Samsung will mix its own QD-OLED and LG Display's WOLED panels in its upcoming 2024 range of OLED TVs, and the S90D range will be subject to panel lottery.

Consumers have coined the term 'panel lottery' to describe situations where the specific display panel type inside a TV model is difficult or impossible to determine before buying.

Samsung is no stranger to this concept, having offered multiple generations of its popular QN90 "QNED" range with either medium-contrast VA LCD panels or low-contrast IPS LCD panels, without explicitly indicating the panel type to consumers.


The OLED TV panel lottery
For the past decade, OLED TVs have avoided the panel lottery due to LG Display's WOLED panel type being the only one available.

With the introduction of Samsung Display's QD-OLED display type in 2022, more choice and competition was introduced. Strangely, Samsung Electronics chose to brand its QD-OLED TVs simply as 'OLED TVs'. The reasoning behind this decision is now becoming clearer.


 QD-OLED or WOLED? Samsung will not tell you. Photo: FlatpanelsHD

Last year, we saw the first WOLED panels from LG Display emerge in Samsung's OLED TVs, albeit only in the largest sizes and limited to a few countries. This year, the situation is becoming more complicated as Korean media reports that S90D will mix WOLED and QD-OLED panels even in the 55, 65 and 77 inch sizes.

- "According to the industry on the 5th, Samsung Electronics plans to use Samsung Display's Quantum Dot (QD)-OLED and LG Display's White (W)-OLED together in the S90D series," reports South Korean newspaper The Elec (translated). "The flagship S90D lineup consists of 42-inch, 48-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch, 77-inch, and 83-inch. Among them, there are three models that use QD-OLED and W-OLED together: 55-inch, 65-inch, and 77-inch. The remaining models of the S90D, the 42-inch, 48-inch, and 83-inch, use W-OLED only."

Here is what FlatpanelsHD knows, based on our sources:

2024 Samsung OLED TV panel lottery
42"
48"
55"
65"
77"
83"
Samsung S95D
-
-
QD-OLED
QD-OLED
QD-OLED
-
Samsung S90D
WOLED
WOLED
WOLED or QD-OLED
WOLED or QD-OLED
WOLED or QD-OLED
WOLED
Samsung S85D
-
-
WOLED (expected)
WOLED (expected)
WOLED (expected)
-
 FlatpanelsHD
Why? Samsung Electronics has inked a supply agreement with LG Display for WOLED panels due to insufficient supply of QD-OLED panels from Samsung Display. LG Display has also requested for Samsung to "please do not put W-OLED under QD-OLED", according to the report.

Compared to standard WOLED, QD-OLED delivers higher color volume and peak brightness. On the other hand WOLED does not suffer from raised blacks in bright environments. QD-OLED exists only in 55, 65 and 77 inches.

Furthermore, the Korean report suggests that Samsung may distribute different versions of S90D "by region and distributor", hinting at the possibility of S91D, S92D, S93D and S94D variants.


Samsung S95D and S85D
As for Samsung's other 2024 OLED ranges, S95D is expected to exclusively feature third-generation QD-OLED panels in all sizes; 55, 65 and 77 inches.

The most affordable S85D is expected to use LG Display's WOLED panels exclusively in all sizes, although this is not 100% set in stone yet, according to the sources.

- Source: The Elec