The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 range of phones is one of the most anticipated of the year, with the top-of-the-range Note 20 Ultra especially looking already like one of the very best phones of the year.
And now, thanks to a brand new leak, the Galaxy Note 20 looks like it could arrive even stronger than we all thought. That's because the phone might come installed with a new type of OLED screen that reduces battery consumption by 20 per cent.
This new display tech, which is reported on by The Elec, is called HOP, which is an abbreviation for Hybrid-oxide and Polycrystalline silicon. HOP is a combination of existing screen technologies Polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) and Polycrystalline silicon, which are blended together.
And as Tom's Guide, reporters of the leak, note:
"This latest report indicates that Samsung is building new screen tech using LTPO as a foundation, which could suggest that both Note 20 phones will get a next-generation OLED display as a means for Samsung to show off is screen prowess."
Now, to be clear, right now LTPO-based screens are already used in products such as the Apple Watch Series 5, as the screen real-estate is small and it helps deliver enhanced battery life. To date, though, no mainstream phone has used the technology.
As such, if Samsung does use HOP on its Note 20 series (most likely just on the Note 20 Ultra), then that would be a genuine boon for the South Korean maker and help it stand out against competitors like the Apple iPhone 12.
Energy saving screen tech like HOP would be especially welcome on the Note 20 Ultra, too, as it is slated to come with a 120Hz screen, which will consume more battery life than a 60Hz screen, as installed on last year's Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus. As such, a 20 per cent battery life saving from the screen certainly would be advantageous.
Here at T3 we're not confident we'll see HOP on the Note 20, and according to Samsung's own leakster-in-chief Ice universe, right now the ability for the Note 20 Ultra to deliver both a WQHD+ resolution and a 120Hz at the same time are in question.
What will the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra look like? This video gives us our best look yet:
