Samsung’s HD Displays to Deploy PenTile Matrix Technology
When Samsung introduced their Galaxy S II flagship, one of the biggest enhancement over its predecessor was the inclusion of a Super AMOLED Plus display. The differentiating factor between the two was the move from a PenTile matrix display to a screen that featured true RGB pixels, providing a much smoother representation of color and increased clarity. However, with the announcement of their behemoth Samsung Galaxy Note and its 5.3-inch HD display, the Korean manufacturer has arguably taken a step back in terms of screen technology. While screen resolution is improved in the Note and the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S II HD thanks to the new Super AMOLED HD display, the absence of the “Plus” modifier indicates a regression back to PenTile technology.
PenTile displays work by assigning only two colored subpixels to each pixel, rather than three RGB subpixels as found in the Galaxy S II and its Super AMOLED Plus screen. With a PenTile matrix screen, certain colors must be approximated by combining the subpixels of two adjacent pixels, creating colors that don’t read as true and images with sharply crosshatched edges under close examination. If that all seems confusing, the basic takeaway is that a PenTile screen effectively only displays images at half the advertised resolution.
PenTile displays recently deployed by Motorola have faced scrutiny for the above mentioned problems, but initial reviews of the Galaxy Note don’t seem to attribute the same issues to the oversized handset’s display. Perhaps this is due to the increased HD resolution masking some of the issues normally associated with screens deploying PenTile matrix technology. For better or worse, it would seem this same display will find its way to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Perhaps we will simply have to wait for the Samsung Galaxy S III for a proper Super AMOLED HD Plus display.
[via thegadgetlife | Thanks, Abir]