Super AMOLED: introduction and market status - Page 7

Last week Samsung launched their new AMOLED tablets (the Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and Galaxy Tab S 10.5) - and today it turns out that you can already pre-order the tablets on Amazon.com. Both tablets will ship on June 26, sooner than expected. The Galaxy Tab S 8.4 costs $399.99 while the larger Tab S 10.5 costs $499.99.

Those two tablets have pretty much the same technical specifications: a WQXGA (2560x1600) Super AMOLED display (359 PPI on the 8.4", 287 PPI on the 10.5"), Android 4.4, a 1.9 Ghz Octa-Core CPU (2.3Ghz quad-core in some markets), 8MP camera, 3GB of RAM and 16/32 GB storage and a micro SD slot. Both tablets are only 6.6 mm thick, and the 8.4 has a 4,900 mAh battery while the 10.5 one has a larger 7,900 mAh battery.

So there we have it - Samsung is finally putting AMOLEDs back in tablets. The Korean giant unveiled their two new tablets yesterday, both called Samsung Galaxy Tab S - one with a 8.4" display and the second with a larger 10.5" display. Both Super AMOLED displays offer the same resolution - WQXGA (2560x1600), which means 359 PPI for the 8.4" tablet and 287 for the 10.5" one.

Both the Tab S 8.4 and the Tab S 10.5 have the same hardware and software specification: Android 4.4, a 1.9 Ghz Octa-Core CPU (2.3Ghz quad-core in some markets), 8MP camera, 3GB of RAM and 16/32 GB storage and a micro SD slot. Both tablets are only 6.6 mm thick, and the 8.4 has a 4,900 mAh battery while the 10.5 one has a larger 7,900 mAh battery.

SamMobile says they got some exclusive info on the upcoming Galaxy Note 4. The display will be an AMOLED panel - with a QHD (2560x1440) resolution. They do not know the display size. The rest of the spec, according to SamMobile, is a Sony 16MP camera module, and the same 2 mp front camera like in the GS5.

Galaxy Note 3

The Note 3, released in September 2013, has a 5.7" Full-HD Super AMOLED display (386 PPI, PenTile), a 2.3 Quad-Core CPU (or a 1.9Ghz octa-core in some markets), 3 GB of RAM, 32/64GB of storage and a a 13 MP camera. It's likely that Note 4 will have a similarly sized (or a bit larger) display.

Last week Engadget reported that samsung is developing a new virtual reality headset, which will be similar to Oculus VR's headset - and will also sport an AMOLED display. Today Engadget reports that Samsung's headset is actually developed in collaboration with Oculus VR.

In this collaboration Oculus provides the software while Samsung provides the hardware. As part of the collaboration, Samsung gives Oculus early-access to its next-gen high-resolution (larger than Full-HD) OLED displays.

When Samsung first released the GS5, we thought the 5.1" FHD Super AMOLED display is pretty similar to the 4.99" FHD one used in the GS4. But DisplayMate found out that this is a much superior display in many aspects, one of them being that it is 27% more efficient.

GS5 subpixels

GS4 subpixels

Samsung told DisplayMate that the improvement mostly came from more efficient OLED materials. They also incorporated new display electronics and optics and that helped as well. But now Chipworks posted a teardown of the GS5, and they published a macro image of the display's sub pixels. It turns out that it's a different architecture than the GS4, and this may explains some of the performance boost, too.

According to IHS, Samsung's Galaxy S5 costs about $256 to make, and the most expensive component is the 5.1" FHD Super AMOLED display which costs $63. That's actually cheaper than the 4.99" display on the GS4 which was estimated at $75 back in 2013 by IHS. In 2013, DisplaySearch estimated the GS4 display at just over $60.

According to reports from Korea towards the end of 2013, Samsung Electronics indeed asked Samsung Display to reduce its AMOLED prices in an effort to reduce smartphone costs (even though IHS esimates that the GS5 costs about $20 more than the GS4, even with the cheaper display). Then again it may simply be that DisplaySearch were correct and the $60 price remained the same even though the new display is a bit larger and performs a lot better.

Engadget posted a review of samsung's Gear Fit smartwatch, with its flexible (curved) 1.84" (432x128) Super AMOLED display. And they really love that display - it's beautiful, the curve feels natural and it's aesthetically pleasing. The colors are vibrant - and the only problem is that it's barely readable in sunlight unless you set it to "outdoor brightness mode".

But eventually the reviewer is not happy with this hybrid smartwatch and fitness band, due to the weak software and awkward UI. And they say that the $199 price is too much for this device.

Today Samsung is launching the Galaxy S5 worldwide. In the US, both AT&T and Sprint offer it for $189 (with a plan) or $699 unlocked. The GS5 features a 5.1" FHD (432 PPI, Diamond Pixel ) Super AMOLED display, a 2.5 Ghz quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 16MP camera (4K video support). The GS5 is dust and water resistant, and it packs a finger scanner and a heart rate sensor.

The 5.1" Super AMOLED display was tested by DisplayMate, who found it to be the best mobile display on the market - outperforming all other OLED and LCD displays as it features the highest brightness, the lowest reflectance, the highest color accuracy, the highest contrast rating in ambient light and the smallest brightness variation with viewing angle.

Samsung's Gear Fit is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com for $199. The smart wearable fitness band will ship on April 11th. The Gear Fit uses a flexible (curved) 1.84" (432x128) Super AMOLED display.

The Gear Fit is currently #7 in Amazon's Cell Phone Accessory Kits best selling list. Most of the items in this list cost 2 or 3 dollars, so it may mean that the Galaxy Fit has already been ordered by many people (I'm not sure how popular are those items really int hat list).

It's highly likely that Samsung will soon release a Galaxy S5 mini device (after all, there was a GS4 mini and GS3 mini). According to SamMobile, the GS5 mini will sport a 4.5" 720p Super AMOLED display. Other features include a 8mp camera, 1.5Gb of RAM, 16GB storage and Android 4.4 Kitkat.

SamMobile says that their insider did not reveal the launch date, but previous leaks say Samsung will release the GS5 mini (with a model number SM-G800) in June.