It seems as though Panasonic forced LG Display’s hand when it announced at CES 2025 the new panel technology at use in its new Z95B OLED TV — a new four-layer OLED panel structure that increases brightness while improving efficiency at the same time. Today, LG Display has confirmed that it has developed this new tech, while providing more details than LG Electronics did last week when we met with them.
For context, the new G5 OLED LG debuted gets brighter than last year’s model, but without the benefit of the MLA (Micro Lens Array) technology LG developed specifically to achieve the improved brightness it needed to compete with QD-OLED and micro-LED. At the time, LG was coy on the new technology that helped the G5 get demonstrably brighter than its predecessor, the G4 OLED TV (“We’ll have more to talk about at the reviewer’s workshop later this year,” they told us), but we had strong suspicions it was a new four-layer OLED panel technology.
Two days later, Panasonic unveiled its new OLED TV, touting a new four-layer OLED panel — one almost certainly provided by LG Display.
So what is this new panel structure? Instead of having a red/green/yellow emissive layer sandwiched between two blue layers, LG Display’s proprietary four-layer structure — called Primary RGB Tandem by LG Display (and Panasonic, which confirms it uses an LG panel) — has independent red, green, and (two) blue layers. This fourth-generation OLED panel delivers improved brightness (and not just better white brightness, but color brightness, too) while also having 20% better energy efficiency over previous generations.
And the amount of improved brightness is the truly impressive part. LG Display claims the new panel structure is capable of up to 4,000 nits of brightness (which is the same number we’ve heard from Samsung Display about its new QD-OLED panel). If the G5 is capable of hitting that 4,000 nit number, likely with the help of LG’s processing, the G5 OLED TV could prove to be a bit brighter than the Z95B (Panasonic stated 3,700 max brightness at the announcement).
Color brightness is said to reach 2,100 nits, a 40% improvement over last year. The four-layer structure also allows for a decrease in the typical level of blue light emitted.
To improve black-level performance, regardless of the amount of ambient light in a room, LG Display has also developed an ultra-low reflection film that “blocks 99% of internal and external light reflections.”
The G5 we saw at CES was honestly supremely impressive, and very well might be the best TV we see in 2025.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
Technology evolves every day, transforming how we live and work. Our devices are becoming more than tools we use. They are increasingly capable companions that help streamline day-to-day routines and spark creative ideas. If you have been waiting for the right moment to upgrade your tech setup, the Discover Samsung Shopping Event offers an opportunity to explore what connected, AI-powered living can look like.