Sources say that Samsung Display's QD-OLED had better color reproduction than LG Display's OLED and wide viewing angles, but issues with black levels and heat.

Samsung QD-OLED TV prototypes
While Samsung Electronics was publicly exhibiting its latest "QLED" LCD TVs and microLED concepts, Samsung Display was previewing two 65-inch QD-OLED TV prototypes (4K and 8K resolution) behind closed doors at the Encore hotel in Las Vegas during CES 2020.

Journalists were not invited inside but guests who laid eyes on the prototypes tell Korean newspaper ETNews that the QD-OLED displays had "better color reproduction than LG Display's white OLED" as well as wide viewing angles.

However, some issues remain and apparently the QD-OLED displays were not able to deliver the same deep black as LG Display's version. Another source claims that "if the brightness is set to the maximum value, heat generation can be relatively high".

Another report published by the OLED Association says that the QD-OLED prototypes at CES 2020 "ran at 150 nits, which was equivalent to an LG RGBW OLED, they had previously acquired. Must have been a very old model as the new ones operate at 650 -  nits".

The report also says that Samsung is claiming down to less than 1% reflectivity compared to around 4% for LG Display's OLED.


  QD-OLED structure. Source: OLED Association 
QD-OLED on track to launch in 2021
The OLED Association asked about recent reports in Korean media saying that the QD-OLED project has been delayed. Samsung Display denied the reports saying that the project is on schedule.

Inside the suite Samsung Display also exhibited other prototypes and advancements, including new materiales for OLED that can reduce power consumption by 10-15% as well as "a truly foldable display based PC due in 2021". A 31.5-inch QD-OLED prototype was reportedly also shown.

For QD-OLED Samsung is using blue OLED as the light emitting source, with red and green quantum dots acting as conversion layers for the red and green subpixels, respectively, while the blue subpixel lets light pass unhindered. One challenge with this design is that blue OLED has the shortest lifespan of the three primary colors. LG Display's OLED panel, which is used in all OLED TVs available on the consumer market, is often described as 'white OLED', or WOLED, with color filters.

 Also read: Samsung is announcing microLED TVs for a third time at CES 2020

In October 2019, Samsung Display announced that it will invest $11 billion dollars to transition from LCD to next-generation display technologies over the next 5-6 years. The company also said that it expects to start mass production of QD-OLED displays in 2021.

- Source: ETNews, OLED Association