TCL is officially making OLED TVs, after the company announced a 2023 launch window for its own version of high-end TV tech, and that could be great news for your wallet. OLED is an expensive technology compared to traditional LCD TVs, although accelerated manufacturing and broader adoption are driving prices down. But TCL's preferred method of making OLED panels will be, he tells us, much cheaper, and those savings will likely make the RRPs much lower when the TVs launch. This alternate production method uses inkjet printed (IJP) panels, which effectively
imprimen '' paneles OLED entre paneles de vidrio, en lugar de los tradicionales paneles 'White OLEDs' (WOLEDs) found in TVs. Current OLEDs, such as the LG CX, Sony A8H or Panasonic JZ2000, and which require a more material-intensive production process. In 2019, market research firm IHS Markit (now known as Omdia) predicted that the switch to inkjet printing could lead to a 15-25% cost reduction compared to the retail price of OLED TVs. existing. This could see entry-level OLED launch prices drop from around $1,200/£1,200 to less than $1,000/£1,000, and offer real competition to current market leader in OLED TV production, LG. Display. Chase LI, a senior analyst at IHS Markit, said at the time that "despite years of competition with LCDs in the market for high-end displays of all sizes, OLED market penetration remains limited due to its cost of ownership." high production". Li added that "IJP has the potential to significantly reduce manufacturing costs, making OLEDs more cost competitive than LCDs in products such as televisions and computer and tablet displays." It's unclear if these OLED TVs will look as good as those made with more traditional media, though the potential for a mid-priced OLED with acceptable trade-offs is certainly exciting in itself.
Change is on the way
Currently, all OLED TV panels on the market are manufactured by LG Display, which supplies them to LG Electronics (a separate entity), as well as Panasonic, Philips and Sony. However, this monopoly could change if other TV brands can make other cheaper OLED panels on a large scale. TCL is one of the world's largest TV providers - currently third behind Samsung and LG by its own estimates - and it certainly has the scale and resources to do it. Marek Maciejewski, European director of product development, once told us: “We don't see any future in terms of efficiency and brightness. ". The inkjet process can supposedly "avoid the problematic evaporation technique" currently used to create WOLED panels, and is "more accurate" with "less waste. lower prices" - Maciejewski added that he thought that " all the major OLED manufacturers are developing this." If he's not sold on the Mini LED's promise, it's quite possible that TCL will shake up the market with some really cheap OLED TVs in a few years. However, 2023 is still a long way off and Samsung is likely to overtake TCL by now. The world's largest TV maker is reportedly prototyping its own OLED alternative known as ``QD-OLED,'' which combines the benefits of a self-emitting OLED panel with the contrast-enhanced dot technologies. Quantum used in Samsung's QLED and Neo QLED series. However, Samsung's QD-OLED TVs could launch as early as 2022, giving it an edge if those delays turn out to be true. However, TCL tends to take more aggressive pricing than Samsung, which means it may be worth waiting a little longer for a real value OLED. In between, Samsung and TCL could offer a true two-step market disruption to LG Display's current position in the OLED market. Today's best LG CX OLED deals
