Laptops are changing, but not in the areas you might typically expect them to. Tradition has taught us that the processor and RAM are what make a good laptop, but that notion can go right out the window. The big recent game-changers have been the transition of laptops from traditional hard drives to solid-state drives. It’s made users realize that hard drives were the bottleneck and software feel much snappier when installed on a solid-state drive. The next major focus area for laptop manufacturers has been the display. While there have been enhancements, the big change to future laptops is going to be OLED panels. They have made their appearance on new laptops and we can’t wait for more to show up on the scene.
Laptop manufacturers have used TFT panels on laptops for the longest, that slowly evolved into LED panels. LED displays are nothing more than LCD panels that use LED backlighting technology. LED panels were preferred because they were slimmer and more elegant, a must for most laptops. OLEDs may share a part of the name, but they are leaps and bounds ahead.
Laptops screens have never been too great. They were ignored and till lately, most laptops shipped with 1366 x 768 resolution displays. The average PC monitor and TV had better resolution panels. Of late, screen resolutions of laptops have increased. You can now find laptops running full HD (1920 x 1080) displays. The colour rendition and viewing angles have not been that great though. On the other hand, smartphones have been built with OLED panels for ages now. OLED TVs are now a thing, and there is a clear momentum towards the new technologies. Laptops have started joining that trend.
The new HP Envy x360 (E13-bd0521TU) and ASUS’ recent Zenbook models use OLED panels instead of traditional LED panels, and while each of those products are great in many other aspects, it’s the OLED technology that makes them very impressive.
OLED panels are self-illuminating panels that don’t need a separate layer to render backlight, like LED-backlit ones. Since they are self-illuminating, they can also turn off areas of the screen entirely or control the brightness accurately. LED-backlit displays aren’t very evenly mapped, so portions of the screen still appear brighter and darker than the rest, and the blacks appear grey at best. The unevenness is noticeable. While the fun of using OLED panels will be great while gaming or while watching movies and TV shows, the benefits will also be seen in text and in colour saturation. Reviews for many of the laptops running OLED panels have started flowing, and the verdict is clear – OLED is radically different and better. This should be obvious as most of us use laptops at close proximity.
OLED panels also better at adjusting levels of the brightness, thereby rendering more gradients for every colour. They can be more accurate, on the higher and lower spectrum, than traditional LED-backlit panels. Most good laptops use displays that are sRGB complaint and there are better standards with a wider gamut, such as DCI-P3. OLED panels can display the colour gamut of DCI-P3, offering a much richer, more accurate colour rendition that we have seen with LED panels.
There are other improvements on the way. Currently, most laptops shipping with OLED panels run the standard 60Hz. Gamers who are used to 120Hz and refresh rate laptops may have to wait a bit longer for OLED panel models to show up. However, there are LED-backlit laptops that do offer those kinds of refresh rates, and you can choose those. The higher refresh rates are best for games with high frame rates.
Most older laptops shipped with large bezels. This meant, additional space wasted around the display covering. LED-backlit panels usually took up some space along the sides. This shouldn’t be the case with OLED. Modern laptops with OLED panels can be extremely thin with nearly no bezels. This means, larger displays can fit into a compact chassis. OLED panels also can be lighter, less complex to repair, and they may even consume less battery on account of how they operate. This should mean extended battery life on the laptop.
Some of the other improvements are to the resolution of the displays. We mentioned a while back, how older laptops were limited to 1366 x 768 resolutions. Most everyday laptops run a resolution of 1920 x 1080, but there are also displays that run at a few notches higher. 2560 x 1440 (QHD) is another resolution standard used in more premium laptops. They are not often seen but these resolutions can be very useful on 15-inch laptops and higher. The higher resolutions allow users to run more applications the screen at once. More details can be seen, since the screens are denser than most. More text and images fit into the screen without any kind of resizing.
Aspect ratio is another area of interest. Most laptop displays so far have used 16:9 displays, which may be good for watching movies, but displays with 16:10 and 3:2 aspect ratios are taller and possible now that OLED panels can use the space that would normally be used by the bezels of the display. The taller aspect ratio gives users more space to line up for four windows and avoid scrolling as much as 16:9 aspect ratio panels.
Reliance Digital is a fun place for choosing your next laptop, no matter what your requirement. You can find laptops with high-resolution displays, high refresh rates, or ones with touchscreens, or OLED panels. If you are wondering which one you should buy, head over to your nearest Reliance Digital store and ask one of our friendly technology experts. They will help you out. You can also opt for a quick delivery, if you choose to order the laptop you want, online at reliancedigital.in.
