Samsung Patents Display Technology With Simultaneous Different Refresh Rates Across Multiple Areas

Samsung filed a patent with KIPRIS in 2021 that got published earlier this week.

By Sourabh Kulesh | Updated: 29 July 2022 18:24 IST

Samsung Patents Display Technology With Simultaneous Different Refresh Rates Across Multiple Areas

Photo Credit: Samsung

Samsung's display technology may or may not make it to devices

Highlights

The display could debut in Galaxy S23 smartphones
Samsung has not said anything in this regard
Higher refresh rate displays draw more power

Samsung has patented a new display technology that will simultaneously offer multiple refresh rates in different areas of the screen essentially making it an energy-efficient offering. The details of how the South Korean company wants to do it are not known, but this surely seems to be the next-generation of display technology. Smartphones used with high refresh rate, for example at 120Hz, tend to draw more energy as compared to the ones used with lower refresh rate, say 60Hz or 90Hz.

The patent filed with Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service (KIPRIS) by Samsung, first spotted by Galaxy Club, describes a “method of driving display with multiple refresh rates” and an “electronic device that drives a plurality of display areas of a display with different driving frequencies.” In layman's words, this technology will enable different refresh rates in different areas of the screen at the same time.

A display running with 120Hz refresh rate draws more energy as compared to a display running with 90Hz or 60Hz (with 60Hz being the most energy efficient). With energy efficiency comes low smoothness levels that might be a problem for people who prefer a smoother-looking screen.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

Samsung wants to offer an energy-efficient solution without having to lower the refresh rate. As per the company, this could be possible by applying different refresh rates on different parts of the screen at the same time. For example, areas near the notification bar could have a lower refresh rate.

Samsung’s Repair Mode Claims to Keep Your Data Safe During Repairs

It could be possible that we could see the technology mentioned in the patent, filed in 2021 but published earlier this week, in the upcoming Galaxy S23 series of smartphones. Having said that, it is to be noted that patent applications don't always make their way into products. So, it could be possible that we may never see this technology in our devices. Moreover, Samsung hasn't revealed anything in this regard as of now.

Why is Oppo making strange choices with its flagship Reno series? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.