Mobile
PenTile AMOLED Display Used on Galaxy S III to Increase Lifespan
Many were wondering why Samsung had opted to use its HD Super AMOLED display, rather than an HD variant of the Super AMOLED Plus technology, on the company’s flagship Galaxy S III flagship smartphone, and Samsung answered that question by saying that the lifespan of the device will be increased as the screen won’t deteriorate as quickly. With smartphones, there will always be compromises to be made, and Samsung opted to compromise a little to make your investment last a little longer.
Given that the 4.8-inch display packs in a resolution of 1280 X 720 (720p) HD screen, many who were lucky enough to lay eyes on the Galaxy S III said that they didn’t feel that the display was lacking given that there was already so many pixels. However, as Super AMOLED uses a PenTile sub pixel arrangement whereas the Super AMOLED Plus variety uses a more traditional sub pixel layout, the HD Super AMOLED Plus would be crisper than the AMOLED without the ‘Plus’ moniker.
The difference with PenTile and non-PenTile displays is such, as reported by Mobileburn:
Samsung’s Philip Berne explained to me that the blue subpixels on AMOLED displays actually degrade the fastest – quicker than the red or green subpixels. With a PenTile layout, the subpixels are arranged RGBG (red, green, blue, green), so they feature more green subpixels and fewer red or blue subpixels than an RGB stripe layout with the same resolution. Because of this, AMOLED displays that have the PenTile layout tend to have a longer lifespan than those with RGB layouts. Since Samsung is selling its phones to users that usually keep them for 18 months or longer, it has to be sure that the display will still offer peak performance at that time. According to the company, PenTile AMOLED displays have proven to be more reliable than those with RGB layouts.
Lisa
05/14/2012 at 6:05 am
So the Galaxy S III will NOT have the stylus pen capabilities, correct? I got the Galaxy Note on Friday and am struggling with the size. I do like the stylus though. But I’m wondering if I should wait and get the Galaxy S III. Thoughts? And what about the Galaxy S III vs the HTC One X. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks for your time. L.
John Doe
08/03/2012 at 11:44 pm
In terms of screen clarity and device size. The HTC One X beats the Galaxy Note and S3 hands down. It has pure white whites more natural colors and a more manageable 4.7″ display.
Astarbucks
07/24/2012 at 7:45 pm
Is this article correct?
Elsewhere it’s been reported that its the green subpixels that degrade faster, not the blue. That makes more sense because the Pentile has more green subpixels to which would compensate for faster degradation of the green ones.
This is potentially important for users in deciding whether to use blue or green themes on their screens.