Paweł Koper
The premium display market has just entered a phase of brutal bidding on numbers. Just a year ago, we were amazed by LG's Tandem OLED technology (used, among others, in the latest iPads and televisions), but Samsung Display decided to show that a double layer is just a warm-up for them. The Korean giant has officially announced a new QD-OLED Penta Tandem™ display technology.
What is Penta Tandem?
The operating principle of Tandem technology can be explained quite simply: instead of one layer emitting light, multiple layers are used that work together. This way, each one is less burdened, which theoretically drastically extends the lifespan of the panel and allows for a higher brightness to be achieved.
Samsung, however, does not intend to play in half measures. While the competition, LG Display, uses two layers under the tagline Tandem OLED, Samsung has moved directly to five emission layers (hence the name "Penta" – from Greek: five). It's worth highlighting that, from a technical standpoint, the previous generation of QD-OLED panels already used 4 emission layers.
QD-OLED Penta Tandem™ Numbers
The shift to a 5-layer organic structure is not just a marketing gimmick. Samsung Display has presented solid data that may impress you:
Enormous brightness: These panels achieve peak brightness of up to 4500 nits in TVs and 1300 nits in monitors.
Longer panel lifespan: By dispersing energy across 5 layers, the panel's lifespan has increased by as much as twice compared to last year's designs.
Energy efficiency: Penta Tandem improves luminous efficiency by 1.3 times, compared to the previous generation of QD-OLED panels.
What awaits us in 2026?
Samsung Display is announcing a broad expansion. Penta Tandem technology. For now, these panels will be included in flagship models of devices such as:
Monitors: 27" UHD, 31.5" UHD, 34" WQHD and – 49" Dual QHD.
Televisions: According to Samsung Display, key TV manufacturers received these panels in 2025.
In the face of such a powerful offensive, traditional dual-layer Tandem OLED seems to be a "merely" transitional technology. Samsung has proven that in the world of quantum dots (QD) and organic emitters, they are currently setting the terms of the game. The question is for how long and what does LG have in response?
