Skip to main content

Samsung forges alliance with rivals to bolster QLED against LG's OLED

Samsung QLED.
Image used with permission by copyright holder
World-leading TV manufacturers Samsung, Hisense, and TCL banded together to form what they are calling the “QLED Alliance,” a cooperative push between the three companies to make QLED a serious competitor against OLED.

Until now, the term “QLED” was a Samsung-controlled trademark and appeared exclusively in the branding of Samsung LCD TVs that use quantum dots. With this new alliance, that exclusivity is no longer the case. Hisense and TCL, despite both being major competitors with Samsung, will now be able to use the QLED terminology on their displays using quantum dot tech. This opens the door for future partnerships between other TV manufacturers who may want to get in on the QLED push.

Recommended Videos

This is an obvious move against LG, which has formed a similar coalition to promote and distribute OLED TVs — the major competition to QLED. While Samsung had been open about the possibility of letting competitors use the QLED terminology, the growing popularity of OLED likely put pressure on the company to finally make these deals.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The announcement was made in Beijing during the first Chinese Electronics Chamber of Commerce- (CECC) hosted QLED International Forum. The event included a presentation by the nanotech company, Nanosys, detailing its roadmap for the future of quantum dot technology, including the eventual introduction of “true QLED” TVs into the consumer market sometime in the future (though the company made no predictions as to how soon that will be).

QLED TVs currently on the market on the are actually a type of LCD TV with a quantum dot filter in the display. This filters light from the LED for better color, thus enhancing the TV’s performance and picture quality. In the future, true QLED TVs will ditch the LCD technology and instead use a full array quantum dots for picture generation. These true QLED TVs will reportedly not only achieve the brightness and color only quantum dots are capable of, but also the true blacks that OLED is known for.

At the event, Samsung, Hisense, and TCL all showed off a number of upcoming QLED TVs, all of which use a quantum dot filter or screen and are not yet “true QLED.” However, Samsung assures that its current LCD-based QLED TVs can compete with the OLED TVs on the market. While we wait for the true QLED TVs to finally make an appearance, we are sure to see an increase in QLED LCDs in stores soon.

Brendan Hesse
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brendan has written about a wide swath of topics, including music, fitness and nutrition, and pop culture, but tech was…
2024 LG TVs first look: G4 OLED upgrades and a pleasant webOS surprise
LG C4 OLED

I just got an in-depth look at LG’s best 2024 TVs, and I have good news, better news, and one pleasant surprise that I think is going to make some of you very happy.

I visited LG at its U.S. headquarters in New Jersey to get a closer look at and more details on some of its most exciting products for 2024. I did a pretty deep dive on the LG G4 OLED, caught just a glimpse of the C4 OLED, was smacked upside the head by the flagship 4K QNED mini-LED TV, and had a one-on-one conversation with the head of LG’s webOS team and – well, let’s just say I may make a webOS fan out of some of you by the end of this article.

Read more
Samsung S95D OLED first look: a reflection on excellence
Samsung S95D OLED

I recently traveled to New Jersey to visit Samsung for an up-close and personal look at the flagship TVs in its 2024 lineup, which includes Samsung’s 8K Neo-QLED and 4K Neo-QLEDs, and the reason we’re here today: the S95D.

The S95D is Samsung’s flagship OLED TV for 2024, and it has been the subject of some consternation for some TV enthusiasts because it has a new anti-glare or anti-reflective screen coating. Is there any merit to that concern? Has it overshadowed how good this TV could actually be thanks to a new 3rd generation QD-OLED panel? Is it any brighter? Should we be excited about this TV?

Read more
Samsung’s 2024 Neo QLED TVs are here, and you can preorder them now from $1,200
The 2024 Samsung-QN900D Neo QLED 8K TV.

After getting a glimpse of Samsung’s new TVs at CES 2024 a couple of months back, the time has come for the TV-loving public to finally get their hands on them. Samsung announced today that preorders are now open for its flagship QN900D Neo QLED 8K model and its QN800D sibling, as well as its two new Neo QLED 4K models, the QN90D and QN85D, and its latest The Frame TVs, with prices spanning from $999 to $4,999.

They are available in sizes ranging from the smallest 43-inch QN90D all the way up to a 98-inch version of that model -- all four models also have huge 85-inch options. All of the 2024 Neo QLED TVs share similar features that vary, with the 8K QN900 and the 4K QN90D being the top dogs and benefitting from slightly better specs. Some of those shared specs across the models include:

Read more