Samsung Display looks to be going all in on QD-OLED displays, after it was revealed that the manufacturer is set to increase its production of panels featuring the tech by a massive 50%.
According to think tank UBI Research (via OLED-info), Samsung Display will be increasing the number of QD-OLED panels it produces from 30,000 monthly units currently to 45,000 in 2024.
This is in stark contrast to LG Display, which makes the traditional OLED panel found in practically all the best OLED TVs available today, which was reported to have halted investment in production improvements in 2023. This means that it's likely that the prices of traditional OLED TVs are set to freeze, opening up an opportunity for the more-expensive QD-OLED tech to drop its price faster, and to start catching up in market share.
Samsung Display also ceased manufacturing LCD panels for TVs in June last year, freeing up production capacity for QD-OLED screens.
Samsung Display currently only offers QD-OLED panels for TVs in three sizes: 55-inch and 65-inch, as seen on the Samsung S95B and class-leading Sony A95K, and now a recently launched 77-inch variety. But the production targets referenced in UBI’s report suggests an even wider selection of screen sizes could be on their way from the company next year.
Analysis: Production bump means more QD-OLEDs… and likely cheaper prices
With recent advancements in black levels, QD-OLED TVs now look like real contenders as an alternative to OLED TVs in terms of performance.
The biggest stumbling block in adoption of the tech currently comes in the form of the hefty asking prices for TVs featuring the panels – based on early prices of the Samsung S95C, it looks like the first TV to feature a 77-inch QD-OLED screen will be priced higher than the equivalent LG G3 flagship TV.
Aside from Samsung, only Sony has made the jump to using QD-OLED panels in its 4K TVs at the time of writing, but this latest news looks likely to open the floodgates for a wider range of brands adopting the tech in the coming years.
Economies of scale mean that the more units Samsung Display produces, the lower the cost of making each unit becomes, which means the TVs themselves can be sold cheaper while still making a profit. And that will mean more companies, such as TCL, get in on the QD-OLED action, which means they'll be competing with each other for price, pushing things down even further.
It's a long wait until 2024, so if you need a new TV now, check out the best OLED deals live this month.
