Samsung and Intel have unveiled SmartPower HDR, a new display technology designed to make OLED laptops noticeably more power-efficient without giving up the standout picture quality people expect from HDR. Shown at CES 2026, the co-developed feature targets one of the biggest pain points for OLED laptops: battery drain that spikes when you use HDR settings.
The core idea behind SmartPower HDR is simple but impactful. Instead of relying on a conventional HDR approach that pushes a fixed, high driving voltage for the display regardless of what’s on screen, SmartPower HDR adjusts the panel’s voltage dynamically based on the content being displayed in real time. Because OLED power use is heavily linked to how pixels are driven, smarter voltage control can translate directly into longer battery life.
In everyday scenarios like web browsing, reading, and document editing, the content typically doesn’t require maximum brightness. SmartPower HDR can run these workloads at lower voltage levels, reducing wasted power while keeping the system ready to deliver HDR benefits when needed. When you switch to more demanding visuals such as gaming or high-quality video playback, the technology can raise voltage to maintain the brightness and punchy colors that make HDR look impressive.
Samsung and Intel say this approach can cut OLED pixel emission power consumption by up to 22% in typical “general use” situations and by up to 17% while watching HDR content. Importantly, they’re positioning it as a way to keep HDR performance similar to standard OLED HDR setups, meaning users shouldn’t have to sacrifice the vivid HDR experience just to get better battery endurance.
This also addresses a common reason many laptops default to SDR mode: traditional HDR modes often stay locked at high brightness behavior, which can consume excessive power even when you’re only doing basic tasks. With SmartPower HDR aiming to keep general-use power closer to SDR-like levels while still enabling HDR, it could make leaving HDR enabled a more practical everyday option on OLED laptops.
Intel has also demonstrated how its upcoming Panther Lake-based Core Ultra Series 3 laptops can reduce power draw significantly with SmartPower HDR enabled. In testing scenarios where SDR content is viewed while HDR mode is active, the approach can deliver around 20% panel luminance power savings, which can translate to roughly 30 to 40 minutes of additional battery life, depending on the system and usage. The concept relies on an algorithm running on the SoC that communicates with the display so the panel can adjust voltage on the fly based on content.
The first wave of laptops featuring SmartPower HDR is expected to arrive in Core Ultra Series 3 systems shipping this quarter. For anyone shopping for a thin-and-light OLED laptop, especially those who watch video or play games on the go, SmartPower HDR could be one of the most meaningful upgrades in balancing HDR visuals with all-day battery life.
