150-inch micro-LED TVs to be demoed by Samsung at CES 2018
With their true blacks and vibrant colors, OLED screens slowly took over the throne for best image quality that was once dominated by plasma displays. All the big TV manufacturers have OLEDs as their high-end offers, except Samsung. The Koreans think that OLEDs are fine for devices that have a short lifetime, such as smartphones, but not TVs or large screens. That’s why Samsung is currently the only big manufacturer that offers QLEDs instead of OLEDs. The problem seems to be related to the organic materials that make up the tiny OLED pixels, which are prone to burn-in due to uneven wear when static image elements are shown for an extended time. Instead of organic materials, Samsung wants to use microscopic versions of normal RGB LEDs, so the inky blacks would be kept, but the burn-in problem would be eradicated.
Back in 2012, Samsung showed off a 55-inch micro-LED TV that was very similar to the OLED displays of that time in terms of picture quality. Since then, the company has kept a low profile in the micro-LED department, but this could change very soon, as the Koreans intend to demo a 150-inch screen at CES 2018, according to ZDNet Korea. This technology would consume even less power than OLEDs and would allow for bigger screen sizes at a fraction of the OLED costs.
The micro-LED pixels need to be less than 100 micrometers in size, which is currently very hard to achieve. Samsung thinks it has the means to deliver mass produced micro-LED display, but huge TV screens are still a few years away. The micro-LEDs can also be used for foldable displays, as demonstrated by Samsung and a recent Apple foldable phone patent.