Samsung Display and Intel have co-developed a new technology called SmartPower HDR that is designed to cut the power demands of OLED laptop displays while maintaining a high quality high dynamic range viewing experience. The companies state that SmartPower HDR can reduce OLED’s emissive power consumption by up to 22% in HDR mode on laptops, a change that is positioned as especially relevant as Artificial Intelligence PCs become more widespread and mobile battery efficiency grows in importance.
The core of SmartPower HDR focuses on how OLED panels are driven at the electrical level. Display power consumption is largely affected by driving voltage, and conventional HDR modes typically apply a fixed high voltage regardless of what is actually being shown on screen. This fixed-voltage approach can lead to unnecessary power loss in scenes that do not require maximum brightness or contrast, which is a common scenario in mixed-content laptop use.
SmartPower HDR instead dynamically adjusts the driving voltage based on the characteristics of the currently displayed content. By tailoring voltage to each frame or scene rather than locking it at a constant high level, the technology aims to minimize emissive power usage without compromising the core benefits of HDR such as enhanced contrast and vivid colors. The companies position this approach as a way for users to enjoy HDR content on laptops with significantly better battery efficiency, aligning display behavior more closely with real-world viewing conditions and workload patterns.
