Looking to purchase an OLED monitor? You aren’t alone. Though nonetheless comparatively costly, interest in OLED monitors is soaring and monitor makers are set to debut dozens of latest OLED fashions in 2025. It’s shaping as much as be the best year ever to buy a new monitor.
Some of those new fashions will push costs decrease, with some OLED displays falling under the $600 threshold. Others will chase greater resolutions (like 4K) and sooner refresh charges (like 480Hz). Your choices will solely proceed to develop from right here on out.
And that may go away you feeling overwhelmed, even intimidated. But I’ve a uncommon bit of excellent information for you: don’t fret as a result of it doesn’t actually matter which OLED monitor you purchase. They’re all implausible.
The OLED panel duopoly is a giant deal
As of this writing, there are solely two producers — Samsung and LG — who’re able to producing panels for OLED displays in excessive quantity, they usually don’t supply monitor makers a lot selection.
This is definitely a current improvement. For so long as LCD displays have existed, monitor makers have relied on LCD panels produced by third-party suppliers together with firms like BOE Technology Group, AUO Optronics, Innolux, CSOT, JDI, and, after all, each LG and Samsung. The massive variety of rivals led to an enormous number of LCD panels.
But OLED panel manufacturing is extra centralized, with Samsung Display and LG Display dominating the market, providing only a handful of panels. These embrace 27-inch 1440p and 32-inch 4K QD-OLED and WOLED panels alongside 34-inch 1440p choices. It’s the identical story with refresh charges — most supply 4K as much as 240Hz or 1440p as much as 360Hz, with a number of dipping into 1080p decision at as much as 480Hz.
That may sound like selection at a look, however think about what it doesn’t embrace. No funds 60Hz or 120Hz choices. Nothing smaller than 27 inches. Nothing at 5K (5120×2880) decision or past. Ultrawide followers have even fewer choices, with practically all OLED ultrawide displays packing both 34-inch 1440p or 45-inch 1440p panels. (We might be seeing the first 5K2K OLED ultrawides in mid-2025, though!)
Samsung’s QD-OLED vs. LG’s WOLED
OLED panel selection is slim on paper, nevertheless it’s much more slim when you think about the finer particulars. While Samsung QD-OLED and LG WOLED panels are available in few completely different sizes, resolutions, and refresh charges, that’s the place picture high quality variations finish. All Samsung QD-OLED panels ship related metrics in SDR brightness, distinction ratio, shade gamut, shade accuracy, and gamma/shade temperature efficiency. The similar is true for LG WOLED panels.
It’s even true among the many completely different generations of OLED panels. For instance: the Alienware AW3423DW QD-OLED from 2022 is nearly similar to the brand new MSI MPG 272URX QD-OLED by way of SDR brightness, distinction, shade gamut, and shade accuracy. It’s an analogous story with LG WOLED panels, although the newest of these do supply a barely higher shade gamut than their predecessors.
And I’d take {that a} step additional: QD-OLED and WOLED look practically similar. Sure, technically and objectively, Samsung QD-OLED panels and LG WOLED panels are completely different. Samsung QD-OLED has a slight lead general, principally as a result of QD-OLED’s shade gamut, which is a bit wider than LG’s WOLED. But that apart, each the target picture high quality (as examined utilizing a colorimeter) and subjective viewing expertise is analogous between QD-OLED and WOLED.
Of course, there are variations, too. QD-OLED can look a bit reddish or purplish when displaying sure hues at greater brightness ranges, an issue WOLED solves with a devoted white sub-pixel. Meanwhile, QD-OLED can look noticeably extra saturated when viewing very vivid content material. Even so, most gained’t discover these variations exterior of a side-by-side comparability (and even then, much less discerning viewers may miss it).
It’s the identical with movement readability. Both QD-OLED panels and WOLED panels supply extraordinarily low pixel response instances, with most quoting a gray-to-gray pixel response time of 0.03 milliseconds. That’s very a lot born out in my very own expertise reviewing dozens of OLED displays. When it involves OLED, 240Hz is 240Hz.
If there’s one metric the place OLED displays can actually range to a non-trivial diploma, it’s HDR (excessive dynamic vary). Newer OLED displays carry out higher than older fashions, with newer panels capable of attain greater ranges of brightness. That’s just for HDR, although, which stays unpopular on the PC. (That’s a complete completely different can of worms.)
Okay… so, what issues then?
If Samsung’s QD-OLED and LG’s WOLED panels look the identical, and if their panels are all accessible in solely a handful of sizes, resolutions, and refresh charges, then what ought to a purchaser take note of?
The worth! Since all present OLED displays are so related, you need to merely resolve what you want by way of dimension, decision, and refresh charge, then discover the most affordable OLED monitor that meets your required specs. That’s why the Alienware AW3423DWF, a comparatively historic OLED monitor launched in late-2022, remains to be an important choice in 2025. It’s ceaselessly on sale for $650, which is a pair hundred lower than newer 34-inch OLED ultrawide displays, but its picture high quality is near the identical.
There are exceptions, after all. I don’t advocate shopping for displays by random off-brand firms who present up on Amazon in a single day. Stick with respected monitor manufacturers like Asus, BenQ, Dell, LG, MSI, Samsung, Innocn, and so forth. As lengthy as you retain to well-known firms, you should not have any points going for probably the most cheap fashions.
But additionally take note of warranties. Most monitor makers supply a 3-year guarantee, however a number of have much less beneficiant phrases. LG, for instance, only offers a 2-year warranty regardless of the very fact it makes the very panels in its OLED displays. (Weird, however true.) These warranties are particularly vital for OLED monitors due to burn-in risks.
Connectivity is the ultimate piece of the puzzle. I usually favor displays which have USB-C over those who don’t, but even this distinction is starting to fade as extra OLED displays add USB-C and different newer show requirements like HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.1.
Ultimately, all of that is nice information for patrons.
The large selection in LCD panels provided numerous selection, nevertheless it was arguably an excessive amount of of a very good factor that made procuring exhausting. I overview over 50 shows yearly (throughout displays, laptops, and TVs) and even this quantity gave me little perception into the huge LCD market.
But OLED is completely different. With solely two main panel makers, the panels they make are extra related than they’re completely different… they usually’re all glorious. So, cease worrying and purchase that OLED. You’re going to adore it.
Further studying: The best gaming monitors we’ve tested