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Are we on the verge of a TV breakthrough? ‘Dream OLED’ technology is picking up speed

March 03, 2026 5 min read views

Are we on the verge of a TV breakthrough? ‘Dream OLED’ technology is picking up speed

Sony A95 QD-OLED in a brightly lit room
(Image credit: Sony)

The technology that LG Display once described as its "dream OLED" is rapidly developing, and more companies are getting into the mix.

According to a report by The Elec, the South Korean OLED manufacturer Lordin has acquired the facilities needed to mass-produce its own version of blue PHOLED technology, which Lordin is calling ZRIET technology. The OLED-maker is also seeking funding for the project.

What is blue PHOLED?

An infographic released by LG Display that illustrates how the company's hybrid two-stack Tandem OLED works and the benefits of highly efficient phosphorescent blue OLED. The primary takeaway provided by the infographic is that this panel is 15% more energy efficient.

(Image credit: LG Display)

Blue PHOLED technology could lead to cheaper, brighter and longer-lasting OLED TVs.

The technology at the heart of blue phosphorescent OLED technology isn’t that different from what we already have. Its benefits are all about efficiency.

Many OLED TVs today make use of red and green phosphorescent OLED technology. The phosphorescence is important, as the material makeup of these displays allows for energy-efficient, longer-lasting screens.

Blue phosphorescence has proven much trickier to develop due to the high amount of energy needed to produce the color blue. As a result, OLED TVs that leverage red and green phosphorescent material (like our favorite TV of 2025, the LG C5) rely on blue fluorescent material, too.

Quantum dot-enhanced OLED TVs (like the Samsung S95F) use blue fluorescent material exclusively, as they rely on quantum dots to create red and green.

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Blue PHOLED may be several years away, but the C5 still delivers one of the best all-around TV experiences you can get in 2026. It offers all of the benefits we've come to expect from OLED displays, but its design, software and overall experience is the result of LG's excellent engineering.

In other words, both types of OLED display — be it WOLED or QD-OLED — create colors differently. Regardless of how they get there, though, blue takes the most amount of energy.

Because the phosphorescence of primary colors is more energy efficient than the process of fluorescence, blue PHOLED technology could be a massive breakthrough for OLED TVs, which have proven pricey to produce and relatively delicate in nature.

LG Display — which recently announced its successful commercialization of blue PHOLED for small-sized screens on smartphones and tablets — has cited a 15% reduction in power consumption relative to current OLED displays. For larger, TV-sized screens, commercialized blue PHOLED technology could spell cheaper manufacturing costs and could lead to brighter and longer-lasting OLED TVs.

When can I buy a blue PHOLED TV?

LG exhibition stand during the IFA or Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

While we’re closer to the commercialization of this technology than ever before, it’ll be a while before you’ll find this technology on the shelves of your local brick-and-mortar store. In other words, go ahead and shop for a new TV in 2026.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the first commercially available OLED TVs to tap this technology were still as many as four to seven years away. Remember: LG Display has only recently announced blue PHOLED commercialization for tablet-sized devices.

Regardless, having more players in the mix researching and developing blue PHOLED is precisely what the technology needs in order to flourish. If Lordin is close to commercialization, this development will raise the stakes for LG Display and Samsung Display.

Remember: Once upon a time, the first commercial OLED TVs were a far-off prospect, too. Keep the dream alive.


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Michael Desjardin
Senior Editor, TV

Michael Desjardin is a Senior Editor for TVs at Tom's Guide. He's been testing and tinkering with TVs professionally for over a decade, previously for Reviewed and USA Today. Michael graduated from Emerson College where he studied media production and screenwriting. He loves cooking, zoning out to ambient music, and getting way too invested in the Red Sox. He considers himself living proof that TV doesn't necessarily rot your brain.

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