Samsung and Intel join hands to improve battery life on OLED laptops

Samsung Display and Intel have teamed up to enhance the battery life of laptops featuring OLED screens. Their collaboration has resulted in the development of SmartPower HDR technology, which minimizes the power consumption of OLED panels while simultaneously delivering HDR visuals.

The companies claim that SmartPower HDR reduces an OLED panel's power consumption by up to 17% while displaying HDR content and up to 22% in general usage (in the HDR mode) on laptops. It dynamically adjusts the voltage of the panel based on what is being displayed on the screen. Due to these power savings, laptops can always use the HDR mode without having to worry about increased battery consumption.

In comparison, conventional HDR uses a fixed voltage to drive the screen and remains fixed at the maximum brightness levels, consuming more power compared to SDR visuals. This is why OLED laptops still use the SDR model by default despite HDR offering better visuals.

In February 2025, Intel and Samsung Display signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for SmartHDR. The technology analyzes the peak brightness of each frame in real time using the laptop's processor. The data is then sent to the panel's Timing Controller (TCON), which calculates an optimal driving voltage. It takes into account frame data and the On Pixel Ratio (OPR) to calculate the optimal voltage.

Since a laptop's display typically consumes half the battery power, optimizing the panel's efficiency is a great way to lengthen the battery life. Intel and Samsung Display will continue to work together to further improve OLED efficiency. However, they haven't revealed if the Galaxy Book 6 series is using this technology.