Samsung’s QD-OLED technology has been something of a revolution for the gaming monitor market. For so long we’ve been waiting for the tech to arrive in large, affordable panels, and now we’re finally here. To that end, it has been revealed that Samsung has supplied panels for 25 new gaming monitor products this year alone, and that it now dominates the OLED market, with a 79.9% share.
It’s a Samsung QD-OLED display that tops our best gaming monitor guide, in the shape of Samsung Odyssey G95SC, but there are a host of other companies that have chosen Samsung QD-OLED panels to power their gaming displays.
Specifically, a report on the new models from ZDnet Korea states that 25 products from ten different brands are based on the panels, including the monitors listed below. We’ve seen for ourselves that there has been a steady stream of Samsung QD-OLED-based displays coming out recently, from the likes of Alienware, Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, Philips, and of course Samsung itself.
- Asus PG32UCDM
- Dell AW3225QF
- Gigabyte MO34WQC
- MSI MEG 321URX
- MSI MPG 341CQPX
- MSI MAG 321UP
- MSI MAG 271QPX
- Philips Evnia 34M2C6500
- Samsung Odyssey G8 (G80SD)
- Samsung Odyssey G6 (G60SD)
Most of these models are of four different panel sizes consisting of 27-inch/1440p, 32-inch/4K, 34-inch/w1440p, and 49-inch/2x1440p models, with the MSI MPG 271QRX being an example of the first of these types, and the MSI MPG 491CQP being an example of the last of them.
The combined effect of all these companies buying up Samsung’s QD-OLED panels is two-fold. Firstly, it means we get a wide selection of options that will hopefully in due course mean competition drives down prices. Meanwhile, it also means Samsung currently has a whopping 79.7% share of the OLED market, with LG taking up most of the rest of that share.
Why are these panels so popular? Well, for a start, they deliver all the general advantages for which OLED has been famous for a long time. Because each pixel emits its own light, rather than relying on a shared backlight, OLEDs can achieve true blacks. Colors can look incredibly punchy too, and the response time of OLED is orders of magnitude faster than LCDs, making them far superior for gaming.
As for QD-OLED specifically, it has two main advantages over LG’s rival WOLED technology. Because it uses just three normal red, green, and blue sub-pixels, it can maintain its brightness evenly across all colors. Plus, the sub-pixel arrangement makes for a sharper-looking image.
In contrast, WOLED can look fuzzier – particularly when it comes to text – at the same screen size and resolution. Also, while WOLED can often go brighter for pure white colors – thanks to the extra white sub-pixel that gives WOLED its name – it can’t maintain this brightness for pure brighter colors. As a result, we found the WOLED panel used in the LG 27GRE95 rather underwhelming, though at its currently heavily discounted price is fantastic if you want a pure gaming screen.
It’s worth noting, though, that if you’re looking to buy a 32-inch 4k OLED, the fuzziness issue noted above dissipates anyway, as the screen then has such a fine, sharp image anyway. If LG can provide more panels of varying sizes and prices that are similarly sharp, it could really drive the competition back against Samsung.
For now, though, it’s a bright OLED future ahead for Samsung and us. We’ve still got loads of the new range of QD-OLEDs yet to review – with many still not readily available – but we can’t wait to try them out. In the meantime, you can read about the latest developments to reduce OLED screen burn, to see how future panels will combat the final remaining cause for concern when buying an OLED gaming monitor.