OLED reaches a new milestone with 700 nits full-screen brightness

The latest OLED panels are now brighter than most LCD panels. Samsung Display has begun rolling out OLED displays that exceed 700 nits of sustained full-screen brightness.

Less than two months ago, we reported on the first OLED panels to exceed 500 nits of full-screen brightness, earning VESA's DisplayHDR True Black 1000 certification. Those panels are initially targeting monitors and laptops.

The latest OLED TVs, including the LG G6 and Samsung S99H / S95H, are also approaching 500 nits.


700 nits OLED displays
Now, Samsung Display has announced the first OLED panels to achieve the new VESA DisplayHDR True Black 1400 certification tier, which requires at least 700 nits of sustained full-screen brightness and more than 1400 nits peak brightness (10% window), while maintaining a black level of 0.0005 nits.

- "Samsung Display’s new tandem OLED panel for laptops can reach peak brightness of up to 1,600 nits at the panel level," Samsung Display announced. "The new panel uses a tandem OLED architecture that stacks two organic emissive layers to improve light-emitting efficiency and achieve higher brightness. Because the two stacked layers emit light together, tandem OLED can produce greater brightness using the same current or reduce the load on each emissive layer at the same brightness level, extending the panel’s lifespan. As a result, the panel delivers both higher brightness and a longer lifetime. Under typical laptop operating brightness conditions, Samsung Display’s tandem OLED panel offers more than twice the lifespan of a conventional single-stack OLED panel."


While peak brightness in small highlights is often used as the headline specification for display performance, sustained full-screen brightness is a more meaningful measure of overall screen brightness. At 700 nits, OLED now surpasses most LCD panels used in monitors, laptops, tablets and TVs.

 Also read: 300-nit OLED matches 500-nit LCD in perceived brightness, says Samsung Display


Asus, Dell, MSI – and Apple?
Samsung Display has been demonstrating the new panels this week at K-Display 2026 in Seoul, South Korea, while confirming that Asus, Dell and MSI are among the first manufacturers to adopt them.

- "Samsung Display is supplying tandem OLED panels that support VESA DisplayHDR True Black 1400 to multiple global PC manufacturers. The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition (16", Gen 11), featuring the panel, earned True Black 1400 certification on July 8. Other customers, including Asus, Dell Technologies, and MSI, are expected to unveil products supporting the True Black 1400 certification from the second half of this year through next year," it said.

Apple is another likely candidate. The company is widely expected to launch its first OLED MacBook later this year, reportedly branded 'MacBook Ultra'. It may also go a step further by adopting BT.2020 color support, according to recent reports.