Popularizing OLED – a strategy to attract Asus laptops

Laptop companies today view OLED screens as an important “facade” to attract users when all display differences are clearly visible after a few seconds of turning on the device. According to Omdia’s report, the number of laptops using this panel will reach about 4 million in 2024, is forecast to reach 7 million in 2025 and will double in 2026.

OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) differs from LCD in that each pixel can light up on its own, without needing a backlight. This difference creates deep blacks, high contrast, a wider color range and better viewing angles. The experience of watching movies, editing photos, editing videos or simply working with documents has all been improved. With the need for learning, entertainment, and multi-platform working following the post-pandemic trend, display quality becomes a practical need instead of a “nice to have” feature.

However, the high cost of producing OLED panels meant that the product previously only appeared on expensive laptop models. For common users, OLED used to be a “luxury” feature, forcing them to pay millions more if they wanted to use it.

With Asus, the brand creates a competitive advantage by equipping mid-range models so that both students and office workers can still access them.

Thanks to this strategy, the brand has continuously led the OLED laptop market share for many years. According to Asus data quoted from a market research unit, in the period September 2023 to August 2024, the company leads the segment with nearly 85% market share. Next year, although many brands expanded their OLED portfolios, Asus still maintained more than 70% market share at large retailers.

Asus makes OLED the default equipment on Zenbook and Vivobook. This strategy is likened to bringing a miniature “theater screen” to a segment where users were previously only familiar with LCD or IPS. This strategy also creates “expansion” for the total OLED laptop market.

However, to popularize higher display technology for many segments, manufacturers must balance cost and experience. Specifications between devices in different segments will be adjusted differently, but the three core values ​​of OLED are still retained on all products.

The first is the 100% DCI-P3 color range – the color standard used in cinema. The DCI-P3 color range is about 25% wider than sRGB, thus providing fresher, deeper and more realistic display quality, optimal for working with images and video editing. High brightness (about 500 nit) is good enough for use in many lighting conditions, including outdoors. Finally, Vesa TrueBlack 600 certification – increases the ability to display details in dark areas, reducing eye strain when used in low-light environments.

In fact, the difference between LCD and OLED is obvious as soon as the device is turned on. Outstanding colors, deep dark areas and small details such as shadows and borders appear clearly, creating a more “real” feeling instead of flat and gray like on some LCD screens. This group of factors is difficult to express through technical specifications but is easy to recognize when experiencing directly.

Asus also brings many improvements on the screen to address user concerns. For example, OLED panels often have problems with gloss and can easily create reflections in bright environments. The manufacturer solves this problem by combining higher brightness and anti-reflective coating. Actual tests and user feedback show stable outdoor visibility, especially in coffee shop environments – where young people and office workers often work. This equipment significantly supports the group of users with flexible lifestyles, which is the customer base that computer companies have targeted in recent years.

Burn-in (image retention error) is also a common concern of OLED users. Asus develops the OLED Care system – a mechanism to automatically move static pixels, reducing the risk of image retention. In addition, the company emphasizes a series of durability tests according to military standards and TÜV Rheinland Eye-Care certification, related to blue light and flicker control, and eye protection during use.

There have not been many large-scale independent tests on OLED longevity on laptops. Personal reviews on the forum show that burn-in on Asus OLED laptops is not common in the first years of use.

In Asus’ strategy to popularize OLED, the company not only emphasizes display features but tries to connect OLED with the daily use needs of each user group. Among them, the three focus groups are young people – office workers, content creators and senior user groups focusing on visual health.

For young people, laptops are considered a “companion” in all contexts from coffee shops in the morning, coworking at noon, to the corner of a private room at night. The clear, low-glare screen helps them flexibly change spaces, without having to search for the right location to avoid the sun or constantly rotate the screen. At the same time, the device needs to be compact, easy to move and aesthetically pleasing enough to become a part of personal style.

Asus OLED laptops offer the advantage of clear display even when lighting changes continuously.

For designers, photographers, video editors or content creators, color accuracy and contrast are key. A good monitor helps them edit images more accurately, reducing discrepancies between the computer view and the actual output. Thanks to the ability to display 100% DCI-P3 and high brightness, Asus laptops fit into this group.

High-end laptop users often focus on balance when needing beautiful design, good experience, high durability and safety for long use during the day. Representing this group of needs are the Zenbook S14 and Vivobook S14 series. Asus devices emphasize blue light reduction and Eye-Care certification to help reach this group in a more specific way, instead of just talking about performance.

According to the company, the popularization of OLED represents a shift in product philosophy. From competing configurations, the company moved to upgrading the display experience with flexible design. From a market perspective, this strategy helps the company create a gap with the group of brands that have not prioritized OLED in the mid-range segment. For users, having a multi-segment product portfolio creates opportunities to access higher imaging technology at an appropriate price.

Asus representative said that laptops are now seen as devices that serve work, study, creativity, and entertainment at the same time. Therefore, the screen becomes one of the elements that shape the experience. “From watching movies, making slides, editing photos to reading text for long periods of time, a clear and eye-pleasing display is a real need, not just a feature,” said a representative of the unit.

The unit affirms that the OLED popularization strategy shows that the future of laptops will be largely determined by the screen. “OLED may become a universal standard, just like Full HD once replaced HD, or how IPS panels gradually replaced TN over the past two decades,” he added.