Samsung's QD-OLED TVs could already be heading for a price cut

QD-OLED displays aren't as efficient as OLED TVs. But Samsung has the technology to change that

Samsung S95B
(Image credit: Samsung)

We're incredibly impressed by Samsung's QD-OLED technology, which you'll find in sets such as the Samsung S95B. But while the tech is really clever and the price isn't quite as high as we originally feared, it's still very expensive compared to many of the best TVs you can buy today.

So the news of Samsung's latest production plans should be good news for anyone who really wants a QD-OLED but can't quite justify the expense. According to electronics industry trade title The Elec, Samsung is working on a new kind of QD-OLED technology that'll be brighter, better quality and – best of all – cheaper to produce and therefore to buy.

Samsung's got the blues – that's brilliant for TV buyers

It's all about the blues. According to professor Kwon Jang-hyuk of Kyung Hee University, Samsung Display is currently researching the use of phosphorescent blue OLED materials for its next generation of QD-OLED panels. 

Current panels use a mix of green and blue layers. The blue ones aren't as efficient as the green ones, so Samsung's QD-OLEDs use three layers of blue to every one layer of green. By making the blue phosphorescent layers more efficient, Samsung would be able to use fewer layers – and that means significantly lower costs. 

According to professor Kwon, Samsung is making this a priority and intends to demonstrate a prototype "within the year". That means it'll be some time before we see the tech in actual TVs we can buy, but it does demonstrate just how much investment Samsung is putting into its QD-OLED technology. 

With prices of the best OLED TVs coming down as manufacturers find more efficient ways to make them, the future of TV is getting (literally) brighter and hopefully more affordable for all too.

Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series. When she’s not scribbling, she’s the singer in Glaswegian rock band HAVR (havrmusic.com).