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Hardware

ASUS Bets on OLED for All of Its New Creator Laptops (engadget.com) 93

ASUS has just four letters to sell you on its latest creator-focused notebooks: OLED. From a report: The company is bringing OLED screens to all of its new models, a move meant to differentiate them in the increasingly crowded PC market. Compared to traditional LCD screens, OLED offers deeper blacks levels, vastly better contrast, and more responsiveness. Even today, as LCDs have evolved to be brighter and faster, OLED offers a more pronounced visual "pop." We've been seeing notebooks with OLED for years, like on the XPS 15 and ZenBook, but they've typically been positioned as a premium feature for select models. Now ASUS is trying to make its name synonymous with OLED, so much so that it's bringing it to new mid-range notebooks like the VivoBook Pro 14X and 16X. It's also touting the first 16-inch 4K OLED HDR screens on notebooks across several models: the ProArt Studiobook Pro, ProArt Studiobook and the Vivobook Pro.

Befitting its name, you can expect to see the fastest hardware on the market in the StudioBook Pro 16 OLED (starting at $2,500). It'll be powered by H-series Ryzen 5000 processors, 3rd-gen Intel Xeon chips and NVIDIA's professional-grade RTX A2000 and A5000 GPUs. And if you don't need all of that power, there's also the Studiobook 16 OLED ($2,000), which has the same Ryzen chips, Intel Core i7 CPUs and either RTX 3070 or 3060 graphics. Both notebooks will be equipped with 4K OLED HDR screens that reach up to 550 nits and cover 100 percent of DCI-P3 color gamut. They'll also sport ASUS Dial, a new rotary accessory located at the top of their trackpads, offering similar functionality to Microsoft's forgotten Surface Dial.

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ASUS Bets on OLED for All of Its New Creator Laptops

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  • But can it run crysis?
    • More importantly, can you get the screen with a matte anti-glare finish?

      I really miss those.

      • I have the Lenovo T15G with the 4K OLED screen and I simply put a screen protector on it. It is now a matte finish. Also love the screen.
    • 3rd gen Ryzens and RTX30's? Yeah. Might be hard to actually get one though. I'm pretty sure supplies are still tight on those.
  • I've read that blue OLED only lasts about 2 years where white, red, and green last about 5 years. How did the overcome these issues? OLED has been around for about 20 years now but supposedly because of the lifetime issue have yet (until now I guess) to become mainstream laptop and full screen monitors.
    • I bought a used Lenovo Yoga with an oled screen a few years ago and use it most days for an hour or two. If there are issues with display, I can't see them. Beyond Linux only having only the very worst brightness control hack for the panel.

      • Linux only having only the very worst brightness control hack for the panel.

        That might not be a "linux" problem, it might just be a "which distro you chose" problem combined with a "I dunno how to do it" problem.

        In Fedora you can right click the battery icon in the tray, and there is a brightness slider.

        My wife has the Thinkpad Yoga, it has hardware brightness control buttons on the keyboard. The Lenovo Yoga, which is the cheapo version, seems to also have that, according to the pictures of the keyboard on the internet.

        • I can't tell if you're trolling or not.

          • Then you're pretty stupid, because everything I said was true, and responsive.

            Maybe you were drunk and you don't even know what you said?

            Maybe you're so stupid you don't know what "trolling" is? It's probably this one.

            • Explaining how to find a brightness slider on a tech forum?
              Yes, you are trolling.

              • OK, now do, "Guy who posts on `tech forum' about being unable to find the brightness slider."

                Oh, that was you, crying that the "brightness slider" was "the worst." And even, a "hack." Like, dude. You were probably drunk and should review what you posted above.

    • I've read that blue OLED only lasts about 2 years where white, red, and green last about 5 years. How did the overcome these issues? OLED has been around for about 20 years now but supposedly because of the lifetime issue have yet (until now I guess) to become mainstream laptop and full screen monitors.

      I have an LG OLED TV from 2016 or 2017, and I can't see any degradation in the image. There's definitely no noticeable color shift, which I would expect if blue were "wearing out" faster than the other colors.

    • Things about technology that you read 10-15 years ago are unlikely to still be true. If you read it more recently, it was probably a blog or forum post where somebody was fretting over the reports from back then.

      • Yeah, you're probably right. I read it recently but don't know where or, as you pointed out, how old the article was. Judging by the feedback I've seen so far though there still may be issues with longevity, as some are pointing out their OLED devices not lasting very long.
        • It is supposedly better now but they typically compensate by putting more blue OLEDs on the screen. If some fail, they switch the backup ones on.

    • by Una ( 122314 ) <erh@@@10base2...net> on Thursday September 02, 2021 @07:36PM (#61758209)

      Those aging figures are at least 10 years out of date. With traditional RGB OLED there is still a mismatch between the aging rate between colors, but it's a known constant that can be adjusted for with per pixel counters to adjust brightness over time. The major downside is that now the panel's integrated processing now needs flash to store that data. Alternately, the way LG does it is to only use blue OLEDs with a phosphor to make all the subpixels white. With color filters for RGB, and an additional unfiltered white subpixel to increase brightness.

    • by kriston ( 7886 )

      My Samsung S9 phone has burn-in from the apps I use the most. I wonder if they ever solved that problem.

      Didn't stop me from getting an LG OLED television, whose manual warns about burn-in.

    • I've read that blue OLED only lasts about 2 years where white, red, and green last about 5 years.

      I recall that being a thing too. I can't remember how long ago. Decades?
      My first OLED laptop was purchased 5 years ago. No noticeable degradation. I suppose that hypothetically, there's reduced brightness, but I haven't noticed it.
      My current OLED (an ASUS) is about 2 years old. 4K. Still looks gorgeous. No noticeable degradation.
      And of course my 4 year old iPhone has an OLED display. No noticeable degradation.

      I know that OLEDs do have lifespan considerations, but it seems to me that the decades of rese

    • I've read that blue OLED only lasts about 2 years

      Yeah that's bullshit. Can confirm it's bullshit as I'm sat here watching my 2017 LG B7 OLED TV which sometimes is on as much as 16hrs a day.

  • I won't own a computer with an oled display. LCD screens look just fine. No interest in avoidable reliability and burn-in issues.

    • Having used a 46" OLED LG TV as my main driver 12-14 hours of daily desktop computer use for more than a year now I can tell you that burn-in is NOT a problem of any significance. No I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but it is not something that you will notice until you have EXTREMELY static content that you use daily. Even my non-autohiding task bar does not suffer from it significantly. And no I'm not exaggerating. There was one point where it looked like the burn in was going to be horrible at someth
      • Having used a 46" OLED LG TV as my main driver 12-14 hours of daily desktop computer use for more than a year now I can tell you that burn-in is NOT a problem of any significance. No I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but it is not something that you will notice until you have EXTREMELY static content that you use daily. Even my non-autohiding task bar does not suffer from it significantly. And no I'm not exaggerating. There was one point where it looked like the burn in was going to be horrible at something like 5-6 month mark. I ran the pixel refresh cycle manually in the support menu and I no longer could see ANY type of burning anymore.

        Most OLED discussions on this topic always devolve into some people saying they are perfect and others saying there is burnin.

        Some polling for what that's worth:

        https://www.avforums.com/threa... [avforums.com]

        One question I have on the refresh cycle. Does your display not run refresh automatically when not in use or was that disabled or something?

        • Oh I understand, and I'm not saying mine has absolutely nothing noticeable under all test conditions, but under normal usage conditions I cannot see anything at all under multiple types of content from PC desktop usage, console gaming, movie/TV watching. Under full screen color test gamut of different types when I look in places that I know where there is likely going to be some type of burn in I can find something, but given the number of hours of usage this seems minimal to the point that my non OLED p
    • Yah, no. The OLED is head and shoulders above the LCD in image quality. PERIOD. I have a Lenovo T15G with the 4K OLED and it is simply stunning. Never going back to LCD.
    • by Dadoo ( 899435 )

      Add to that the fact that, in my experience, ASUS isn't as concerned about quality as they used to be. Five or six years ago, my company bought a whole pile of ASUS monitors, and now every single one is malfunctioning. Most of them are completely dead. Now ASUS wants to add all the OLED issues on top of that? No thanks.

      • ASUS has been offering OLED laptops for years. Samsung panels (like every other OLED laptop)
        I have one that is 2 years old. Still in love with it.
    • I've had OLED TVs for 7 years, my current main one I've had 4 years. Never had any reliability or burn in issues despite COD and Fortnite gaming sessions sometimes lasting 8hrs.
  • by spun ( 1352 ) <loverevolutionary@@@yahoo...com> on Thursday September 02, 2021 @03:10PM (#61757557) Journal

    I have an OLED phone and the screen is pretty much shot after two years. Horrible burn in.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      What make? I've got one (Pixel XL) that is five years old and the screen is still perfect.

      Burn in is basically a solved problem on OLED, and half decent one will likely out last the rest of the device.

      • Yes and no.

        My mother and I have the exact same smartphone model with OLED screen (I bought as a gift to her the same model that I use).

        My unit has no burn-in problems as far as I can tell, but her unit has a really obvious burn-in problem caused by a game she likes to play, where that game has a background screen that is static most of the time. So you can avoid the problem if you are careful, but it is perfectly possible to happen even nowadays.
        • Fascinating. My iPhone X is an OLED. Bought it release day.
          Thing has a zillion screen-on hours on it. Lots of static content. No burn-in.

          I suspect brightness has a lot to do with that, though.
          I've got all the "ambient light consideration" crap turned on, and naturally keep the brightness fairly low (I'm a night owl)
      • by spun ( 1352 )

        It's an ASUS cheapie locked to Verizon, not any kind of flagship phone.

    • Did you keep it turned on in the store demo mode or something? My Note9 is as good as new and even the ancient HTC Desire never showed any visible signs of burn in.

      • by spun ( 1352 )

        Well my phone is also cheap as shit ASUS so that may be the problem.

        • by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

          ASUS doesn't make phone screens. Their panels are pretty much the same panels that everyone else uses, because very few companies have ability to manufacture those panels.

          Most consumer phone OLED panels nowadays are made by LG, Samsung and BOE.

          • by spun ( 1352 )

            Okay? Not sure why you are posting this, the phone is still ASUS, just like I said. I never even tried to guess who made the panels. But ASUS sure made the shitty phone.

            • by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

              Burn in is a function of the OLED panel, not the phone driving it. Therefore, it doesn't matter what your phone brand is. It matters what the panel brand and type is.

    • by MobyDisk ( 75490 )

      What was burnt-in to the screen? My wife and I both had Samsung Galaxy S5s and we kept them for 5 years. They each went through 2 battery replacement cycles. Hers had the on-screen keyboard burnt-in to it, whereas mine had no burn-in at all.

      • by spun ( 1352 )

        Embarrassingly enough, the Reddit search bar is what's burned into mine. But mine is a cheapie Verizon branded ASUS ZenFone V.

        • That's not embarrassing like a fart, that's embarrassing like... maybe you should just not mention even knowing what burn-in is?

    • And yet my 4 year old OLED TV has none and neither has my Galaxy S7.
      • by spun ( 1352 )

        Yeah I guess better and or newer OLED screens don't have the problem.

    • I have an OLED phone and the screen is pretty much shot after two years. Horrible burn in.

      I have an OLED phone and it's just fine. It's well over 4 years old now with zero sign of burn-in. Don't let your cheap nasty outdated display guide you on the state of a technology in 2021.

      • by spun ( 1352 )

        I won't. I fully admit that this is about the cheapest phone you could buy when I got it. It's a Verizon branded ZenFone V, ASUS only made them for Verizon and would probably be embarrassed to sell them on their own. But since it's literally the only experience I have had with OLED screens I thought I'd ask if they had gotten better since then. Glad to hear they have.

  • There's a lot of questioning about the life of the OLED displays on this thread and I would want to understand how much of an issue it is before I drop down a chunk of cash on one. From what I've heard, burn in isn't that much of an issue with TVs, especially if timeouts (like were used with CRT based TVs) are used with them because the image should be constantly changing.

    PCs are a different matter - people tend to use the same applications and I would wonder about the life of the OLEDs and if I would ge

    • I've had an OLED laptop for the last 5 years.
      I'll never go back. LEDs look like poop in comparison. Once you've tasted the HDR nectar, and seen what LCDs do to it, you'll feel the same way, I promise.
  • by williamyf ( 227051 ) on Thursday September 02, 2021 @03:28PM (#61757619)

    The solution to burn-in in OLEDs is called a "SrceenSaver". Is a technology available in all supported versions of Windows, MacOS, CromeOS and Linux. It displays a randomly variable image on the screen after a predermined amount of time. Also, since these machines are LAPTOPS, one can count that the monitor will be turned off relatively quickly to save battery.

    So, something along the lines of the screensaver kicking in after 2 minutes of inactivity, and the screen turning off after 5 minutes of inactivity. I foresee very little problems with burn-in.

    As for the color drift due to the degradation of the organic material in the O-LEDs, the solution is periodic color re-calibrations. You can buy a decent calibration tool for about U$D 300,oo or take the machine every 3~4 years to a shop that has one...

    • You don't need a special tool unless you're doing professional art on it, you can just use a printed color chart. And you don't really even need that, they way the modern calibration tools work you turn up each color until some gray bars become colored.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Any decent OLED will compensate for burn in. With TVs they wait until they are in standby mode and then measure the wear on each pixel. They can then compensate for that on a per pixel basis.

      There are tests on YouTube that show that even under extreme conditions there won't be any noticeable burn in after years of use.

      • There are tests on YouTube that show that even under extreme conditions there won't be any noticeable burn in after years of use.

        That certainly fits my own experience. 5 years of laptop OLED use, 4 years of OLED phone use, 2 years of OLED TV use.

    • The solution to burn-in in OLEDs is called a "SrceenSaver". Is a technology available in all supported versions of Windows, MacOS, CromeOS and Linux. It displays a randomly variable image on the screen after a predermined amount of time. Also, since these machines are LAPTOPS, one can count that the monitor will be turned off relatively quickly to save battery.

      So, something along the lines of the screensaver kicking in after 2 minutes of inactivity, and the screen turning off after 5 minutes of inactivity. I foresee very little problems with burn-in.

      As for the color drift due to the degradation of the organic material in the O-LEDs, the solution is periodic color re-calibrations. You can buy a decent calibration tool for about U$D 300,oo or take the machine every 3~4 years to a shop that has one...

      Why would minutes matter when the screen is on for a third of the day for work?
      Sure go for two minutes, if the screen suffers from rapid burn-in, you'll still have a bash prompt or start menu burned in at the end of the day.

      Screen savers worked when burn-in occurred over a very long period. They could have been set to an hour and had the same protection. People used to have the same spreadsheet or app open a whole work day remember. Then there's all the static UI stuff like menu/task bars. If you need t

    • Screensavers help to some degree, but many people do not even run into the state that the screen saver can kick in for hours...
      They always have been some duct tape fix to a deeper problem. But yes crts often had burn in problems as well, and screen savers were a must have back then!

    • Problem is if you are using an application (in full screen) multiple hours a day, the icons, buttons, and other UI bits will always be displayed at the same location for X number of hours per day.

      Screensaver does not help in such a situation, unless you leave it running for a few minutes while on break, etc.

      I have been thinking of OLED screens for a while now, but am unsure when I will actually decide to get one. Maybe if I am very sure that there will not be any burn in issues after a year or two of using

  • by Kokuyo ( 549451 )

    4k screens on a 16 inch laptop? What the hell for?

    They can keep that discreet GPU for all I care. 1440p or 1600p seems enough by a long shot on a laptop...

    • Trick question? Still way lower pixel density than your phone.

      • by Cederic ( 9623 )

        Also rather further from my eyes in normal usage.

        4k needs to be less than 12 inches from the eyes.
        1440p needs to be less than 19 inches.

        I guess if you're sitting with your laptop screen two feet from your face then you're probably ok.

    • 4k screens on a 16 inch laptop? What the hell for?

      Because it looks fucking fantastic. Next dumb question.

      They can keep that discreet GPU for all I care. 1440p or 1600p seems enough by a long shot on a laptop...

      Maybe your eyes suck, I don't know.
      4K on my laptop, like OLED, is another upgrade I took on a whim that I will never go back from.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      4k on a 16" screen is only 275 pixels-per-inch (PPI). For comparison many phones are close to double that, the 450-550 PPI range.

      The pixels on my phone screen (around 500 PPI) are invisible and text/lines look flawless. On a 28" 4k monitor (157 PPI) I can see pixels from about 1m away, normal viewing distance.

      1600p on a 16" display is round 190 PPI so I'm not convinced that it would be visually perfect. Also if your laptop screen is 4k it makes mirroring it to a 4k monitor/projector easy as no resolution ch

  • Two things long overdue: 4k resolution and Ryzen inside.

  • Yes and...

    Can I have one without glass in front of the display, *grumble* *grumble*

  • They'll also sport ASUS Dial, a new rotary accessory

    Ah, like the MacBook Wheel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

  • It's not just 4k. The screen is a lovely 3840x2400. That 16:10 aspect ratio is what we used to have earlier this century before laptop makers decided that we all really wanted the same letterbox aspect ratio as in televisions. (If you want to give it a stupid name, the resolution is called WQUXGA, but I think it's long past time we ditched these acronyms.)

    It matches the IBM T221 displays I used to use (though it's much smaller, they were about 22 inches) and at last allows you to run DOS games like Civil

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