OLED options are relatively sparse in the laptop world, but that’s slowly changing as more and more companies adopt the preeminent display technology. Samsung, for one, has successfully developed the world’s first 15.6-inch 4K UHD OLED panel, which will begin mass production for premium notebook use in mid-February.
The gorgeous 3840 x 2160 panel features a brightness level of up to 600 nits and an incredible dynamic contrast ratio of 120,000:1. That’s a massive improvement over your typical TN, IPS, or VA monitor panel, which typically tap out at 3000:1 or lower. Samsung says that this particular panel displays blacks “200 times darker” compared to LCDs.
In fact, the black level performance of Samsung’s OLED panel is so good that it meets VESA’s DisplayHDR True Black specification. This standard calls for a black level of 0.0005 cd/m2, the lowest level that can be measured with industry-standard colorimeters.
The display is also DisplayHDR 1000 certified. This tier mandates full-screen, short-peak luminance levels of 1000 cd/m2 and full-screen, long-duration levels of 600 cd/m2 for eye-searing highlights.
Samsung’s 15.6-inch 4K OLED display will presumably be featured in HP’s Spectre x360, Lenovo’s Yoga C730, and Dell’s XPS 15 and Alienware m15. All of these are 15″ OLED laptops that were unveiled shortly after Samsung’s original announcement.