IPS (In-Plane Switching technology) panel technology was developed by Hitachi in 1996 to solve the two main limitations of TN-matrices at the time: small viewing angles and low-quality color reproduction. The name In-Plane Switching comes from the crystals in the cells of the IPS panel always lying in the same plane and always being parallel to the plane of the panel.

The first twisted nematic (TN) LCD was developed in Switzerland in 1971 and became the basis for LCD monitors. The TN method was applied in TFT LCDs in the late 1980s and early 1990s despite having a narrow viewing angle. In particular, it showed gray inversion from up and down, and had slow response speed. In the mid 1990s, some technologies — typically IPS and VA (Vertical Alignment) — that could resolve these weaknesses were applied to large monitor panels. In IPS technology the liquid crystal runs horizontally, giving it a wide viewing angle, fast response speed, and a simple pixel structure. But VA has a wider viewing angle than TN.

IPS or ips may refer to: