The first true QLED TVs – also known as EL-QD and NanoLED – could be ready within a few years, as Samsung is reportedly accelerating the rollout to fend off Chinese competitors.
According to industry sources speaking to BusinessKorea, development of the new display technology is a joint effort between multiple Samsung divisions.
- "According to industry sources on March 18, Samsung Electronics' Visual Display (VD) division, along with SAIT, formerly known as the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, and Samsung Display, is pushing forward with EL-QD development. EL-QD is considered the true quantum dot (QD) technology," reported BusinessKorea.
What is EL-QD?
EL-QD is a new type of display technology, which works by applying electricity directly to quantum dots to make them light up in color – no separate light-emitting diodes needed. It is also known as QDEL, NanoLED, QD-LED or electroluminescent quantum dots.
It was once known as QLED, but this term has since been repurposed by Samsung itself to mean conventional LCD TVs with a quantum dots film.
Samsung's 18.2-inch EL-QD prototype from 2024
In recent years, prototypes have been exhibited by Sharp, TCL and Samsung at trade shows, most recently at CES 2025 in January. Samsung exhibited a 18-inch prototype last year.
QD-EL displays look stunning, with deep blacks and saturated color, and could potentially challenge OLED in screens from small to big formats.
Also read: Future display technologies: QD-EL, Ultraviolet micro-LED, OLED, more
Just a few years away?
According to the report out of Korea, Samsung is accelerating development to fend off Chinese competitors that are challenging Samsung's 19-year reign as the world's leading TV maker.
- "Samsung has set an internal target to commercialize EL-QD within a few years and is fully committed to its technological development," wrote BusinessKorea.
The report said that some technical challenges involving stability and efficiency remain. After Nanosys was acquired by Shoei Chemical of Japan, we heard similar rumblings of accelerated development of EL-QD displays.
Also read: China could dominate OLED after LCD, warns Samsung Display
Samsung is reportedly planning to initially launch EL-QD TVs, aiming to use the technology to stay ahead of Chinese brands over the next 10 to 20 years.
- Source: BusinessKorea
