Internal disputes between Samsung due to QD-OLED pricing issues, or slowing down the progress of related products to market

At this year's CES 2022 show, the organizer CTA selected a variety of participating technology products, of which Samsung's first QD-OLED TV (65-inch QD-DISPLAY TV) was one of the products that won the CES 2022 Innovative Product Award. This is the world's first true RGB self-emitting quantum dot OLED display device, combining the contrast level of RGB OLED with the color and brightness of the quantum dots for the ultimate visual effect.

It is a pity that Samsung did not publicly display this TV at the exhibition, but chose to exhibit Micro LED and Neo QLED TV, and even the official CES award-winning product page is missing the product photos of the QD-OLED TV. Instead, Sony released the Bravia XR A95K and A80K with QD-OLED panels at CES 2022. At the time, there was speculation that Samsung might hesitate and waver at the strategic choice level of panel and display technology.

According to The Elec, Samsung Electronics and Samsung Display appear to be at loggerheads over pricing issues with QD-OLED panels, which could lead to a knock-on effect that Samsung-branded QD-OLED TVs will eventually appear in the retail market later than expected. According to the original plan, Samsung should launch its first QD-OLED TV in the middle of this year, with the first shipment of 500,000 units.

The reason for the rumor is that LG's W-OLED panel is cheaper than the QD-OLED panel, and Samsung Electronics does not want to pay that high panel price, hoping that Samsung Display will offer the same price as LG panel. It is not clear what the specific price of the QD-OLED panel is, and some sources pointed out that the price of the QD-OLED panel provided by Samsung Display is $100 higher than LG's W-OLED panel. In addition, Samsung Display plans to supply Dell computers with a 30-inch QD-OLED panel for high-end displays.

Due to yield issues, Samsung stopped the development of large OLED panels five years ago and shifted its focus to Mini LED backlighting and quantum dot technology. However, the QD-OLED panel displayed by Samsung attracted the interest of Lee Jae-yong, the head of Samsung Group, who ordered a re-evaluation of the large OLED panel business after visiting the panel factory in 2018, and then re-launched the development of QD-OLED panels.