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 officially announced a new QD-OLED Penta Tandem™ display technology.
What is Penta Tandem?
The principle of operation of Tandem technology can be explained quite simply: instead of one layer emitting light, several are used that work together. As a result, each of them is less burdened, which theoretically drastically extends the lifespan of the panel and allows for achieving higher brightness.
However, Samsung does not intend to play around with half measures. While the competition LG Display uses two layers under the slogan Tandem OLED, Samsung has jumped straight to five emissive layers (hence the name “Penta” – from Greek: five). It is worth noting that from a technical standpoint, the previous generation of QD-OLED panels already utilized 4 emissive layers.
QD-OLED Penta Tandem™ Numbers
The transition to a 5-layer organic structure is not just a marketing gimmick. Samsung Display presented hard data that may impress you:
Enormous brightness: These panels achieve a peak of 4500 nits in televisions and 1300 nits in monitors.
Longer panel lifespan: Thanks to the distribution of energy across 5 layers, the lifespan of the panel has increased by as much as twice compared to last year's designs.
Energy efficiency: Penta Tandem improves light efficiency by 1.3 times compared to the previous generation of QD-OLED panels.
What awaits us in 2026?
Samsung Display announces a wide expansion. Penta Tandem technology. For now, these panels will reach 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 matrices in 2025.
In the face of such a powerful offensive, the traditional dual-layer Tandem OLED seems to be merely a transitional technology. Samsung has proven that in the world of quantum dots (QD) and organic emitters, they currently set the terms of the game. The question is how long and what does LG have in response?
