According to South Korean media outlet THEELEC, LG Display (LGD) is ramping up R&D on its next-generation 5-stack OLED technology, designed to address three core pain points of desktop displays: insufficient brightness, screen burn-in, and short service life. The technology is poised to be adopted in Apple’s next-generation iMac, while also being adaptable to multiple end devices including TVs and high-end monitors.

Currently, LGD’s commercially deployed high-end monitor OLED panels adopt a 4-stack structure, comprising two blue, one red and one green emissive layers. The newly developed 5-stack OLED features an optimized layer architecture with a blue-green-blue-red-blue (B-G-B-R-B) layout, expanding the number of blue emissive layers from two to three. LGD has previously launched a 27-inch 5K (5120×2880) 4-stack OLED display with a pixel density of 220 PPI, whose specifications align closely with the display requirements for Apple’s iMac.

Compared with smartphones and tablets, desktop iMacs are frequently used to display static interfaces for extended periods, a usage scenario that highly predisposes OLED panels to image retention and screen degradation. Meanwhile, high pixel density compresses the light-emitting area, making it difficult to achieve both high brightness and long service life. The 5-stack design distributes operating load across each emissive layer, effectively lifting screen brightness, prolonging service life, and drastically mitigating image retention — making it a perfect fit for desktop device usage demands.

Nevertheless, the technology has clear shortcomings. The multi-layer emissive structure increases organic material consumption and elevates the technical difficulty of evaporation coating, directly pushing up production costs. Striking a balance between performance, yield and manufacturing cost remains LGD’s core R&D challenge.

https://www.perfectdisplay.com/27-fhd-300hz-va-r1500-gaming-monitor-product/

https://www.perfectdisplay.com/copy-23-8-ips-fhd-240hz-gaming-monitor-product/

https://www.perfectdisplay.com/23-8-ips-fhd-240hz-gaming-monitor-product/

Sources indicate that Apple issued iMac OLED display R&D requirements to both LGD and Samsung Display last year, specifying a 24-inch panel with 600 nits brightness and 218 PPI pixel density. Samsung is also developing QD-OLED panels tailored for the iMac, with both manufacturers advancing technology commercialization in parallel. Industry projections suggest that OLED panels from both manufacturers will complete R&D in 2028. The new-generation iMac featuring the all-new OLED displays will be officially released as early as 2029, and is expected to reshape the traditional LCD desktop display market landscape.