Samsung is currently considering a new technology capable of revolutionizing the application of a variable refresh rate. The principle is simple: apply a different refresh rate to each area of the screen to reduce energy consumption.
Like many manufacturers, Samsung regularly files patent applications to secure any technologies and devices that may emerge. We know, for example, that the South Korean firm has filed several patents relating to its first roll-up screen smartphone. The brand has also published a patent dedicated to a Galaxy smartphone equipped with a folding screen on the side.
However, we have just learned that Samsung has filed a patent application relating to the variable refresh rate. This new technology, rather revolutionary as it stands, would apply a different refresh rate to each area of the screen. This would in particular reduce energy consumption, since the maximum refresh rate will be applied partially and not to the entire slab.
Samsung imagines a revolutionary variable refresh rate
For example, if you are using your smartphone in split screen, playing a YouTube video on one part and reading a web article on another, the device can automatically apply a higher refresh rate on the part of the screen where the video is playing, while the part of the screen housing text will benefit from a lower frequency. This is obviously one example among many others of the field of exploitation of this technology.
Images that Samsung added as part of the patent documents show a screen displaying content with three different refresh rates, namely in 30 Hz, 60 Hz and 120 Hz. Of course, the company specifies that there will be technical limitations regarding the combination of screen windows and refresh rates. In other words, its application will follow specific patterns and will not be arbitrary.
The objective: to preserve the autonomy of the smartphone
However, the idea is clear: preserve the autonomy of the smartphone by intelligently applying different refresh rates on the screen. Note that Samsung filed the patent applications for “a method of driving the display with a multiplied refresh rate and an electronic device performing it” in January 2021. These requests were only published this week.
A question remains however: is there a chance to see this innovative technology on the Galaxy S23? Impossible to know for the moment, since it is not known whether or not Samsung has made significant progress in the development of this technology. For now, we can bet on a classic 1Hz-120Hz variable refresh rate on the Galaxy S23.
Credits: GalaxyClub