- LG Display has shown ‘OLED SE’ screens: cheaper but brighter for budget TVs
- 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1000 nits of maximum brightness
- Coming in 2026 from “large customers”
When it comes to the best TVs, you know the drill: OLEDs are revered for their superior picture quality, while mini-LEDs are brighter and cheaper. But LG Display may disrupt that with a new type of OLED panel it calls ‘OLED SE’.
OLED SE is designed for entry-level TVs, and while its specs aren’t even in the same zip code as the LG G5’s primary tandem OLEDs, it could be a game-changer for affordable OLEDs like the LG B5.
Like the B5’s panel, OLED SE has a 120Hz refresh rate. But it offers 1000 nits of brightness, which is significantly more than the 668 nits we measured on the B5.
However, I should mention here that LG Display claimed that the primary RGB tandem panel used in the LG G5 can reach 4000 nits, but we measured the LG G5 at a maximum of 2268 nits, so we will have to see if 1000 nits is real or not.
Still, this could make OLED more competitive for budget-conscious TV buyers who might otherwise opt for mini-LED due to its excellent value for money.
How does OLED SE reduce the cost of an OLED TV?
As LG Display explained in a Q&A at CES 2026: “It retains pixel-level dimming and the core benefits of OLED, including superior HDR picture quality, perfect black levels, and exceptional response times, enabling markedly superior picture quality compared to LCD TVs in a similar price range.”
So why is it cheaper? According to our colleagues at What Hi-Fi?, one of the ways in which LG Display has managed to reduce the price of OLED SE panels is by eliminating the polarizer.
Polarizers reduce reflections and glare, but they also reduce the amount of light a panel emits, so grouping together results in more brightness and less cost. The downside, of course, is that you also end up with a more reflective TV.
TV makers could deal with this by adding their own anti-glare coating, and that could be in the form of their own polarizer or a matte coating like the one used on the Samsung S95F (which we’re told can be inexpensive to apply). These can affect
LG Display doesn’t just supply LG: it makes panels for all types of manufacturers, including Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Hisense and Philips. It said it will supply OLED SE to “major customers” in 2026.
LG Display told FlatPanelsHD that to start, it will make OLED SE panels in five sizes: 48 inches, 55 inches, 65 inches, 77 inches, and 83 inches.
Those sizes simply correlate to the five sizes of the LG B5, and of course, they are generally the most popular sizes of mid-range or high-end TVs. So it seems like a safe bet that we’ll see OLED SE on the LG B6, but LG has told us we won’t hear more about that TV until spring.
The best televisions for all budgets
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