What you need to know
- Samsung is in development of a fully phosphorescent display, which is on tap to now release in the second half of 2025 following a delay.
- This new PHOLED panel will see a blue phosphorescent material applied to it, in hopes of increasing its luminosity efficiency and reducing device power consumption.
- There is a chance this new panel could arrive on the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Fold 7 if all goes well.
A new report suggests Samsung is working to upgrade its mobile OLED panels, but there's a little hitch tinged with uncertainty.
The report stems from the South Korean publication The Elec, which states Samsung will produce full phosphorescent displays in 2025 (via SamMobile). Specifically, the Korean OEM is looking to apply a blue phosphorescent material to its OLED panels as the red and green variants already use such a solution.
Technically speaking, the change is being done with power efficiency in mind. The post states the red and green PHOLEDs using this new solution run at 100% efficiency while blue, currently using fluorescent materials, runs at 25%.
Furthermore, the swap to blue phosphorescent materials should increase those pixels' lifespan by 55% over the current material, with a 65% increase in luminosity efficiency and a reduction in power consumption across the board for its phones.
Daejong Yoon, deputy director of UBI Research spoke to these positive numbers but changed gears as it looks like Samsung's original plans are slowing down. According to Yoon, this new fully phosphorescent OLED panel was originally planned for a mid-2024 release, coinciding with Samsung's next wave of foldables.
Unfortunately, this has seemingly been pushed back to the second half of 2025. Consumers may see this new OLED display arrive with the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Fold 7, instead, if all goes well for Samsung. Despite a bit of concern as to whether PHOLED displays will become "mainstream," the company will press on.
We'll have to wait for more information (as we're pretty far out), but it'll be worth keeping an eye on whether this new panel does anything to reduce the sheer amount of display flickering its OLED panels produce to the dismay of those with PWM sensitivity or not.
Comparatively, Samsung is allegedly bringing display upgrades to the Galaxy S24 series. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is supposedly in line to receive a brighter 6.8-inch, 2,500nit display. Moreover, the base S24 and S24 Plus could receive an upgraded display that makes the phones visually appear similar to the Ultra.
Leaks back in August suggested both devices could receive an LTPO display with slimmer bezels to boot. This would be a stark difference as the Galaxy S23 Ultra was the only phone in that series to sport an LTPO display and a varying refresh rate that didn't rely on the GPU. The entire series may also benefit from an increase in screen refresh rate, moving from 120Hz to 144Hz.
Bigger really is better
Samsung has attached a 3.4-inch cover screen to the outside of the Galaxy Z Flip 5, opening a new world of usability for consumers. This display lets users surf through their emails, watch videos, and take photos comfortably without opening the device. Internally, the Flip 5 features a 6.7-inch display with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate.
