Oled or QD-Oled? Samsung's new TVs are causing confusion, but don't panic
Samsung TQ55S90D
How the price table works
Please disable your ad blocker to access all the links above.
Samsung TQ65S90D
How the price table works
Please disable your ad blocker to access all the links above.
Since 2024, Samsung TVs are now all called “Oled”, but this actually hides something: some TVs benefit from a QD-Oled panel and others from a W-Oled. Let’s take stock.
On all of Samsung's high-end TVs, we find QD-Oled panels specific to the Korean giant, a technology cousin of W-Oled (for White-Oled) from LG Display. Well, that was until 2023 with a turnaround and a small “Oled” insert that is now found on Samsung TVs instead of the old “QD-Oled”.
The 55S90D is currently in our lab with Aquaman, a great movie (no).
Why not promote its own technology anymore? Well, because some Samsung TVs are now equipped with… LG panels! Yes, for economic reasons no doubt and to ensure that it can deliver enough Oled TVs soon, Samsung has turned to its Korean competitor to supply itself with panels. The 55S90D, which is currently being tested in our lab, is one of the models equipped with a W-Oled panel, an opportunity to shed some light on this matter.
W-Oled VS QD-Oled, what are the differences?
As a reminder, the W-Oled (generally called simply Oled) is almost identical to the QD-Oled despite a different internal structure. We currently find a similar brightness peak (around 1600 cd/m² on LG G4 And Samsung S95D for example) and of course all the features that we appreciate with these technologies: infinite contrasts, good color reproduction and afterglow time close to 0.
The QD-Oled still offers two small advantages over the W-Oled with a greater coverage of the Rec. 2020 color space, and slightly better viewing angles. On the other hand, it delivers a slightly colder rendering, it's true, with an average color temperature generally exceeding 7000 K.
The subpixel structure of QD-Oled panels (here last year's S90C).
Don't panic, in fact, the Rec. 2020 space is really very little used in cinema (we can note Aquaman if you want a high-flying reference) and ordinary people are not really likely to see any differences with the naked eye in terms of viewing angles or color space. The colder rendering is on the other hand noticeable, but it is not really shocking and only fans of millimeter calibration could be bothered on a daily basis.
Which panel for which model?
First of all, note that the high-end S95D that we recently tested always has a QD-Oled panel, whatever the size of the TV, and so there is no question to ask with this model.
Conversely, the S85D, the new entry-level model from 2024, will still be equipped with a W-Oled panel, again, everything is fine.
The subpixel structure of W-Oled panels. Here, on the S90D that we are testing.
On the other hand, the S90Ds located between the two ranges and offering good value for money can be equipped with QD-Oled or W-Oled panels depending on the case. The 65-inch models will all benefit from a QD-Oled panel at all retailers in Europe. The other sizes, 48, 55, 77 and 83 inches will benefit from a W-Oled panel.
To sum it up simply:
| W-Oled | QD-Oled |
|---|---|
| S85D | S95D |
| S90D in 48, 55, 77 and 83 inches | S90D in 65 inches |
For your information, the reference S90D can be found on the Samsung website and at Son-Vidéo.com in particular, but the same television can be found at Boulanger under the reference S92D and at Fnac-Darty under the reference S93D. To give an example, this gives the full TQ55S90D, TQ55S92D and TQ55S93D for the 55-inch model.
Ultimately, it is more the size of the TV, as well as their price according to promotions that will guide consumers in their choice, rather than the presence of this or that type of panel. In any case, the panels from LG and Samsung are generally excellent, and you will be able to form an opinion by finding the tests of these models with their qualities and their defects on our site!
