Samsung's new monitor sets OLED refresh rate record of 360 Hz — thanks to AI-driven algorithm

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Samsung has two new QD-OLED displays — a 31.5-inch 4K monitor and a 24-inch 1440p monitor with a 360 Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time.

Samsung UHD 31.5-Inch Monitor (left) and 27-Inch QHD 360Hz Displays: Main QD-OLED Monitor Segment Samsung aims to dominate in 2024, ready for mass production
(Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung today announced it has started mass production on a 31.5-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor and plans to introduce a 27-inch 1440p variant with a 360 Hz refresh rate. The company, which also makes TVs and panels for other brands, aims to entice PC users with more familiar and mainstream aspect ratios. While we expect many monitor brands to display UHD (and perhaps DUHD) monitors at the upcoming CES 2024, these 16:9 monitor configurations will appeal to a larger user base. 

Samsung is using an ultra-precise inject printing technology to increase the 31.5-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor's display pixel density to 140 PPI, which is equivalent to that of a 65-inch 8K TV.  

According to Samsung, the industry estimates QD-OLED monitor shipments to reach 600,000 units by the end of 2023 — four times as much as 2022. QD-OLED displays are a well-established display technology for TVs, phones, and handheld gaming devices such as the much-appreciated Steam Deck OLED.

Samsung claims that 30-inch 1440p monitors are now a common general-purpose resolution monitor. This contradicts my observations: I've noticed a lot of users prefer to buy 27-inch 1440p or ultra-wide monitors. Samsung is also confident gamers will trend toward 4K monitors in 2024; 4K monitors have been around for a while, but adoption rate has been somewhat slow. According to the Nov. 2023 Steam hardware survey, just 3.72% of users have 4K monitors, while 15.97% have 1440p monitors and a whopping 60.09% have 1080p monitors. 

We don't have all the details on the upcoming 31.5-inch and 27-inch monitors just yet, but we should see more info soon (probably at CES). Samsung says it achieved the high, 360 Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time on the 27-inch QHD QD-OLED monitor using its proprietary AI algorithm "Quantum Enhancer." 

Whether the use of AI commands a premium or will just be normally implemented as a standard is something to keep an eye on. It would be nice if Samsung addressed whether it's using AI to minimize the burn-in issues that potentially haunt any OLED displays. Gigabyte's new AORUS monitors claim to use AI to minimize burn-in problems. 

Many display makers will show off QD-OLED monitors at CES 2024 in Las Vegas next month. MSI and AORUS have already teased some monitors that will be available globally, while Nubia's gaming division, RedMagic, and TCL have shown off monitors for the Chinese market. 

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Roshan Ashraf Shaikh
Roshan Ashraf Shaikh
Contributing Writer

Roshan Ashraf Shaikh has been in the Indian PC hardware community since the early 2000s and has been building PCs, contributing to many Indian tech forums, & blogs. He operated Hardware BBQ for 11 years and wrote news for eTeknix & TweakTown before joining Tom's Hardware team. Besides tech, he is interested in fighting games, movies, anime, and mechanical watches.

28 Comments Comment from the forums
  • atomicWAR
    Kill burn in completely or at least close and then I'll be interested. LED for me til then...though I have heard some strides are being made in pixel burn-in reversal which is nice to hear. Pair that with AI and we may get some OLED panels I'd feel comfortable with as I expect ten years out of a TV set or monitor (one and the same to me at this point as 43" minimum gamer...75" in the living room)
    Reply
  • Amdlova
    4k 360 hertz drive by 320x240 resolution to get 360 fps... Last time I see something like that at that fps and that resolution is quake 1
    Reply
  • vanadiel007
    Ai seems to be the latest buzz word. There's no way to incorporate actual AI into a monitor because of the processing power required for AI to function.
    If anything it's just buzz words for existing technology they relabel as "AI"

    Can't wait for AI mice and AI keyboards, maybe some AI RGB...
    Reply
  • SCP2000
    Even in 2023, burn-in gets blown way out of proportion. If it were problematic, it wouldn't have become mainstream for PC use, and there's always ways to mitigate the risk. Only have HDR enabled for HDR content; don't have your brightness settings cranked at max 24/7. Hide your taskbar and desktop icons if you're not putting your monitor to sleep when you're stepping away from your PC for longer than 30 minutes, etc. The average person replaces their monitors every 5–6 years, their televisions every 10, so provided you're not being careless, by the time burn-in poses any significant risk, you're probably going to be looking at upgrading to something more "current".

    Depending on how the reviews go, the PG32UCDM could be my next big purchase, but I typically like waiting for Dell/AW to release their version due to better warranty coverage. QC appears better too.
    Reply
  • kamehaiku
    atomicWAR said:
    Kill burn in completely or at least close and then I'll be interested. LED for me til then...though I have heard some strides are being made in pixel burn-in reversal which is nice to hear. Pair that with AI and we may get some OLED panels I'd feel comfortable with as I expect ten years out of a TV set or monitor (one and the same to me at this point as 43" minimum gamer...75" in the living room)
    I have used my lg cx for 3 years, no burn in. Screen is on at least 12 hours a day 5 days a week. I was worried when I bought it. Haven't noticed any burn in, and I check regularly.
    Reply
  • TheOtherOne
    vanadiel007 said:
    Can't wait for AI mice and AI keyboards, maybe some AI RGB...
    Here's the thing, technically most of the RGB patterns are produced with "AI" since it's based on user activity or content. 😉
    Reply
  • bill001g
    vanadiel007 said:
    Ai seems to be the latest buzz word. There's no way to incorporate actual AI into a monitor because of the processing power required for AI to function.
    If anything it's just buzz words for existing technology they relabel as "AI"

    Can't wait for AI mice and AI keyboards, maybe some AI RGB...
    My toaster has a top of the line analog AI system, it can very accurately count the seconds until it is done :)
    Reply
  • atomicWAR
    kamehaiku said:
    I have used my lg cx for 3 years, no burn in. Screen is on at least 12 hours a day 5 days a week. I was worried when I bought it. Haven't noticed any burn in, and I check regularly.
    Thanks for taking the time to post your personal results. Those mean a lot to me as I know you don't have a horse in the race.

    When I bought my current monitor mid 2021...OLED panel testing had come in from the previous gen(s) and at that time things didn't look all that good. Testing of 16 hours a day for a year-> two (not far off my usage levels) frequently still showed strong burn-in issues on many brands with static images (task bar/news or sports tickers).

    I had panels in the past that were susceptible to burn in. So I know all the tricks of running a icon free desktop, slide show for the back ground and auto hiding the task bar...etc. It just gets a little tiring is all, especially when I let someone else use my system who doesn't know the ins and outs of how I have it set up.

    Blue OLED failures and burn in were the common though not universal issues (2020 panels or older and obviously 2021+ stuff still hadn't been tested fully due to time constraints) when I was looking at panels. Like I said I do know they have since made huge strives and I have heard AI may actually fully solve the burn in issues that haven't been fully addressed with current tech designed to reverse pixel color retention (also impressive these days) at the heart of burn in which is really nice to hear. I read something the other day about varying the color intensity or briefly shutting off stagnate pixels/changing their tones slightly. But I haven't heard of much progress in extending the life of the blue OLEDs which has been a long time issue. Granted that is more of a 'long term' thing but with everything else, it is hard to ignore.

    I'll be sure to continue to keep an eye on the tech and reviews by regular users on Tom's. Even on Tom's I have heard horror stories about panels being bad in 12-24 months (even recent models) but I am happy to see more users like yourself who are having an optimal experience showing great progress in the OLED tech.

    Question, do you do anything to prevent burn in (like techinques /I mentioned, run anti-burn in programs or algorithms) or do you just cross your fingers and hope for the best? If it is the later, it is really great to hear. Users like us on Tom's who know to do certain preventives, everyday users, not so much. Thanks for your time and response!!
    Reply
  • SCP2000
    kamehaiku said:
    I have used my lg cx for 3 years, no burn in. Screen is on at least 12 hours a day 5 days a week. I was worried when I bought it. Haven't noticed any burn in, and I check regularly.
    Been using a Sony A8H for three years with zero issues. People simply parrot nonsense they've read online and accept it as gospel without conducting their own due diligence. It's comical.
    Reply
  • TJ Hooker
    SCP2000 said:
    If it were problematic, it wouldn't have become mainstream for PC use,
    OLEDs comprise less than 1% of monitor sales, not sure that qualifies as mainstream
    Reply