The next big thing in the world of displays is the micro-LED. The technology works like OLED, in that each pixel generates its own light, and made its big TV debut in a 110-inch TV from Samsung in 2021, followed by smaller sizes.
But these small sizes did not appear. So in 2022, Samsung announced a new range of sizes, but that didn't happen either, and according to a report from Digitimes (opens in a new tab), we shouldn't expect much before 2024-2025.
According to the report, the initial plan to produce micro-LED TVs in 76-inch, 88-inch, 96-inch and 110-inch sizes was delayed due to the pandemic-related shutdown of manufacturing plants in Vietnam, so Samsung shifted its production plans to south. Korea for 2022 and was planning an 89-inch version, a 101-inch version, and a 114-inch model. But production of the 89-inch version has been pushed back to later in the year, and the report says no decision has yet been made about launching the larger models.
That year, Samsung's projected price for micro-LED TVs dropped by around 40%, which is great... but it still meant that the likely price of the 89-inch micro-LED TV would be around €80,000.
Until now, the only size remotely suitable for "normal"-sized homes in any of Samsung's micro-LED plans was the 76-inch model, but that never happened, and it looks like it won't be back anytime soon. If you've seen Samsung's original announcement for 2021 and expected these models to drop rapidly in price to become viable alternatives to the best 4K TVs, then you still have time to wait.
Analysis: why is micro-LED so important?
The reason Micro-LED excites TV enthusiasts like me is that it offers all the benefits of the best OLED TVs without any of the drawbacks. You get the same dimming per pixel as OLED, so you get infinitely deep black levels and precise contrast, except micro-LED screens should be able to get much brighter. Today's best OLED TVs can reach about 1000 nits of brightness, but Samsung said it expects its first micro-LED TVs to reach around 4000 nits of brightness, and that around 10 nits could be possible in the future. That means you'd get far superior HDR from micro-LED than OLED seems to be able to offer.
Micro-LED is also made from more durable man-made materials, rather than OLED's more delicate organic material, which means you should get longer-lasting screens with no burn-in issues (than today's OLED TVs). ).
But micro-LED is still cutting-edge technology. All these huge TVs announced by Samsung are not that 4K, for example, they are big mini-LED TVs from Samsung, which is the Samsung QN900B, they are 8K – and they contain around 10% of the fact that they made the micro-LED TV at the same time. weather.
Micro-LED is used in products, but is almost entirely used in advanced digital signage for businesses. In fact, Samsung's first micro-LED product for the home, called The Wall, is basically a series of micro-LED signage panels that you can arrange like a TV at home.
Finally, poring the technology into an independent TV pantalla, connected to video substrates in a solo panel, really traspasa los limits de la tecnología actual. So while micro-LED will remain one of the most anticipated things to look out for in TVs over the next few years, don't expect it to be among the best 55-inch TVs at affordable prices for a while. Buen momento.