Samsung QD-OLED TV challenges premium OLED TVs with $2,200 starting price 

On Thursday, Samsung revealed new details about its long-awaited QD-OLED TV. The company’s first OLED TV in a decade costs $2,200 for the 54.6-inch model and $3,000 for the 64.5-inch model.

Samsung hasn’t released an OLED TV since 2012, but in January the company announced it was re-entering the market. Samsung is trying to bypass LG Display’s control of OLED panels by using a proprietary OLED technology called QD-OLED. QD-OLED applies quantum dots to OLED to provide a wider color gamut, more consistent across different brightness levels, as well as more detailed highlights and improved shadows.

The Samsung OLED (S95B) series, as it is now known, costs more than many OLED TVs, putting it on par with LG’s high-end G-series (non-QD) OLED TVs. LG hasn’t revealed pricing for its 2022 G2 TVs in the US, but in Europe the 55- and 65-inch TVs have been announced for €2,500 (about $2,758) and €3,600 (about $3,970), respectively. The 55-inch LG G1 model debuted at $2,000, while the 65-inch model debuted at $2,800. LG’s flagship C-series, meanwhile, costs $1,250 for 55 inches.

LED usually provides more brightness than OLED. QD-OLED does not claim a brightness advantage over standard OLED, and the S95B specifications do not include brightness specifications. However, the TVs do have a “brightness boost feature,” Samsung said in a statement. The upcoming LG G2 TVs also have a brightness booster that works in conjunction with a heatsink to help the TVs maintain their maximum brightness. LG OLED “Evo” TV panels should also be brighter than regular OLEDs, according to the company.

In the future, Samsung will also have to compete with OLED EX, a new type of OLED panel from LG Display that is 30% brighter than standard OLED screens. We are also still awaiting prices for Sony’s inclusion of Samsung’s QD-OLED panel in the 55-inch and 65-inch A95K series.

Samsung’s 4K OLED TV will be limited to 120Hz, unlike Samsung’s 2022 TVs, which include Neo QLED mini-LED TVs that hit 144Hz at 4K resolution. However, if you’re not a serious PC gamer and you’re using your TV as a monitor, this most likely won’t be an issue.

Samsung also said that the new QD-OLED TVs will feature “perceptual color imaging to deliver brighter, more accurate highlights.”

Like the 2022 Samsung Neo QLED 4K and 8K TVs, the S95B series uses the Samsung Neural Quantum 4K processor for scaling and the Tizen operating system. Other specs revealed this week include AMD FreeSync Premium to combat screen tearing in games and 60W audio with Dolby Atmos.

Samsung has also announced pricing for its updated Neo QLED TVs, which start at $3,500 for 8K, with 4K pre-orders starting in May. There’s also Frame TV, which starts at $1,000.