I've been so long in Apple land that I listen to the MKBHD podcast and have no idea what the acronym "LTPO" actually stands for. I know it's screen tech because all of the headliner Android devices seems to use it, but that's all. I guess OLED met its match or something? 😅
@iamkale It's more confusing than that. The short version is it's still OLED, but with a variable refresh rate allowing for large power savings when the screen doesn't need to refresh fast.
Apple Watch uses them, and Apple apparently created (and holds patents on) LTPO, but it's Samsung that's already using it in phones & tablets, unlike Apple.
@nyquildotorg So the last time I had an Android phone with an "always on display" was I think one of the Moto X's, and it was OLED that enabled that because only the pixels that lit up consumed power. Does LTPO support that same mental model when I'm considering, for example, using Nightstand Mode with my iPhone?
For that matter when did Apple start using LTPO? I have a 12 Mini and honestly have no idea, all this time I assumed it was still LCD because "it wasn't a Pro."
@iamkale as far as I understand, LPTO is essentially just OLED with the addition of variable refresh rate, so it would exhibit all the normal OLED behaviors, but also dramatically reduces the power consumption in an Always On state like Night Stand.
Apple Watch started using LPTO at Apple Watch 4, but I don't believe they use it outside the Watch line yet.
@iamkale@nyquildotorg The iPhone 12 mini has an OLED screen, but no LTPO. You are correct, the OLED screen uses less power when displaying a darker image, since it only has to power the lit pixels. But there is still a constant overhead, even when just one pixel is on, for driving the display itself, this is only helped by the LTPO tech. There have been phones to claim “always-on” despite having no LTPO display, and just taking the hit in battery life, but Apple only enables the always-on functionality on LTPO iPhones, which is why your 12 mini doesn't have that functionality, despite having an OLED screen.
@iamkale Even apple uses LTPO displays. It's a display tech that allows for variable refresh rates that generally allow for improved power consumption.
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