Samsung today announced it has started mass production on a 31.5-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor and plans to introduce a 27-inch 1440p variant with a 360 Hz refresh rate. The company, which also makes TVs and panels for other brands, aims to entice PC users with more familiar and mainstream aspect ratios. While we expect many monitor brands to display UHD (and perhaps DUHD) monitors at the upcoming CES 2024, these 16:9 monitor configurations will appeal to a larger user base.
Samsung is using an ultra-precise inject printing technology to increase the 31.5-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor's display pixel density to 140 PPI, which is equivalent to that of a 65-inch 8K TV.
According to Samsung, the industry estimates QD-OLED monitor shipments to reach 600,000 units by the end of 2023 — four times as much as 2022. QD-OLED displays are a well-established display technology for TVs, phones, and handheld gaming devices such as the much-appreciated Steam Deck OLED.
Samsung claims that 30-inch 1440p monitors are now a common general-purpose resolution monitor. This contradicts my observations: I've noticed a lot of users prefer to buy 27-inch 1440p or ultra-wide monitors. Samsung is also confident gamers will trend toward 4K monitors in 2024; 4K monitors have been around for a while, but adoption rate has been somewhat slow. According to the Nov. 2023 Steam hardware survey, just 3.72% of users have 4K monitors, while 15.97% have 1440p monitors and a whopping 60.09% have 1080p monitors.
We don't have all the details on the upcoming 31.5-inch and 27-inch monitors just yet, but we should see more info soon (probably at CES). Samsung says it achieved the high, 360 Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time on the 27-inch QHD QD-OLED monitor using its proprietary AI algorithm "Quantum Enhancer."
Whether the use of AI commands a premium or will just be normally implemented as a standard is something to keep an eye on. It would be nice if Samsung addressed whether it's using AI to minimize the burn-in issues that potentially haunt any OLED displays. Gigabyte's new AORUS monitors claim to use AI to minimize burn-in problems.
Many display makers will show off QD-OLED monitors at CES 2024 in Las Vegas next month. MSI and AORUS have already teased some monitors that will be available globally, while Nubia's gaming division, RedMagic, and TCL have shown off monitors for the Chinese market.
