RGB LED, micro RGB and mass confusion

Luca Fontana

9-9-2025

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

Three manufacturers, one idea: tiny RGB LEDs are set to overtake OLEDs. Samsung bangs its chest, Hisense brags, Sony stays silent. In the end, everything at the IFA impressed me – yet nothing made me any smarter.

Everyone’s talking about the new miracle technology: tiny red, green and blue LEDs built to provide even more vibrant colours and less blooming. Sounds like the next big TV revolution. At the IFA technology trade fair, I experienced how differently three manufacturers deal with this. But not only that: above all, I discovered how contradictory their approaches can be.

Samsung, Hisense and Sony all showed off the same principle, just in completely different ways. Some with a lot of marketing noise, others with big numbers, the third with strict secrecy. In the end, I was delighted with all three demos. And confused.

There’s the rub: what can this technology do, which manufacturer will actually arrive to living rooms soon – and when?

First things first: what exactly are we talking about?

RGB LED – as Sony calls it, there is no official term yet – sounds complicated, but it’s simple really. Instead of coating blue LEDs with a phosphor or quantum dot layer to make them produce white light, tiny red, green and blue LEDs are used directly in the backlight. Lit up together, they shine in purest white. And since they can also be controlled separately, colours and brightness can be reproduced much more precisely.

On top of that, there’ll be no more clarity and luminance loss caused by colour filters.

Alright, simple enough. In principle, all three manufacturers – Samsung, Hisense and Sony – are talking about the same idea. Only, everyone’s pretending like their version is the one true revolution. Any differences that remain, however, are still unclear. Too much secrecy, too much marketing.

After all, Samsung openly claims that their RGB diodes are smaller than those of the competition. 100 micrometres, they say, labelling it micro-RGB accordingly. When I asked whether this also means they have more dimming zones than Hisense or Sony, I couldn’t get a clear final statement: «It’s possible, but we’re not talking about the competition.»

A weird thing to say when a Hisense RGB mini LED happens to be standing next to your own device in the same room, complete with a microscope so we journalists can see the size of the diode for ourselves.

Pity. We’ll probably just have to wait for the first tests. After all, more LEDs don’t automatically mean more dimming zones. The decisive factor is computing power in the TV processor, which has to control tens of thousands of tiny diodes – each smaller than a speck of dust – simultaneously.

Between drum rolls, a flood of numbers and blanket secrecy

Judging by the volume of its marketing, Samsung wants to do everything in its power to retain control of the narrative. «We’re smaller and more precise, so we’re the best,» seems to be the message between 115-inch displays and microscopes. Impressive, but transparent.

Hisense, on the other hand throws numbers around. 10,000 nits here, 97 per cent BT.2020 coverage there – superlatives that certainly sound revolutionary. However, anyone who fights their way through the show will quickly realise that not every value says something about everyday life use. Sometimes the TV looked miserable, sometimes brilliant. It all depended on whose manufacturer demo you were visiting.

Sony, on the other hand, is playing a completely different game. But also one that I can’t quite figure out. No records are announced, no numbers. Instead, we get a sealed-off room with real film material. Not perfection, but strengths and weaknesses in equal measure. It makes the most sincere and therefore strongest impression.

… but we journalists aren’t even allowed to film or photograph it.

Huh!?

What can we learn from this?

Perhaps this is where the irony lies: the manufacturer making the biggest secret out of its new TV is the one I believe is closest to making its technology truly suitable for the mass market. Sony was the only company to bring a 65-inch model to Berlin. They promised it’ll be on the market next year at an affordable price – even if we were only allowed to see it under strict supervision on top of a photo and video ban.

Samsung and Hisense, on the other hand, both confidently presented their devices to the public, but only in sizes from 115 inches upwards. This isn’t just absurdly large and in a completely different league in terms of price (we’re talking about 30,000 francs here), but also shows how much more difficult it is to downsize this RGB LED technology. I also asked Samsung whether they were planning to offer affordable living room sizes next year. The response:

«We don’t know yet.»

My paradoxical conclusion: while Samsung beats its chest the loudest and Hisense throws out the flashiest numbers, Sony’s mysterious restraint feels like the most honest promise. In the end, it’s probably not the most garish or loudest approach that’ll end up in my living room first, but one that’s currently the most hidden.

Perhaps secrecy is the best roadmap after all.

Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.» more

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