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OLEDs differ from traditional LCDs because each pixel in the panel emits its own light when current passes through it. This design means there is no need for a separate backlight to illuminate each pixel, unlike LCDs. So, to display black, the individual pixels can be turned off, allowing true “inky” blacks, infinite contrast, and vibrant colors unmatched by LCD-based monitors. That means the necessary pixels are turned off when representing the color black.
There are several types of OLED monitors, with WOLED and QD-OLED among the most popular. WOLED monitors feature red, green, blue, and white subpixels overlayed on a white OLED layer. The white light passes through the red, green, and blue filters to produce color, while the light passing through the unfiltered white subpixel can be used to enhance overall brightness (and to compensate for the inefficiency of the color filters).
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QD-OLED monitors, on the other hand, use a blue-emitting layer instead of WOLED’s white layer. Furthermore, the light passes through a quantum dot layer without the need for color filters, which helps to boost color saturation compared to WOLEDs.
LG has been a big player in this space, supplying WOLED panels not only for its self-branded monitors, but also to third-party customers. The company recently announced at SID Display Week 2026 that it is launching 3rd generation Tandem OLED panel technology. LG’s development in this space has come at a rapid clip, as the company only announced its 2nd generation Tandem OLED technology back at CES 2026.
Tandem OLED is the successor to LG’s WOLED panel technology and offers some key advantages. It uses a four-layer stack (blue, green, blue, red) which passes through a filter. Whereas older WOLED panels use a separate white subpixel, the latest Tandem OLED panels use a Primary RGB layout, negating the need for the white subpixel. In practice, Tandem OLEDs tend to be brighter than their WOLED counterparts while offering improved color volume, putting them on more equal footing with QD-OLEDs.
According to LG, its 3rd-generation Tandem OLED panel technology offers peak brightness of 1200 nits and typical brightness of up to 500 nits. Despite these impressive figures (for an OLED), LG claims that it has reduced power consumption by 18 percent, while offering a panel service life of over 15,000 hours. That last figure is a 2x improvement over 2nd-generation panels.
“This advancement is enabled by a newly developed OLED element that optimizes hole and electron movement to minimize degradation while ensuring uniform picture quality, along with the application of a deep blue dopant to further improve color purity, color reproduction, brightness, low power consumption, and longevity,” LG wrote in a press release. “LG Display plans to begin mass production of the automotive panel within this year before later expanding into IT and other applications.”
Of course, these are just manufacturer claims, so we have to temper our expectations until we see the results in the real world. However, if the claims do hold up, the performance of the 3rd-generation panels should go a long way towards alleviating some of the reliability concerns some consumers have about OLED panels.
Before we discuss OLED burn-in, we must first explain what exactly makes up an OLED. OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode. It’s the “organic” in the name that can cause issues with extended use. The use of organic compounds makes OLED panels more fragile and susceptible to power input and high sustained brightness levels.
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In addition, OLEDs provide their own light source, as they are self-illuminating. Over time, these self-illuminating diodes will lose brightness and will appear dimmer to the naked eye as their luminescence degrades. When these overworked diodes sit next to diodes that haven’t seen such frequent use, what you’re witnessing is “burn-in.”
An easy example to explain how this can occur is with 24-7 TV news channels. These channels often have a mostly static banner sitting at the bottom of the screen. Because of the banner's persistence, with little movement of text and logos that can appear within it, the pixels see significantly more “power on” time than the surrounding pixels, where there is more dynamic action. If you leave that static banner in place for weeks or months at a time, you’ll eventually notice burn-in if you switch to a solid-color background.
However, there are some best practices you can implement in your daily workflow to help prevent burn-in in the first place.
Set your OLED monitor to turn off or switch to a screensaver for 5 or 10 minutes if you’re not active.
If you use a background on your computer, consider a dynamic background or a slideshow of images that rotate frequently.
Rather than have a taskbar that is permanently docked, set it to auto-hide.
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/monitors/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/monitors/why-now-is-the-best-time-to-jump-on-the-oled-monitor-bandwagon-breaking-down-new-gen-panel-tech-and-our-top-burn-in-prevention-tips#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.