Samsung's New Display Makes the S21 Ultra More Efficient

Samsung’s new display tech makes the Galaxy S21 Ultra even more power efficient

This story is part of Tech for Change: an ongoing series in which we shine a spotlight on positive uses of technology, and showcase how they're helping to make the world a better place.

It’s safe to say that OLED displays are the gold standard on smartphones these days. What you might not know is that some OLED panels are better than others, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra features what may well be the best one to date.

Well, best may be subjective in some ways — but the device’s display is definitely the most power efficient. In fact, Samsung developed a new ultra-low-power OLED display for the new phone, and it reduces energy consumption by up to 16%.

The way Samsung did this is a little technical. OLED displays in general don’t require a backlight like LCD screens. Instead, each individual pixel is made from an organic carbon-based material that lights up when electricity is applied. OLED displays are made up of a range of layers, which serve different purposes. The gist of the new OLED display tech is that Samsung found a way for electrons to flow faster between these layers, while at the same time creating a brighter light.

The power-consumption savings will be put to good use, as 5G phones can take up a little more energy than non-5G phones, while other things, like more powerful chipsets, can also hoard power.

It’s important to note that the new display tech is only available on the Galaxy S21 Ultra — not the standard Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+. All three of the devices offer up to a 120Hz refresh rate, however, the Galaxy S21 Ultra has a 1,440p resolution. And while the standard Galaxy S21 and S21+ have refresh rates that vary between 48Hz and 120Hz, the Galaxy S21 Ultra can go as low as 10Hz, which also helps save on energy consumption.

Samsung has been a leader in display tech for a long time, and it looks like that will continue well into the future. The company says that it holds 5,000 patents that involve the use of organic materials for displays. Hopefully, this new tech will be brought to lower-end phones over the next few years, or at least to the entire Galaxy S22 series next year.

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