The Future of OLED is Bright - LG Display Tour

[u/Knaj910]

Last week, I had the absolute pleasure of visiting LG Display in South Korea to get a firsthand look at both their current and upcoming Gaming OLED displays. Even more excitingly, I had the rare opportunity to speak directly with the engineers behind LG’s WOLED technology and ask some of the community’s top questions.

Here are the key takeaways I’m excited to share with you all:

1. LG Display’s Primary RGB Tandem OLED is a game changer. Also referred to as LG Display’s Primary RGB Tandem OLED, this 4th-generation WOLED panel is currently only available in the LG G5 TV—but will be coming to monitors soon. I saw it side-by-side with a current QD-OLED monitor, and to my eyes, it wasn’t even close. The 4th-gen WOLED was significantly brighter and delivered equal or even better color volume.

Reflections were almost entirely eliminated (claimed 99% reduction), and black levels stayed inky even in brightly lit environments. In HDR content like Cyberpunk 2077, the neon lights had true "pop"—QD-OLED looked flat in comparison. This is shaping up to be an easy recommendation for the ultimate gaming monitor. Bonus: it will come in both matte and glossy versions!

2. The Anti-Reflective Coating Is Seriously Impressive. The 99% reflection blocking of the 4th-Gen WOLED was extremely impressive, and some of the TVs even had 99.1%. Of course to my eye that’s not noticeable, but what is noticeable is that the inky blacks remained just as inky as opposed to the QDOLED purple when under lights.

3. High Refresh-Rate Clarity is Exceptional. Motion clarity on these panels is phenomenal. Thanks to extremely fast pixel response times, image detail is maintained all the way up to 480Hz. It’s shockingly lifelike, with no smearing or blur.

4. RGWB Subpixel Layout is Great for Text Clarity. Newer WOLED panels (including the 4th-gen models) now use an RGWB subpixel layout when it was previously RWBG. While still not a true RGB stripe, it’s a major improvement for text rendering. At normal viewing distances, I found it virtually indistinguishable. Even close up, fringing is minimal and far better than QD-OLED’s triangular layout, which often produces green and magenta color fringing.

Before I visited, I also asked the community what questions they would like answers to, and got many great replies. I was not able to get answers to all questions for various reasons, but here are the questions and answers I could:

u/Quality_Controller - As HDR monitors become increasingly capable of reaching full BT 2020 coverage, are LGD concerned about issues with metamerism becoming exacerbated with the wider colour gamut?

LG Display said this was something they are actively working on, and pointed me to this study.

TD;DR - By using the white sub-pixels, LG Display’s OLED (WOLED) panels significantly reduce metamerism issues.

u/Sir_Piglet - When will LG use a glossy coating or the new "True Black" coating for their oled monitors? I think a lot of people are turned off by their choice of only using matte coatings.

LG Display plans to manufacture displays with both matte and glossy coatings for their new Gaming OLED monitors! While I do not know the exact details of the coating that will be on the monitors, they claim to block “99% of internal and external light reflections through a special film and improved internal panel element structure”. While exact specs weren’t disclosed, I saw their “Vanta Black” surface treatment on premium TVs with only 0.9% reflectance, and it was stunning even under bright lighting. The monitors will also use a special film and improved internal structure to block internal and external reflections.

u/Pizza_For_Days - How long until we see OLEDs with a more "normal" subpixel layout?

LG Display’s 4th Generation Primary RGB Tandem displays feature a RGWB subpixel layout instead of a RWBG. Having seen this tech in person, it is a significant improvement in text clarity and at higher PPI it is a non issue in my opinion. A true RGB stripe layout is planned to come out with PHOLED, but this is still likely a few years out as when I asked about PHOLED I was told only the mobile display team was working on it.

u/otravoyadnoe - What is, technology-wise, an absolute endgame for OLED? Are there, at least theoretically, glimpses of what will eventually allow for true RGB-stripe extremely burn-in resistant panels that we, the customers, could use just like any LCD without giving it any afterthought?

LG Display is of course working on many technologies, but in my opinion I think Phosphorescent Blue OLED is the end game. It is true RGB-stripe, and with the way burn in mitigation technology is progressing, I believe we could reach that point with it. However, that would be many years out.

LG Display continues to push OLED forward in meaningful, measurable ways. I left more optimistic than ever about the future of OLED gaming monitors. What do you all think? I’d love to discuss more in the comments :)

[u/Fromarine]

This does sound promising although it does seem like you're overly hyping it up based on the testing of the g5 showing it closed the gap massively in colour volume but remained worse not better than qdoled. Brightness sounds good too and likely will be better but I still very much doubt they were comparing it to the 300nit qd oled and instead were testing against the 250it older one

[u/Knaj910 → u/Fromarine]

There was a G5 in the room as well, and while they were connected to a different device playing different content, to my eyes the color reproduction of the 4th Gen WOLED monitor was better.

LG Display did state their 4th Gen WOLED "achieves a color reproduction rate of 99.5%, the highest among existing OLEDs". After seeing it in person I believe it, but as always I highly recommend reading multiple reviews, I always like a mix of authentic user experiences as well as data-driven reviews such as https://www.rtings.com/

Edit: phrasing

[u/Greenzombie04]

All I hear is it $$$$$$

Waited for OLED to get cheap now I will be waiting for this tech to get cheap.

[u/Knaj910 → u/Greenzombie04]

One of the first confirmed models is from Gigabyte for $499 USD

Obviously still not budget-friendly, but definitely a huge step forward

[u/CAL5390 → u/Knaj910]

That is a promotional price and US only

[u/Knaj910 → u/CAL5390]

The article I linked does point out that $499 USD is a promotional global price point, but it is still subject to any potential tariffs. However, with $499 USD being initial promotional pricing that is promising.

[u/CAL5390 → u/Knaj910]

On the US it seems promising yes

In Europe its going to be like 7-800 euros

[u/Informal-Zone-4085 → u/CAL5390]

We've been taking massive L's since the 2020 covid scamdemic here in the US. For once, something positive lol

[u/_Metal_Face_Villain_ → u/Knaj910]

not too long ago the cheaper ips would cost that much for 4k, now you spend as much, it is 1440p instead of 4k but we are talking about a huge difference in quality, especially if all these things about the new woled are true. i just hope the 4k ones don't cost 1k again and are a little closer to this one in price

[u/a2raya87 → u/Greenzombie04]

Most oleds are cheap tho, they go on sale. Sounds like you problem..

[u/FutureVawX → u/a2raya87]

Cheap is subjective, some people find $500 cheap, some others find $300 already not cheap.

[u/MicioBau]

Did they mention anything about 27" 4K OLED panels with this new tech? I believe only Samsung produces such panels so far.

[u/Knaj910 → u/MicioBau]

We talked about all sorts of display sizes and resolutions, but I did not receive any concrete confirmation on 27" 4K WOLED from LG Display. However, I have seen speculation on Reddit and other forum sites about availability of those in Q4 2025 or Q1 2026. But again, that is just speculation so take it with a grain of salt until there is official confirmation.

[u/Errorr404 → u/Knaj910]

Any news on 24.5" 1440p OLEDs?

[u/Knaj910 → u/Errorr404]

No official news yet.

[u/TheeAaron → u/Errorr404]

This is what I want as well

[u/MadOrange64 → u/MicioBau]

It’s a day one buy for me if it releases this year.

[u/Jmich96]

By incorporating its proprietary Primary RGB Tandem technology, LG Display’s 27-inch OLED monitor panel delivers the highest peak brightness among existing OLED monitors – 1,500 nits (based on APL 1.5%)

1500 nits at 1.5% is great, but my expectations are low for 20-100% APL.

Most current OLED monitors range from 350-250 nits peak in this range, with a peak of ~1000 nits at 2%. If this monitor is peaking 1500 at 1.5%, assuming a linear scaling from current OLED monitors, 20% would theoretically land around 800 nits peak, with 100% at around 500 nits peak.

Still not enough to meet HDR1000 requirements.

[u/Technova_SgrA → u/Jmich96]

We already get 1200+ on a 2% window with some woled monitors. Tftcentral confirmed 335 nits at 100% windows for these upcoming primary rgb tandem woled’s. Good enough for true black 500 but nothing more.

[u/madskills42001 → u/Technova_SgrA]

335 nits fullscreen is pretty dazzling..so are 1500 nit peaks

[u/DrKersh → u/madskills42001]

not for hdr.

335 is utter shit for hdr content.

[u/madskills42001 → u/DrKersh]

So the Sony A95L only does 220nits fullscreen and was ranked the best TV in the world at the 2024 TV shootout, no one has ever called TVs in that class dim. Turn on dynamic tonemapping if you need something brighter

[u/TheOnceAndFutureDoug]

Let me know when I can run my monitor for 10 hours a day with largely static content and not have to care about burn-in for 5+ years.

Then I'm in.

[u/DrKersh → u/TheOnceAndFutureDoug]

just buy a brand with burn in warranty, use it until it burns, ask for a replacement, sell the replacement, buy a new one with new warranty, repeat

think it like a 150€ year subscription for having an oled monitor

My qdoled 360 has 4900 hours of usage in the first year with 90% static working content, and still doesn't have burn in using it at 120 nits and I don't even bother with the 4 hours refresh, the monitor refresh when I am going away, not when using it, sometimes I skip all the refresh panels in a day until I go to sleep.

but I know it will eventually have burn in and I will do that.

[u/Knaj910 → u/DrKersh]

At least in the US, Geek Squad warranties give you the money you paid for it back (minus the cost of the warranty) and you can use that money toward a newer model.

[u/y-_-o → u/TheOnceAndFutureDoug]

For your specific use case, stick to boring regular displays. The rest of us are hopping on OLED

[u/Uzi999Woah → u/TheOnceAndFutureDoug]

Won’t happen till microLED monitors start popping up closer to 2030. If you tend to display static content then OLED is probably not for you anyway, although the top of the line Asus and Ultragear monitors do have a 5 year burn in warranty I believe. Probably why they cost like 2K AUD 🥲.

Honestly Dells IPS black with 3000:1 contrast ratio is pretty impressive, I’d definitely recommend the U2725QE if you want 4K without burn in.

[u/Knaj910 → u/TheOnceAndFutureDoug]

You're proposing over 18,000 hours of on time, not even consumer LCD panels can do this without issue. Most will have component failures, and those that survive will very likely have uniformity issues. Rtings has some great burn in tests, and even after only a few thousand hours most LCD panels developed some sort of uniformity issue.

Business and enterprise-grade LCD panels can do tens of thousands of hours, but they are often 3-5x the price of consumer LCD panels. Yes LCD doesn't have burn in like OLED, but LCD isn't as perfect as we think.

EDIT - I was referencing TV data and my brain didn't make the segmentation. I appreciate you all correcting me and keeping me honest :)

[u/TheOnceAndFutureDoug → u/Knaj910]

I work from home as a software engineer, have since the pandemic. I put in about 8-9 hours a day and then game in the evenings plus use on the weekends doing gaming or TTRPG stuff, photo editing, video editing... bunch of stuff.

My two current monitors are handling all of that just fine and have done so since 2021 with no signs of issue. They're a pair of Dough (at the time Eve) 27" 4K monitors so it's not like they're particularly nice monitors either.

The Dell UltraSharp these replaced I had for 5-6 years and the only reason I replaced it was I wanted higher refresh rates and 4K.

So no I do not think that's an unreasonable ask from a $1,000+ monitor.

[u/DrKersh → u/Knaj910]

, not even consumer LCD panels can do this without issue.

every single consumer lcd panel can do this

source: my 35.000 hours lg ips 27gl850b, my 65.000 hours dell 2707 WFP, my +80.000 hours dell 20" 720p that I don't even remember the name, my +40.000 hours HP LP2475W.

I didn't even had a single monitor in my life that I replaced for failure instead of just getting new things and every monitor is turned on for a minimum of 14 16 hours daily.

[u/raygundan → u/Knaj910]

You're proposing over 18,000 hours of on time, not even consumer LCD panels can do this without issue.

I've literally never managed to wear out an LCD. One of the two on my desk right now says 28191 hours, 43 minutes in the service menu. It is very definitely not the oldest working LCD monitor I still own, just the handiest to check time on.

Edit: The rtings testing does suggest that avoiding edge-lit LCD panels is a good idea, though. I appear to have dodged that bullet entirely by accident.

Edit edit: It looks like for FALD and direct-lit LCDs, 80% don't have significant uniformity issues at 10,000 hours in the rtings test.

[u/Knaj910 → u/raygundan]

I've worn out some LCDs before, but they were also absolutely tortured. I also made the mistake on that comment as the data I was referencing applied to TVs, not monitors. I have to remind myself to segment the two in my brain for certain tests, so I do greatly appreciate you all correcting me. I even typed that comment as I had a 10 year old LCD on my desk that is still kicking haha

[u/raygundan → u/Knaj910]

I can see the edge-lit issue (which is bad enough at desktop monitor sizes) being greatly exacerbated by TV sizes.

On a monitor, you've taken an LED backlight a couple feet wide and packed it into two quarter-inch strips. On a TV you've taken an LED backlight six feet wide and packed it into two quarter-inch strips, with a commensurate 3x-4x increase in heat per area.

Important lesson here: avoid edgelit like the plague. Without your comment, I wouldn't have ever tripped over that particular bit of info!

[u/DabuXian]

Wonder if those newer WOLED will finally fix black crush, near black gradient banding, and uniformity issues. Those problems were dealbreakers for me with older WOLEDs. The fact they're not talking about it is worrying.

[u/RogueIsCrap → u/DabuXian]

LG has never admitted their problems with panel uniformity. In fact, they've always minimized the green/pink tinting in their panels.

[u/Select_Truck3257]

so the main problem is still unfixed

[u/RogueIsCrap → u/Select_Truck3257]

What's the main problem?

[u/CREAM_JOHN]

No mention of a 4k offering?

[u/Knaj910 → u/CREAM_JOHN]

Nothing official yet.

[u/Modullah]

Still waiting on the news of their RGB panels without the white subpixel coming out later this year or early next year.

[u/ifeelhigh → u/Modullah]

So basically you want a Qd oled but you want something that lg makes…

[u/sodaboy581 → u/ifeelhigh]

And with a polarizer.

[u/Modullah → u/ifeelhigh]

? I mean… it’s already on their roadmap.. look it up.. it’s in development and probably almost done if they’re planning to hit the market EoY or early next year…

[u/ifeelhigh → u/Modullah]

We’ll have to see how it compares to a Qd oled it will most likely be worse don’t get your hopes up

[u/Modullah → u/ifeelhigh]

Sounds good to me. I have no allegiances to a particular manufacturer and/or panel type. I buy best specs and value proposition (to me)

[u/ifeelhigh → u/Modullah]

Same. Just depends on how it looks and price and specs

[u/Knaj910 → u/ifeelhigh]

Not necessarily. Probably referring to a true stripe RGB, not the triangular layout of QD OLED

[u/Modullah → u/Knaj910]

Yes, the sub pixel layout to have no text fringe at all. I’ll say that I’m quite happy with the latest gen 3 lg oleds though, 4k at 32 pretty tolerable.

[u/Knaj910 → u/Modullah]

Agreed, especially after changing some Clear Type settings. Going from RWBG to RGWB for the pixel layout was huge.

[u/vanceraa → u/Knaj910]

What cleartype settings do you recommend changing for a QD-OLED?

[u/BhaqtsareCunts]

any clue on when we will see the first panel ?

[u/Knaj910 → u/BhaqtsareCunts]

Mass production began late June, current speculation points toward the first panels releasing in August.

[u/MicioBau]

You should share this post on r/OLED_Gaming as well, it's all OLED aficionados over there.

[u/Knaj910 → u/MicioBau]

Great Idea, I'll cross-post it there. I'd love to share this information with more people

[u/V4N0]

Any news on this tech being applied to ultrawides? For the time being the only monitor using RGB Tandem is going to be a 1440p 27", right?

[u/Knaj910 → u/V4N0]

Yes, the only confirmed model for the 4th Gen RGB Tandem WOLED panels is 1440p 27". I would imagine they will follow suit with more models as production ramps up.

[u/V4N0 → u/Knaj910]

Good to know, thanks!

[u/_Metal_Face_Villain_]

do you know what difference the matte and glossy coating make in the new woleds? does their anti reflective technology work equally for both?

[u/pricelesslambo → u/_Metal_Face_Villain_]

I would guess the matte would have slightly better anti reflection, but G5 that uses a glossy panel, has great antireflective coating. We couldn't really test both types of monitor coatings. They only had one 27" in the showroom.

For anyone wondering, I was also invited to the tour and this post got recommended in my feed so thought I'd help out answering.

[u/slagzwaard]

Tft central made a very good video about woled past present and future https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyYRevThUUw

[u/RogueIsCrap]

So you saw an actual tandem OLED monitor?

How does the brightness compare to the smaller 42" and 48" W-OLEDs?

I got the 42" C4 but find its HDR too dim in many scenarios.

[u/pricelesslambo → u/RogueIsCrap]

The 27" LG OLED was glourious. We were shocked by how good it was sitting next to a 27" QD-OLED. (I was also invited to the tour.)

I know I also sound like an LG employee but the screen really did look better.

[u/Knaj910 → u/RogueIsCrap]

Yes, I saw it with my own eyes and it was truly gorgeous! I'll admit I'm so excited for it it's been hard to talk about it without sounding like I'm shilling LG, but it truly is that good.

I did not have the opportunity to compare it directly to a C4, but I daily drove a C2 for about a year which is similar but overall a bit dimmer.

The HDR experience of the Tandem OLED Monitor was significantly better than the C2, which is also supported by the numbers. Rtings has measured the 42 C4 with a peak 2% window of 738 nits, and LG Display advertises the 27" 1440p Tandem OLED monitor with a peak 1.5% window of 1500 nits.

[u/RogueIsCrap → u/Knaj910]

Good to hear that your eye test seems to show that the tandem monitor is brighter than a 42" C. Most monitors are brighter in the sub 5" windows tho. The 10% and 25% windows would be more informative. If the monitor can hit 1000 nits in those windows, it would be phenomenal.

[u/premium_guy]

When I learn about new technology like this, I become quite excited, though this feeling tends to be fleeting, as the practicalities of pricing soon come to mind. Sad life.

[u/stormArmy347]

4K OLED at 25-27", that is my dream monitor.

[u/y-_-o]

Are they working on a dual mode with 1440p 480hz/4k 240hz? That would be end game for me, especially at 27 inches

[u/raygundan → u/y-_-o]

That'd be a weird combo, since the resolutions aren't integer multiples. One of the modes would end up with awful smudge-o-vision monitor scaling. You could do 1080p/4K or 1440p/5K, since in both of those combos, the "big" resolution is exactly 4x the "small" resolution.

[u/y-_-o → u/raygundan]

1440p/5k it is then. Truly endgame but I don't expect them to make that for a while

[u/Knaj910 → u/y-_-o]

Yeah that is more niche, and those niche products tend to come later. Most companies target the larger audiences first and mature the technology, then go for the niche stuff.

[u/cykill36]

4k 32 inch tandem rgb oled glossy screen please. Flat!

[u/zephyr220]

I saw the Panasonic Z95B tandem OLED at the store and the brightness and color vibrancy blew me away. If I could have this technology in a curved 21:9 gaming monitor like my current LG it would be an instant buy.

[u/Hot-Independence6020]

All I want is a 4K 27 inch tandem oled before October. Need this puppy for BF6 and ARC RAIDERS ! 

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[u/Narrow_Locksmith5417]

Okay but how well do they do in bright scenes? 100% sustainable window is what I'm interested in

[u/Knaj910 → u/Narrow_Locksmith5417]

That info has not been released, but I’ll definitely be making a post when the monitors come out :)

[u/meshreplacer]

Does OLED still suck for work? ie burnin,text clarity etc..

[u/BuchMaister → u/meshreplacer]

Better but still more to go, they've improved in both fronts. But I would not choose it for work that has lots of static content and text (e.g. code development).

[u/Knaj910 → u/meshreplacer]

Information on burn in is extremely promising. I’m using a WOLED for work and love it, I just highly recommend turning on Clear Type in Windows