Jordan O'BrienSamsung is still hopeful that QLED will one day offer a better picture than OLED, although that day could be further away than initially thought. That’s because Samsung is reportedly pushing back the mass production timeline for its organic QLED technology, which means QD-OLED panels may not come to market until 2023 at the earliest.
We’ve spoken about the differences between OLED and QLED before, highlighting that Samsung’s plan for QLED could see it overtake OLED in picture quality. That’s because the company’s so-called Quantum Dot Organic Light Emitting Diode technology should offer all the benefits of OLED, such as deep blacks and vivid colours, without any of the downsides. It means that users could finally benefit from a TV that offers a dark and moody picture one minute, and then lights up the room in the very next scene.
The hybrid QD-OLED technology means that rather than relying on a backlight, Samsung’s quantum dots would be capable of being their own light source. That’s hugely beneficial not just for the fact that individual pixels can be turned off, but it also means Samsung will be able to slim down its TVs. Currently, its high-end models look chunky next to what LG has to offer with its OLED line-up.
It was initially thought that QD-OLED would come to market in 2020, although that date will now see the initial trial production, according to OLED-info. That means mass production isn’t expected to begin until 2023 – giving LG more time to improve its OLED panels.
In addition to the production delays, Samsung is reportedly planning to concentrate on smaller QD-OLED displays on its initial production run. The company is said to be converting an existing 8-Gen production line to QD-QLED, and given the line is not large enough to produce displays over 55in, you can expect the initial run of QD-QLED to be 55in or smaller.