Samsung Display revealed the first laptops to feature the world's first 90Hz OLED screens for laptops, as the company enters mass production of OLED panels for upcoming laptops from Asus, Lenovo, Dell, HP, and Samsung Electronics.
Starting with 14-inch laptops, the recently announced Asus Vivobook Pro 14X and an upcoming 14-inch Zenbook will be the first to feature the OLED panels that support up to a 90Hz refresh rate. However, we can also expect Samsung Display’s industry-first 4K OLEDs in larger 16-inch panels, too.
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Asus' Vivobook Pro 14x or 16x will sport an OLED panel at a 16:10 aspect ratio, and will be available in 2.8K or full 4K. Both laptops are Pantone-validated with 100% DCI-P3 coverage and boast extremely thin bezels.
As previously reported, Samsung Display has been testing the faster refresh rates, and apparently, it will be "on par" with 120Hz LCD screens. This isn't surprising seeing as OLED screens tend to have panels with better refresh rates than LCDs, although at the cost of needing more powerful specs.
Now, the company claims its 90Hz OLED panel offers a 10% improvement when compared to a 120Hz LCD panel’s blur length, with internal testing showing a blur length of 0.9mm.
“The 90Hz OLED panel offers more options for consumers who are looking to enjoy high-performance content on their laptops,” Samsung Display said.
With Samsung beginning to mass-produce 90Hz OLED panels, the company will supply these displays to well-known global laptop manufacturers. While Samsung doesn't mention Apple, there's reason to believe the Cupertino tech giant will use these displays, too.
2022 MacBook models with OLED displays
Rumors of Apple's 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models have been circulating for a while, with many believing both MacBook models will be released before the end of the year. In fact, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believes a MacBook Pro with M1X will arrive this November. Still, other rumors claim they will be released sometime in 2022.
With Samsung now mass-producing 90Hz OLED panels for 14-inch laptops, along with 4K OLEDs in larger 16-inch panels, Apple may use these in its redesigned MacBook Pro models. In March, we reported that the Cupertino-based tech giant was poised to equip MacBook Pro 2022 units (and an upcoming 10.9-inch iPad model) with OLED panels.
Recently, Korean news platform The Elec claimed Samsung is rounding up OLED displays for the 2022 MacBook Pro models. However, since Apple or Samsung have yet to officially announce this, it's best to take it all in with a pinch of salt.
Whatever the case, higher OLED screen refresh rates on laptops have definitely piqued our interest, but we'll have to see if it will outclass the already impressive list of best OLED laptops of 2021.
