The real improvements are in power savings.
What you need to know
- Samsung this week announced new 5G optimized OLED displays.
- In reality, the improvements have to do with reduced power consumption and blue light emission of the new panels.
- Samsung says there’s a 15% power consumption decrease with these new panels compared to last year’s panels.
Samsung Display has unveiled a new type of display, one which the firm claims is optimized for 5G use.
Samsung’s press release proclaims:
Our 5G-optimized OLED display is taking the lead in the 5G era with its crystal clear imagery, distinguished designs, economical power consumption and increasingly eye-protective functionality.
It is incredibly unclear how 5G has anything to do with the display technology. The main technical achievement here in the display appears to be from a reduction in blue light emissions and power consumption. The SGS (Société Générale de Surveillance) reportedly found that this new display emits OLED display emits 6.5 % blue light, a bit less than the 7.5 % of last year’s panel. The power consumption was also reduced, dropping from 1.5W to 1.3W. Now, an argument could be made that it’s conserving power for the 5G radio, but then any battery-saving component could be arguably labeled as 5G optimized.
Jee-ho Baek, vice president of the mobile display strategic marketing team at Samsung Display said:
5G is expanding into a rapidly commercialized ecosystem where consumers can be connected to 8K as well as 4K streaming services, cloud-based gaming content and infotainment networks, increasing mobile device usage everywhere. Our 5G-optimized OLED display is taking the lead in the 5G era with its crystal clear imagery, distinguished designs, economical power consumption and increasingly eye-protective functionality.
Samsung recently launched the Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra, all equipped with 5G. The firm’s next flagship is expected to be the Samsung Galaxy Note 11(20?), coming this summer. It’ll be interesting to see how much they improve the battery life since the firm invited the needless comparison upon itself.
What is 5G? The next-gen wireless standard explained
