Samsung's take on OLED TVs won't be here anytime soon

Samsung Q90 QLED TV
Image Credit: Samsung

Is Samsung going to release an OLED TV? While Samsung has been working on its own take on the organic-LED panels used by many of its rivals, it looks like we won't see the product enter mass production until at least 2023.

As reported by OLED-info, Samsung previously had plans to start an OLED production line by the end of 2020, but is now taking more time to work on the technology.

Samsung's recent attempts to innovate its smartphone designs – with the ill-fated Galaxy Fold, which has literally been breaking in reviewers' hands – haven't been the success story the company was clearly hoping for. So it's no surprise that Samsung is being cautious with any changes to its TV production line.

Anything you can do, I can do better

What makes Samsung's move into OLED surprising is that it has traditionally talked down the rival panel technology in favor of its own QLED displays. While OLED offers deep blacks and an impressive contrast ratio, QLED displays are a lot brighter and generally cheaper than their OLED counterparts.

Samsung is hoping to combine the best parts of both technologies, using its QLED's quantum dots to improve the brightness on an organic LED panel, creating a QD-OLED hybrid.

How well this will work in the final product is anyone's guess, but if Samsung can pull it off, it might just overshadow the cracked Galaxy Fold screen issue that continues to cause the company grief. Take your time, Samsung – just make it worth the wait. 

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Henry St Leger

Henry is a freelance technology journalist, and former News & Features Editor for TechRadar, where he specialized in home entertainment gadgets such as TVs, projectors, soundbars, and smart speakers. Other bylines include Edge, T3, iMore, GamesRadar, NBC News, Healthline, and The Times.