TCL’s 0.01Hz Screen Aims to Squeeze More Battery Life Out of Your Laptop

LOS ANGELES—We’ve heard of 1Hz laptop screens to save on battery life. But Chinese display manufacturer TCL is going 100x further with a 0.01Hz laptop panel. 

At SID Display Week here, the company showed off the technology in a 14-inch laptop with a 1,920-by-1,200-resolution screen. The display stands out by featuring a refresh rate that can hit one frame per 100 seconds, rather than the usual one frame per second of an 1HZ panel.

(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)

Since PCs often display static browser windows and programs, reducing the refresh rate has been seen as a way to cut down on energy consumption. TCL’s technology goes even further by using 12 zones across the screen that can jump from 0.01Hz to a regular 120Hz. This means a user could view a video in one part of the screen at normal refresh rates, but the rest of the display would remain at 0.01Hz, thus saving energy.

TCL estimates that the lower refresh rate can extend video playback time on a laptop by over an hour. The screen is an LCD that uses the company’s own backplane technology, known as “Oxide TFT.” LG has been developing a similar concept, but it doesn’t appear to feature the region-level variable refresh rate across parts of the screen.

(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)

When we tried TCL’s laptop, we noticed the screen immediately jumped to 120Hz across the entire display. But then, as our mouse cursor slowed down and homed in on the select program or window, much of the rest of the screen dropped to 0.01Hz. 

TCL told us the technology is production-ready. But the company needs to work with software and chip vendors, including Microsoft, Intel, and AMD, to fully enable the refresh rate switching. So it’s not clear if we’ll see the technology in a laptop anytime soon.

(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)

At Display Week, TCL also showed off a portable monitor that unfolds into three sections for a total of 28 inches. The monitor is also thin, like a tablet, especially when folded. The company plans to mass-produce the trifold monitor next year, though pricing remains unclear. 

Although it’s overkill, the company also improved on its 8K 1,000Hz ultra-wide gaming monitor, which debuted at last year’s Display Week. The monitor can now hit a refresh rate of 1,200Hz.

(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

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Experience

I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.

Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

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