In 2022, Samsung will spend a lot of time and money on miniLED technology for TVs. This only applies to the premium segment; media in South Korea says that most TVs have an 8K or 4K resolution and use a mini LED backlight.
According to sources, the 8K (7680x4320) MiniLED TV, which will be marketed under the Neo QLED TV brand, will be the most advanced of the three technologies. Samsung's MicroLED TVs are still the most expensive of the company's televisions, but the company only sells a few of them each year, making them more of a luxury model at the moment.
The 8K Neo QLED TV will be the most expensive of the 'consumer premium' televisions on the market. This will be followed by 4K (3840x2140) OLED TVs, which will be the second-highest tier among consumer premium TVs and the highest tier among professional premium TVs.
In order to produce these TVs, Samsung will use QD (quantum dot)-OLED panels manufactured by Samsung Display and W (white)-OLED panels manufactured by LG Display. Despite the fact that LG Display's W-OLED is capable of producing 8K resolution, Samsung is considering only supporting up to 4K resolution for its OLED television lineup. This is because, according to sources, Samsung wants its Neo QLED brand to be elevated above the OLED brand.
4K Neo QLED TVs will be available in the same price range as 4K OLED TVs, but will only support a maximum resolution of 4K. 4K Neo QLED TVs will be available in the same price range as 4K OLED TVs. Samsung expects to sell 3 million units of 8K and 8K Neo QLED TVs in the first quarter of 2019.
It expects to sell 500,000 units of 4K OLED TVs that use QD-OLED panels from Samsung Display and 1.5 million units of 4K OLED TVs that use Q-OLED panels from LG Display in the first quarter of 2019. As part of its plan to meet these unit sales targets, sources said that Samsung was currently in discussions with LG Display about purchasing 2 million units of W-OLED panels as part of a larger deal.
However, given the fact that the price of OLED televisions has dropped significantly in recent years, it is unclear whether Samsung's unit sales strategy will be successful. MiniLED displays are made of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, and there is a widespread belief that OLED panels provide superior overall picture quality than LCD panels. This means that the more affordable 4K OLED TVs that use W-OLED panels could outsell the more expensive MiniLED TVs.
Meanwhile, Samsung intends to purchase W-OLED panels from LG Display only for TV models that will be released in 2022 and 2023. According to sources, it intends to use only QD-OLED panels from Samsung Display for its OLED televisions starting in 2024. This could change if Samsung's OLED TVs in general prove to be popular and the company finds itself in need of more OLED panels to meet demand. Meanwhile, Samsung is expected to ship mid-1 million units of Neo QLED TVs this year, which is lower than the forecast of over 2 million units made by analyst firm TrendForce in September. Samsung also intends to purchase 4 million units of LCD panels from LG Display in the coming year, which will be five times the amount of LCD panels it purchased from the panel manufacturer in the previous year.
This is due to the fact that Samsung Display will be ceasing operations in the LCD business next year. At the same time, increasing Samsung's purchases from LG Display gives the company more bargaining power when dealing with Chinese panel manufacturers, who have risen to become the industry's dominant force.
Samsung TVs in 2022 Mostly 8K and MiniLED based
