There was a lot of fanfare around LG’s latest exhibits at CES 2026 earlier this month, with most journalists' attention focused on the upcoming LG G6 OLED TV featuring an all-new Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 panel with “Hyper Radiant Colour”. However, the company also revealed another new panel, called the “Special Edition OLED” or OLED SE, designed specifically for lower-cost televisions.
The announcement came from LG’s panel-making subsidiary LG Display, which explained that the OLED SE sits below the OLED EX that featured in TVs such as the LG C5 and Panasonic Z90B, and the Primary RGB Tandem OLED displays found in the LG G5 and Panasonic Z95B.
OLED SE is meant to be a more affordable entry point to the world of OLED television, and the company showcased an 83-inch reference panel at its CES 2026 booth, where it discussed some interesting characteristics.
Of course, the OLED SE panel isn’t nearly as bright or powerful as the OLED EX and Primary RGB Tandem OLED panels, which can deliver 4,000 and 4,500 nits peak brightness, respectively, and have a 165Hz maximum refresh rate. However, it does achieve what is still a fairly decent 1,000 nits peak luminance, and its refresh rate maxes out at 120Hz.
While still a downgrade, the OLED SE panel is far superior to current entry-level OLED panels. For instance, last year’s LG B5 OLED TV was reportedly capable of a peak brightness of just 600-700 nits.
What that means is that we can expect to see much brighter entry-level OLED televisions going on sale this year, and LG Display hinted that the new panel could well find itself in this year’s upcoming LG B6 TV. Moreover, LG Display said TVs that use the OLED SE panel will be considerably cheaper than existing OLED TV models, with pricing that’s more consistent with premium Mini-LED TVs.
LG has always positioned the B-series OLED TVs as entry-level models, but the B5 couldn’t exactly be called cheap. The 65-inch model launched with a £2,499 price tag in the U.K., and that amount of money is still going to make a major dent in a lot of people’s wallets. So if the B6 ends up being more affordable, it’s going to be an enticing product for many.
LG Display said it has been able to reduce the cost of the OLED SE panel by eliminating the polariser, which is a step that also boosts the display’s brightness. On the downside, it may result in greater reflectivity and will probably have a negative impact on contrast. But such a sacrifice will be acceptable if consumers see a substantial reduction in cost.
According to FlatpanelsHD, LG Display plans to produce the OLED SE panel in 48-, 55-, 65-, 77- and 83-inch sizes this year, which is coincidentally exactly the same as the five sizes of last year’s B5 OLED TV. So it seems like it’s almost certain that the OLED SE display will end up in the B6, though LG has not confirmed this.
LG Display added that it’s planning to supply the OLED SE to several “major customers” in 2026, which means that we could well end up with quite a few affordable OLED TV options on the market this year.
