldering work, not a plug-in swap.
- Ask about True Tone before you promise it. After an aftermarket swap it may stop working unless the original screen’s data is carried over.
- Test the picture, touch and brightness on the bench before you close the phone (installation prep).
FAQ
- Is Incell the same as LCD?
- Yes. Incell is a type of LCD where the touch sensor is built into the display layers. On an iPhone that was sold with an OLED screen (X, XS, 11 Pro and the 12 to 16 series), an Incell panel is an LCD standing in for an OLED.
- Which iPhone screen type is best?
- Soft OLED or a panel listed as Original gives the closest match to the factory screen, and Incell gives the lowest price. The right choice depends on the customer’s budget and the phone’s condition, so name the panel type openly when you quote. See Compatible vs Premium vs Original Grade for how the quality tiers work.
- What does “Remove IC Need Professional Repair” mean?
- The supplier is saying the IC from the original screen has to be moved to the new panel. It needs micro-soldering tools and skill, so treat it as a board-level job when you price the repair.
- Will True Tone work after a screen swap?
- Not always. True Tone relies on data stored with the original display, so an aftermarket panel may lose it unless that data is carried across. Check with the supplier or your programmer before you promise it to a customer.