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Understanding LTPO OLED Displays
Before exploring LTPO, let's get acquainted with the working mechanism and structure of OLED displays.Every OLED display, including Samsung's Super AMOLED, consists of three fundamental layers: the organic emission layer - where content is displayed, the protective glass surface above it, and the control board beneath it.
In simple terms, the organic emission layer of an OLED display comprises millions of organic pixels that emit light on their own. However, a control board is needed to orchestrate the individual pixels' operations, and this is where LTPO technology comes into play.The OLED control board is composed of thin-film transistors (TFTs), essentially similar to transistors in a CPU or GPU. These TFTs have two primary tasks: turning on or off each individual pixel and regulating the brightness levels.The display industry has seen various technologies for TFTs, such as amorphous silicon (a-Si), low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS), and indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO). Each of these technologies has its own strengths and weaknesses.
IGZO TFTs offer high energy efficiency but come with a slightly higher cost compared to LTPS TFTs, which manufacturers have been using for many years. However, the energy-saving advantage of IGZO TFTs is noteworthy, especially considering their ability to control OLED panels at extremely low refresh rates.While IGZO TFTs are impressive, Apple has delved into research to discover low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) technology. Essentially, LTPO combines the merits of LTPS and IGZO—reasonable cost and the ability to control OLED panels at extremely low refresh rates.
The result is a display that can refresh at various rates—from 1Hz to 120Hz, and potentially even higher in the future. Currently, LTPO technology has advanced enough to create high pixel density displays like those using LTPS.Due to Apple holding numerous patents in LTPO technology, other manufacturers, such as Samsung, have developed similar technologies with comparable effectiveness. Specifically, Samsung employs HOP (hybrid-oxide and polysilicon) technology for its displays.How LTPO Displays Conserve Energy
By now, you might have a glimpse of the reason behind LTPO displays being more energy-efficient than previous screen technologies. With the ability to reduce refresh rates to as low as 1Hz, the processor has less workload, leading to energy savings.
However, the savings aren't exponential—for instance, reducing from 120Hz to 1Hz only saves about 10-20%. The main power-consuming component in a screen is still the illumination element, whether it's the backlight in LCD screens or the organic pixels in OLED screens. LTPO primarily saves energy for the underlying control system.Nonetheless, saving 10-20% battery for the display is commendable. This becomes particularly valuable as 5G becomes more widespread, where the energy saved by the display can compensate for the increased energy consumption of 5G.Some devices using LTPO displays include iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro/13 Pro, Oppo Find X5 Pro, OnePlus 10 Pro, and more.
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