Again this year at CES, prototypes of electroluminescent quantum dots displays were shown off in back rooms, this time by Sharp Display, and we now have a first glimpse of a prototype.

The electroluminescent quantum dots display was originally called QLED, but you may recall that some South Korean company took ownership of this marketing term to launch souped-up LCD TVs. So now the industry refers to it as NanoLED, QDEL, QD-EL, or QD-LED.

The inventor of the technology, Nanosys, likes to call it NanoLED, while Sharp Display – Nanosys' manufacturing partner – likes to call it QDEL. Sharp Display brought two working display prototypes – 12.3" and 30" – to CES 2024 where Digital Trends's Caleb Denison had a unique opportunity to see them in action and even share footage of the smaller 12.3" display prototype from a closed back room.

CNET is also reporting on the 12.3" prototype (1920x720 resolution, or 167ppi) from CES 2024, but the pictures in that article come directly from Nanosys.


The potential of QDEL / NanoLED
Judging by the footage from Digital Trends, the display looks a bit pale, as opposed to the official photo released by Nanosys. We don't know which one is a better representation of actual performance.

Remember that it is just a prototype.


 Left: Prototype filmed by Digital Trends. Right: Picture shared by Nanosys, the inventor

NanoLED, or QDEL, has the potential to be a game-changing display technology with the widest color gamut of any display. In simple terms, electricity is applied directly to the quantum dots that, in essence, become millions of tiny LEDs. So no LED backlights, as in "QLED" LCD TVs, or blue OLED pixels, as in QD-OLED TVs, are needed.

This can reduce production costs and Sharp Display even believes that existing LCD manufacturing plants can be converted to produce the new display technology. It is also said to be easy to scale up from small screens to TV sizes.


 NanoLED production potential. Wiley/ID Magazine Volume 39, Issue 3, Page 27. Source: Nanosys

Small screens, later TVs
Sharp Display, a manufacturer of display panels rather than consumer TVs, indicated that NanoLED will initially be commercialized in small mobile displays, then IT displays (tablets, laptops, monitors), and later TVs. However, plans could shift and it did not provide a timeline.

Nanosys was recently acquired by Shoei Chemical of Japan, who in September 2023 announced plans to accelerate the development of NanoLED displays. More information will be announced at the industry conference SID 2024 (Display Week) in mid-May.

- Source: Digital Trends, CNET