OLED monitor: market status and updates

OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology offers bright, efficient and fast displays, outperforming LCD display. OLEDs deliver the best picture quality ever and are used in many devices, from smartwatches through smartphones and tablets to TVs and more. 

OLEDs are also used to enable high-end monitors that offer excellent contrast, image quality, colors and new form factors.  This article will explain the benefits, the current status and the future of OLED monitors.

OLED monitors vs LCD monitors

  • OLED provide a better image quality with a much higher contrast (true blacks), wide color gamut, better viewing angles and a much faster refresh rate (great for gaming!)
  • OLED panels are much thinner and lighter compared to LCD panels
  • OLED monitors consume less power - as only lit pixels draw energy on OLED displays
  • An OLED monitor can be flexible, bendable, rollable - and transparent

OLED monitors and the burn-in challenge?

Of course OLED technology is not perfect. One of the major drawbacks of an OLED display is image retention / burn-in. In an OLED display each pixel is driven independently and each pixel ages differently - and as brightness is reduced with use (the lifetime of OLED materials is limited), we have burn-in problems.

For mobile phones and TVs this is less of a problem - but in a computer user interface many UI elements are quite fixed (toolbars, icons, etc) which means that burn-in is a real problem. There are some technologies to handle this problem - for example by measurement and compensation, or by adopting a tandem architecture to increase the lifetime. In addition user-interface designers can design a user interface that will be more suited for OLED displays.

OLED monitors on the market

OLED technology is very popular in smartphones, wearables and TVs - and in recent years OLED monitors has entered the market as display makers now target this market, starting with high-end models aimed towards gaming and content creation.

Display makers LG Display, Samsung Display and others target premium applications and mostly produce OLED panels in the range of 27-inch to 42-inch. One example of an OLED monitor is the ViewSonic VX2776-2K-OLED, based on a 26.5" 1000 nits (HDR) 2560x1440 240Hz 0.03 ms G2G VRR WOLED display (made by LGD). 

ViewSonic VX2776 2K photo

Asus has several OLED monitors. The PG32UCDM and PG34WCDM are two gaming monitors, each based on a different OLED panel technology. The PG32UCDM uses a 32" 4K (3840x2160, 16:9) 240Hz VRR 1000 nits (HDR peak) QD-OLED panel, produced by Samsung Display. The PG34WCDM monitor, on the other hand is based on a 34" 3440x1440 (21:9) 240Hz VRR 1300 nits (HDR peak) MLA (microlens) WOLED curved (800R) panel, produced by LG Display.

Samsung has its own high-end OLED monitor, the Odyssey OLED G95SC. This is an ultra-wide gaming monitor based on a 49-inch 5120x1440 resolution, 240Hz, 1800R curved QD-OLED panel. The G95SC is now shipping, for around $2,000.  LG also offers OLED monitors, including the UltraGear 27GR95QE-B a gaming monitor with a 27" 2560x1440 240Hz 0.3ms (GtG) response time OLED display. The 27" UltraGear OLED monitor is now shipping for around $850.

LG UltraGear 27GR95QE-B photo

 

Click here for our comprehensive list of OLED monitors.

Further reading

Icelandair first to install Panasonic's latest 4K OLED Astrova inflight entertainment monitors

Panasonic Avionics announced that it shipped its first batch of the latest Astrova 4K OLED inflight entertainment monitors. These monitors will be installed on Icelandair's forthcoming new fleet of leased Airbus A321neo LR aircraft (due in Q4 2024).

Icelandair will install 16" panels in its business class seats and 13" panels in economy. The new Astrova 4K OLED monitors offer HDR10+, high-fidelity multi-channel audio, USC-C 100W fast charging ports, and an external processing unit that can be placed in the seat box for easier installation.

Read the full story Posted: Mar 18,2024

Rumors suggest TCL CSOT will soon announce its investment in a 8.6-Gen IT AMOLED production line

A report from China suggests that TCL CSOT is looking into building a 8.6-Gen AMOLED production line, targeting IT display production. According to the report, TCL will announce its investment plan later in 2024, if it decides to go ahead with the new fab.

The IT display market (targeting laptops, monitors and tablets) is heating up as Apple will start to adopt AMOLED displays in its tablets this year. Apple's market pull is significant and other vendors will likely increase adoption of IT AMOLEDs. 

Read the full story Posted: Mar 17,2024

Samsung Display formally starts building its A6 8.6-Gen IT AMOLED production line

Samsung Display announced that is is starting to build its 8.6-Gen AMOLED production line, that will target IT applications (laptops, tablets and monitors). The new A6 line, will be located at Samsung's old L8 LCD line in Asan, that will be converted to AMOLED production. The company held a ceremony today.

Samsung's plan is to install all the major production equipment by the end of 2024, and begin full-scale production in 2026. 

Read the full story Posted: Mar 10,2024

LG Display said to be progressing with its 8.6-Gen IT AMOLED line plans, to announce its plans in H2 2024

According to recent rumors, LG Display has decided to go ahead and build its 8.6-Gen (2250 x 2600 mm) IT AMOLED line, in Paju, Korea (at its P10 hub, which was originally planned for OLED TV production). The company recently started to conduct discussions with equipment makers for supply agreements.

LGD P10 OLED fab, Paju Korea (March 2019)

LG Display's plan is to officially announce its 8.6-Gen production line plans in the second half of the year, and start ordering equipment. It is likely that the capacity of the fab will be between 7,500 to 15,000 monthly substrates. LG will be using its P10 building and existing equipment (backplane deposition) to reduce the costs of the 8.6-Gen line. This will mean that there will be delays to LG's WOLED TV panel capacity expansion plans. 

Read the full story Posted: Feb 14,2024

Omdia sees a rebound in the display production equipment market

Market research firm Omdia says that display production equipment sales will rebound in 2024 and reach $7.7 billion (154% over 2023), and will grow slowly in the near future, mainly driven by 8.6-Gen OLED production lines (used to make IT displays).

Omdia says that the new 8.6-Gen OLED fab require novel technologies, which results in high equipment costs. In 2024, 32% of all spending ($2.4 billion) will be for Samsung's A6 line, a large investment for a 15,000 monthly subtrates fab. BOE's investment in its upcoming B16 flexible 8.6-Gen line will be even higher - by 18% due to the backplane choice (LTPO over Samsung's oxide-TFT A6).

Read the full story Posted: Feb 06,2024

New OLED TVs, monitors, laptops and prototypes announced at CES 2024

During CES 2024, many device makers announced new laptops, monitors and TVs that use OLED displays. Here's a list of all these new devices:

Read the full story Posted: Jan 12,2024

BOE signs the official contract with Chengdu's local government to build its 8.5-Gen IT AMOLED line

BOE has been planning a 8.5-Gen flexible IT AMOLED Line for a couple of years, and in November 2023, following some delays, the company officially announced its plans for the new fab. Now we hear from China that the Chengdu local government, together with Chengdu's Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, have signed the contact with BOE to build the new plant.

The total investment in the fab is expected to reach 63 billion Yuan (over $8.7 billion USD). The fab will have a capacity of 32,000 monthly substrates (2290x2620 mm), and is expected to begin production by Q4 2026 (total construction time will be 34 months, according to the plan).

Read the full story Posted: Jan 12,2024

LG Display to start producing a 480Hz QHD OLED gaming monitor panel

LG Display announced that it has successfully developed a 27-inch 480Hz QHD (2560x1440) Gaming OLED display, a world first. The panel offers a 0.03 ms response time, that together with the ultra-fast refresh rate, makes it optimal for gaming. LGD's new panel also implements the company's Micro-Lens Array (MLA) technology to enhance light output. 

LGD says that it will start producing this new panel in the first half of 2024. The company's 2024 gaming OLED monitor lineup will include panels in sizes 27, 31.5, 34, 39, and 45 inches.

Read the full story Posted: Jan 04,2024

Samsung announces its 2024 QD-OLED gaming monitor range

Samsung Electronics announced their upcoming 2024 QD-OLED gaming monitor range. It starts with the flagship Odyssey G9 (G95SD) gaming monitor that offers a curved 49-inch 32:9 5120x1440 240Hz QD-OLED panel. 

The other two monitors offer a flat panel. The Odyssey G6 is a 27-inch 1440p monitor that offers very fast 360Hz refresh rate, while the Odyssey G8 (model G80SD) is a larger monitor, with a 32" 240Hz QD-OLED panel.

Read the full story Posted: Jan 03,2024

SDC upgrades its QD-OLED line, starts producing 31.5" 4K panels

Samsung Display announced that it is beginning to produce a new 31.5" 4K QD-OLED. This is SDC's highest density QD-OLED display, at 140 PPI. The company recently upgraded its QD inkjet printing deposition system to support this higher resolution. It will also enable SDC to produce 8K 65" QD-OLED displays (that will also be 140 PPI). 

Samsung Display also announced that next year it will start producing 27" QHD QD-OLED monitor panels that will support a 360Hz refresh rate, targeting the gaming monitor market. 

Read the full story Posted: Dec 13,2023