Samsung Display supplies world's first 2K+165Hz OLED to China's Vivo

Samsung Display will supply Chinese smartphone maker Vivo with a 6.9-inch smartphone OLED panel that simultaneously achieves 2K resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate — a world first.

While recently released high-end gaming smartphone OLEDs have reached 1.5K resolution at 165Hz, Samsung Display has pushed resolution to the top-tier 2K level while maintaining the 165Hz refresh rate and cutting power consumption by about 30% to reach the industry's lowest level.

Samsung Display said Monday the newly developed gaming smartphone OLED achieves a peak brightness of 2,800 nits in high-brightness mode, even at the high refresh rate.

As resolution and refresh rates rise, the number of pixels and driving circuits that must be processed increases sharply, making it difficult to secure both high brightness and power efficiency at the same time. Achieving 165Hz at 2K resolution requires highly advanced technology capable of rapidly and precisely charging and driving vast numbers of pixels to render a new frame roughly every six milliseconds.

Samsung Display applied precision design at the 0.1-nanometer level to increase the thickness of pixel signal wiring by 10% compared with previous panels. This widens the cross-sectional area through which current flows, lowering electrical resistance and boosting pixel charging speed.

The display driver IC controlling each pixel uses a 22-nanometer process — finer than the conventional 28-nanometer process — and reduces the driver chip's computational power consumption by 30% compared with previous designs, delivering fast and stable driving performance.

To improve luminescence and image quality, Samsung Display applied its polarizer-free OLED technology, LEAD™, optimized for the latest organic materials and driving conditions, achieving outstanding brightness while keeping power consumption low.

In addition, three years of accumulated AI-based image-quality optimization technology secured top-tier picture quality along with luminance and color uniformity, raising the overall quality of the product.

Samsung Display will supply the panel this month for the iQOO 16, a high-performance gaming smartphone from Vivo's premium brand iQOO.

The company expects strong consumer interest from users seeking to enjoy high-end mobile games and high-definition content with sharp visuals and smooth motion.

"We have concentrated the world's best OLED technology to simultaneously achieve high resolution, a high refresh rate, high brightness and power efficiency," said Lee Ho-joong, senior vice president and head of Samsung Display's product planning team. "We will continue to strengthen our technology leadership in the premium smartphone market, backed by the differentiated competitiveness of Samsung OLED optimized for high-end games that demand fast screen transitions and extended play sessions."