Samsung has decided to use LG-made WOLED panels in every size of its new 2026 mid-range Samsung S90H OLED TV model, as opposed to mixing and matching QD-OLED and WOLED as it has done in the past — and it’s upset some fans.
WOLED, the more traditional or ‘standard’ OLED panel, has historically been dimmer than QD-OLED, which has also been known for more vibrant colors and higher HDR color gamut coverage (based on our previous tests) thanks to its use of quantum dots.
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The next two models however, 2024’s S90D and last year’s S90F, were subject to a ‘panel lottery’. This meant that in some sizes in some regions, users couldn’t know whether they would get a QD-OLED or WOLED panel, and Samsung regularly declined to confirm anything when asked. And there would have been a clear performance difference between different panels.
This year, Samsung seems to have decided to cut the confusion altogether by using WOLED panels across all sizes, as reported by multiple sources including DisplaySpecifications. Unfortunately, it’s not gone down well with some fans. In a post in r/OLEDgaming, user u/TheGabrielSevero says: “Samsung S90H is a WOLED? If it is, it’s a HARD pass.”
Some users also aren’t happy with the introduction of the OLED Glare Free matte screen to the S90H lineup either, making its debut in this model after being first introduced in 2024 with the flagship Samsung S95D and then making its way to more mini-LED and QLED models last year.
I’ve always been impressed by the matte screen for its reflection-beating abilities that make bright room viewing easier, but some users criticize it for raising black tones to a gray, which is a compromise for beating the reflections. I tested the Samsung S95F next to the LG G6 recently and the LG manages to balance both blacks and reflections with a more pleasing result, but the Samsung S95F is still an excellent choice for bright rooms, a title it holds on our best OLED TV list.
So the S90H is coming under fire for two big reasons, and while I can’t help anyone who doesn’t like the matte screen with that element, I have arguably some good news for those worried about the use of WOLED panels — or, at the very least, an explanation on why Samsung would switch.
LG C6’s brightness: a new hope?
When we measured the 65-inch Samsung S90F (which uses a QD-OLED panel last year) its peak HDR brightness (10% window pattern) it clocked in at 1,400 nits, with its peak fullscreen HDR brightness hitting 270 nits. These were much higher results than the rival LG C5 (which uses a WOLED panel), which we measured at 1,180 nits peak and 195 nits fullscreen.
While these were both five-star TVs overall, having the option to get a QD-OLED TV for the same price as a WOLED TV was better value for money in several ways, because you were getting a more advanced, much brighter panel.
However, our lab recently measured the LG C6’s brightness and there’s some promising news. The C6’s peak HDR brightness hit 1,355 nits and its fullscreen HDR brightness measured 237 nits. This is a nice boost over the C5, and much closer to the S90F’s results, especially in peak brightness.
The reason the C6 results are relevant is because it uses LG Display’s mid-range WOLED panel, which is the one almost certainly used in the S90H – and so the Samsung should achieve very similar numbers.
So when it comes to pure brightness, you can see why Samsung would choose to make the switch — it takes the confusion out of the S90H line-up, while hitting very similar brightness figures to the S90F QD-OLED models.
And the double-whammy is that WOLED panels are reportedly much cheaper to produce than QD-OLED (one report says QD-OLED is up to 65% more expensive to produce even today), so if you can get that level of performance while paying less, wouldn’t you go for it?
Having said that, the S90H’s performance is likely to take a hit in one area, however: BT.2020 HDR color gamut coverage. The C6 measured 75.4% coverage in our lab’s recent tests, but the S90F clocked in at a staggering 90.1%. This is where QD-OLED really shines. Happily, in the more commonly used DCI-P3 color space — the one actually used by HDR video — both TVs achieved nearly 100%.
It’s worth noting that the above C6 measurements were taken before a recent firmware update. Although we’re not expecting big changes in the areas measured above (peak and fullscreen brightness and HDR color gamut), we’ll be doing a full re-test before our full LG C6 review goes live.
We haven’t measured the S90H yet, but when we do it’ll be interesting to see how similar it is to the C6, and what performance differences there are in real-world viewing. While it’s great to know that panels will be consistent across the range, will there be a compromise in Samsung’s often bolder color reproduction? And how will the matte display affect things? I’m eager to get the S90H in to find out.
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james.davidson@futurenet.com (James Davidson)
