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Samsung Display is starting to use QD-OLED Edge panels more widely to help bring down the prices of OLED monitors. The technology has been associated in recent years mainly with expensive designs, but the new line should enable manufacturers to offer more affordable models. The panels retain the key advantages of QD-OLED, including per-pixel control of brightness and colour. At the same time they are less bright and have slower response times than Samsung's newer generations of panels. 27-inch models are already available on the market, and the range is now expanding to include 32-inch 4K models.
QD-OLED Edge reaches an increasing number of monitors
The first QD-OLED Edge panel in Samsung’s lineup is a 27-inch panel with a 2560 × 1440 resolution and a 240 Hz refresh rate. It offers 200 nits full-screen brightness and up to 400 nits peak. The design corresponds to third-generation QD-OLED technology from 2024. Samsung Display has not limited the panel’s availability to its own monitors, and it’s already being used by numerous manufacturers, including Gigabyte, AOC, Dell, Samsung Electronics, Asus, MSI, Acer, ViewSonic and ASRock. The next step is a 32-inch QD-OLED Edge panel with 4K resolution and a 180 Hz refresh rate. It also provides 200 nits full-screen brightness and 400 nits peak. In this case Samsung uses fourth-generation QD-OLED technology from 2025. None of the panels listed use an RGB Stripe pixel layout. That matters mainly for text rendering, where sharpness can be limited as a result. QD-OLED Edge panels are therefore aimed primarily at people using a monitor for gaming and multimedia.
Cheaper OLED could speed up the technology’s adoption
The new panels aren’t aimed at users expecting the highest possible brightness or spectacular HDR. Even so, they still offer advantages over typical LCD monitors in terms of image quality. That includes contrast, black level, colour, response time and viewing angles. The biggest change, however, is price: QD-OLED Edge monitors are already available in the US and Europe for around US$300 to US$350, depending on the manufacturer. That price point could make it easier for more users to move from LCD to OLED. Available and upcoming designs include 27-inch 1440p 240 Hz models as well as 32-inch 4K 180 Hz monitors. In the QD-OLED Edge segment there are products from manufacturers including Acer, AOC, Asus, BenQ, Dell, Gigabyte, MSI, Samsung and ViewSonic. At the same time, lower prices could increase competition in the OLED panel market. The source is also hoping for a similar response from LG Display, with the company introducing a more affordable line of WOLED panels. For now, QD-OLED Edge is therefore one of the most important ways to increase the availability of OLED monitors. For consumers, that means more choice and the chance to buy an OLED monitor without having to opt for the most expensive models.
Samsung Display is developing QD-OLED Edge as a more affordable alternative to its latest panels. The technology delivers high image quality but lags behind pricier generations in brightness and speed. 27-inch 1440p 240 Hz models are already on sale, and manufacturers are also introducing 32-inch 4K 180 Hz models. If the trend continues, cheaper QD-OLED panels could accelerate the adoption of OLED monitors.
source: flatpanelshd
