Mini LED vs. OLED

Mini LED is a newer way to make screens look better. It uses smaller lights packed together in a grid. This helps to make colours and brightness more accurate, giving you a clearer picture when you watch TV or use a monitor. It's a rival to OLED, another screen technology known for its deep blacks and vibrant colours.

QNED (Quantum Nano-Emitting Diode) is a display technology similar to Mini LED and OLED. It uses tiny particles called quantum dots to enhance colours and brightness on screens. It's a newer type of display that aims to provide better picture quality for TVs and monitors.

Mini LED is a type of backlighting technology found in some QNED displays. QNED Mini LED TVs uses tens of thousands of miniature LED diodes to illuminate an LCD screen.

The reason this is important is that by fitting more—and smaller—LED diodes, the backlighting can be more controlled and precise. The result helps create stronger contrasts and brighter images.

All of these acronyms can be a bit confusing. But there is a way of simplifying things, and that is by explaining what LED actually means and why it is important.

LED stands for Light-Emitting Diode and describes what is used to backlight the display in a television. When it was first introduced, it offered better contrast, improved power efficiency and helped to reduce the weight and thickness of a television. Read more about LEDs in our guide to OLED vs LED.

Going a step further, the comparison between QNED Mini LED vs. OLED shows one key difference. Mini LED’s smaller diodes allow for greater contrast and improved brightness.

Thanks to the combination of Quantum Dot and NanoCell particles, QNED Mini LED TVs can deliver deeper blacks as well as more vibrant and vivid colours. These displays use 30,000 Mini LEDs to produce a high-quality picture, while close to 2,500 unique dimming zones help to deliver stunning blacks. (1)

When it comes to OLED displays, there is a reason they are recognised as the best on the market. Not only do OLED TVs boast incredible image quality, better contrast, a fuller viewing angle and wider colour range, but they have much faster refresh rates than their rivals.

OLED TVs are also ultra-thin, flexible and even foldable, enabling televisions to sit almost flush against the wall or even be rolled up and hidden within a state-of-the-art sound system. (2)

A dramatic increase in local dimming zones has considerably improved the contrast ratio in QNED Mini LED TVs. This is because blacks appear deeper, which in turn makes the colours even more vibrant.

This is also an area in which OLED TVs particularly stand out. Without a backlight, OLED’s Perfect Black production creates sharp, crisp contrast. And since each pixel can be controlled individually, on-screen colours closely match those of the original image—which translates to a much more vivid picture for the viewer.

This is a key factor for gamers, as there is nothing worse than suffering from lag when playing online. And while some QNED Mini LED gaming monitors have a 1ms response rate—the time it takes for one pixel on the display to switch from one colour to another—OLED TVs are unrivalled.

In fact, OLED TVs boast an incredible response time of just 0.1ms. And they are the first in the industry to support Dolby Vision Gaming 4K at 120Hz, which provides more fluid and realistic gaming.

There is one clear winner and that is because QNED MiniLED packs more diodes and dimming zones into the screen. In fact, these TVs can hit peak brightness well above 1,000 nits—which is a measurement of how much light the TV screen sends to your eyes. To put this into perspective, an average TV may have the capability to output 100 to 200 nits.

OLED TVs may be outshone in this department, but they can produce more than 20 percent more luminance than non-OLED models. (3)

While the traditional edge-lit display has been improved by the backlight in QNED Mini LED TVs, OLED displays are unmatched when it comes to offering the best view from any seat in the house.

With an OLED TV, each pixel creates its own light and has the ability to be turned on or off extremely quickly, there is virtually no issue when viewing the screen from even the tightest of angles.

QNED Mini LED televisions can sell for much less than their OLED counterparts and provide excellent value for money. High vibrance and competitive pricing make them a clear frontrunner for this QNED Mini LED vs. OLED face-off.

As a premium option, OLED TVs remain more expensive. But their wealth of groundbreaking features makes OLED the number-one choice for those who demand the best possible picture and don’t have to worry about your budget.

So, is QNED better than OLED? It really just depends on what you’re looking for, as each display model caters for every different need. If you demand the very best clarity and colour performance, then OLED is supreme. There is no doubt that this premium product will make you the envy of your friends and family.

At the same time, QNED Mini LED displays offer impressive picture quality and unbeatable brightness at a moderately lower price point. If you’re looking for an elevated alternative to a traditional LED TV, you can’t go wrong with QNED Mini LED.

QNED and Mini LEDs are not the same, QNED TVs make use of Mini LEDs as a backlighting solution. 

For best overall picture quality, OLED is supreme. However, Mini LED displays still offer impressive picture quality and unbeatable brightness at a moderately lower price point.

OLED offers superior contrast to QLED due to its individually dimming pixels. However, QLED offers increased brightness. Both options offer fantastic colours, however if your viewing environment is not affected by bright sunlight, OLED should be the preferred choice.

Comparing QNED Mini LED vs. OLED technology can raise a lot of questions, but one thing is for sure; either of these TVs would be a great addition to any family’s home. Read more about types of TVs in our TV Buying Guide, and find out more about OLED in our OLED vs LED guide.