I vividly remember buying my first OLED TV, the LG E8 55-inch, back in 2019, right before the world went into lockdown. It was the perfect isolation companion. At the time, I didn't fully understand the marvels of OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology. I knew it featured self-lit pixels, unlike the backlight in LCD displays, which meant infinite contrast. But it wasn't until I immersed myself in the visually stunning worlds of Final Fantasy XV and The Last of Us Part II that I truly appreciated what OLED could do. It felt like living through a nostalgic, fever dream-like memory in real time. Naturally, I didn't stop at the E8.

A few years later, I upgraded to the LG C2 65-inch TV, and since then, I've reviewed numerous devices with OLED displays, discovering that not all OLED screens are created equal. In fact, not all OLED displays share the same technology. You might be curious about the types of OLEDs out there. There are many, but the three you should really focus on are WOLED, QD-OLED, and AMOLED.

WOLED, QD-OLED, and AMOLED: How They Work

OLED technology has been around for decades, with companies like Kodak and Mitsubishi experimenting with it. It wasn't until LG introduced its OLED TVs in the early 2010s that the technology gained widespread recognition.

LG's version of OLED is called WOLED (White OLED). The company doesn't label it as such in its marketing because LG positions itself as the epitome of OLED. But what exactly is WOLED? As mentioned, OLED uses self-lit pixels, eliminating the need for a backlight, which results in infinite contrast and vibrant colors. However, the compounds in the red, green, and blue emitters degrade at different rates, accelerating the risk of burn-in.

WOLED addresses this issue by employing a pure white OLED layer with an RGBW color filter. Imagine those self-lit pixels; they're no longer red, green, or blue—they're white. Yet, this approach has its drawbacks. When light passes through different color filters, some colors appear brighter than others, causing imbalanced brightness and reduced color volume. Higher-end WOLEDs attempt to mitigate this with Micro Lens Array technology, which uses thousands of microlenses per pixel to focus light.

In 2022, another solution emerged called QD-OLED (Quantum Dot OLED), introduced by Samsung. QD-OLED replaces the white OLED layer with a blue one that interacts with a layer of quantum dot color converters. Unlike the RGBW filter, quantum dots absorb the light, converting blue into red or green without losing any of the backlight's intensity.

AMOLED occupies its own niche as it's similar to WOLED but includes a thin-film transistor (TFT) layer, which enhances pixel activation speed. However, this comes at the expense of OLED's iconic "infinite" contrast.

WOLED, QD-OLED, and AMOLED: Which Is Better for Gaming?

Choosing the right OLED technology for gaming depends on specific circumstances and personal preferences. If you're looking for a straightforward answer: QD-OLED is the best option. However, there are scenarios where WOLED or AMOLED might be preferable.

Let's start with AMOLED, which is typically found in smartphones and laptops. These displays are rarely used in TVs due to their high cost. AMOLED is flexible, suitable for foldable devices, and offers high refresh rates and excellent viewing angles. However, on smaller devices, the choice of OLED type is often limited, as the display isn't the primary focus. Ironically, AMOLED struggles in direct sunlight due to lower peak brightness.

For gaming monitors and TVs, you have the option between WOLED (marketed simply as OLED) and QD-OLED. WOLED can get very bright thanks to its white OLED layer, but this brightness is mainly limited to whites. The RGBW filter results in a loss of brightness across other colors. QD-OLED, on the other hand, offers a more uniformly bright and colorful display because its quantum dots absorb and convert light efficiently.

I have my OLED TV positioned in my living room across from windows, so it experiences significant glare. Yet, the darkest parts of the TV still appear truly black. In contrast, my QD-OLED monitor on my desk does not maintain that perfect black against glare; instead, it shows a purplish tint. This is because Samsung removed the polarizing layer from QD-OLED displays to boost brightness, which also increases reflections.

While QD-OLED displays generally offer superior color and brightness, WOLED screens are less distracting in highly reflective environments. It's important to note, however, that the actual performance depends on the specific model's specifications. Generally, the more you spend, the better the display quality.

But QD-OLED and WOLED might not be the only options for long.

The Future of OLED Is PHOLED

There are various types of OLEDs, including PHOLED (Phosphorescent OLED), which uses phosphorescent materials to convert energy into light. The challenge with PHOLED is that the blue phosphorescent material has a significantly shorter lifespan compared to green and red, making PHOLED panels less durable.

However, LG has recently announced a breakthrough in blue PHOLED technology, paving the way for mass production. LG refers to PHOLED as "Dream OLED" because phosphorescence offers 100% luminous efficiency, far surpassing the 25% efficiency of fluorescence. This means PHOLED TVs will be brighter and consume less power.

While we won't see PHOLED displays in TVs anytime soon, we can expect to see this technology in smartphones and tablets in the near future.