The two major OLED subtypes found on gaming monitors are QD-OLED and WOLED made by Samsung Display and LG Display respectively. The purpose of this article is to cover major differences between the two and note changes between generations for the same panel types.
| Shorthand | Meaning |
|---|---|
| FSB | Full screen brightness |
| TB | VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack certification |
Note:
- Coatings between QD-OLED and W-OLED are not the same, so “glossy (v1)” refers to different things on both.
- The full screen brightness and trueblack are only indicative of what the panel can do. In some instances models (mainly 2560x1440 Gen 3 QD-OLED as of writing) may be downbinned to lower spec such as 200 nit full screen and no VESA HDR certification.
QD-OLED #
- All generations have triangular RGB subpixel layouts, differing in shape/placement
- Only 2024 (SD suffix) and later Samsung models are matte, every other QD-OLED is glossy
- QD-OLED has more black level rise with ambient light compared to WOLED (“purple tint”), it is worse on glossy v1
- Glossy v3 is marketed as “BlackShield Film” coating
| Gen | Spec | Curve | Subpixel layout | Coating | FSB | TB | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 34” 3440x1440 165-175 Hz | 1800R | Diamond | Glossy (v1), Matte | 250 | 400 | |
| 2 | 34” 3440x1440 240 Hz | 1800R | Diamond | Glossy (v1), Matte | 250 | 400 | Officially Gen 2 but retains all Gen 1 attributes |
| 2 | 49” 5120x1440 144-240 Hz | 1800R | Square (v1) | Glossy (v2), Matte | 250 | 400 | |
| 3 | 27” 2560x1440 240/280/360 Hz | Flat | Square (v2) | Glossy (v2), Matte | 250 | 400 | |
| 3 | 27” 3840x2160 165-240 Hz | Flat | Square (v2) | Glossy (v2), Matte | 250 | 400 | |
| 3 | 32” 3840x2160 165-240 Hz | Flat or 1700R | Square (v2) | Glossy (v2), Matte | 250 | 400 | |
| 4 | 27” 2560x1440 500 Hz | Flat | Square (v2) | Glossy (v2), Matte | 300 | 500 | |
| 4 | 32” 3840x2160 240 Hz | Flat | Square (v2) | Glossy (v3) | 300 | 500 | |
| 5 | 34” 3440x1440 330 Hz | 1800R | V-Stripe | Glossy (v3) | 300 | 500 |
WOLED #
- Use of an MLA layer adds haze/grain
- Most generations use a stripe subpixel layout with a white subpixel, order varies between generations
- WOLED has worse gray uniformity than QD-OLED (“vertical banding” or “dirty screen effect”), it varies by unit
- Gen 4 is marketed as “Primary RGB Tandem” or “Tandem WOLED”
- Glossy v2 is marketed as “TrueBlack” or “RealBlack” glossy coating
| Gen | Spec | Curve | Subpixel layout | Coating | FSB | TB | MLA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27” 2560x1440 240 Hz | Flat | RWBG | Matte (v1) | 200 | - | X | |
| 1 | 45” 3440x1440 240 Hz | 800R | RWBG | Matte (v1) | 200 | - | X | |
| 2 | 27” 2560x1440 240 Hz | Flat | RWBG | Matte (v1), Glossy (v1/v2) | 250 | 400 | X | Glossy v1 on XG27AQDMG, v2 on 27GX704A |
| 2 | 34” 3440x1440 240 Hz | 800R | RWBG | Matte (v1) | 250 | 400 | X | |
| 2 | 39” 3440x1440 240 Hz | 800R | RWBG | Matte (v1) | 250 | 400 | X | |
| 2 | 45” 3440x1440 240 Hz | 800R | RWBG | Matte (v1) | 250 | 400 | X | |
| 3 | 27” 2560x1440 480 Hz | Flat | RGWB | Matte (v1) | 250 | 400 | X | |
| 3 | 32” 3840x2160 240 Hz | Flat | RGWB | Matte (v1), Glossy (v2) | 250 | 400 | X | Glossy v2 on XG32UCWG, XG32UCWMG, 32GX850A |
| 3 | 45” 5120x2160 165 Hz | 800R | RGWB | Matte (v1) | 250 | 400 | X | 45GX950A |
| 4 | 27” 2560x1440 280/540 Hz | Flat | RGWB | Matte (v2), Glossy (v2) | 350 | 500 | Glossy v2 on XG27AQWMG, PG27AQWP-W | |
| 4 | 39” 5120x2160 165 Hz | 1500R | RGWB | Matte (v2) | ? | 500 | 39GX950B | |
| 4 | 32” 3840x2160 240 Hz | Flat | RGWB | Matte (v2) | ? | 500 | 32GX870B | |
| 4 | 27” 3840x2160 240 Hz | Flat | RGB | ? | 250 | 400 | Unreleased as of Feb 2026 |
Text clarity #
Both subtypes exhibit different types of text fringing (varying by subpixel layout) on Windows due to its subpixel rendering assuming RGB stripe layout. There is no definitive best which would apply to all people or all content, though consensus appears to be: \(W_{G1/2} < QD_{G1} < W_{G3/4} < QD_{G2} \approx QD_{G3/4} < QD_{G5} = W_{RGB}\)
MU/TechSpot on Gen 4 W (RGWB):
The use of RGWB makes these fourth gen WOLED panels very competitive with the latest high refresh QD OLEDs. Whether it reaches parity with triangle RGB QD OLED is subjective and depends on things like font and text size. QD OLED has its own issues with pink and green fringing above and below text, so neither panel is free of artefacts. We do not have strong thoughts on which is better. We might slightly prefer QD OLED, but really neither is as crisp as an IPS LCD. Overall, it is usable for desktop tasks and a non issue while gaming.
PCM on Gen 1/2 W (RWBG) vs Gen 1 QD:
Really, which fringing is ‘worse’ is situational and quite subjective. Overall, though, we found some of the fringing more noticeable on the WOLED screen than on the QD-OLED.
Black depth #
TFTCentral has in-depth content measuring black-depth as a function of ambient light between panel types:
- The OLED Black Depth Lie – When Panel Type and Coating Matters [Matte/glossy v1 (MLA) WOLED, glossy v1/v2 QD-OLED]
- Asus ROG Strix XG27AQWMG review / ‘TrueBlack’ Glossy Coating [Matte v1 (MLA), glossy v1 (MLA), glossy v2 (MLA), glossy v2 WOLED]
- Gigabyte MO27Q28G review / black depth and ambient light handling [Matte v2]
I strongly suggest reading their content on the matter, though the gist is that for best black depth with ambient light: \(QD_{G_{v1}} < QD_{G_{v2}} < QD_{G_{v3}} < W_{M_{v1/MLA}} < W_{G_{v1/MLA}} < W_{G_{v2/MLA}} < W_{M_{v2}} < W_{G_{v2}}\)