LG Electronics to Square Off with Japanese Brands in OLED TV Market

An LG Electronics model enjoys a game using the world’s first 48-inch LG OLED TV.

LG Electronics will face challenges from Japanese brands in the OLED TV market. Toshiba and Sony are set to release their first OLED TVs to compete with LG Electronics, which introduced the world’s first 48-inch OLED TV early this year.

Toshiba has recently unveiled its 48-inch OLED TV Regza lineup on its website. It plans to release the 48X8400 model on June 19 and the 48X9400 model this fall. The X8400 is a budget model, while the X9400 is a premium product that features the highest specifications in terms of sound quality, picture quality and function. According to the released specifications, the X9400’s image processing engine outweighs that of the X8400. The X9400 has more speakers. Toshiba aims to increase its market share through medium-sized products, which are particularly favored in the Japanese market.

Sony, Japan’s leading home electronics brand, is also going to sell a 48-inch OLED TV (Bravia A9S) starting July 25. Currently, the company receives preorders for the product, which is shown in its official website. Sony stresses that its product has an engine that converts various content such as terrestrial broadcasting and Internet videos into high-definition ones. Noise reduction technology enhances image quality. Users can enjoy fast moving pictures such as sports broadcasting pictures without any afterimage.

In response to these moves, LG Electronics is seeking to preempt the market. At CES 2020, the largest consumer electronics exhibition in Las Vegas held earlier 2020, the Korean TV giant displayed many new models to prove that it is the leader of the OLED TV market.

Since then, LG Electronics has carefully selected new TV release locations. Preferences for medium-sized TVs over large or super-large TVs are particularly strong among consumers in Europe and Japan. Although 55-inch, 65-inch and 77-inch OLED TVs are sold in Japan, seven of the top 10 best-selling products are 55-inch OLED TVs. This is because their living rooms are small and many of them are not happy about high price tags of large TVs. In addition, while realizing a 4K resolution video on a small screen, people can enjoy the effect of a relatively high resolution thanks to high pixel density.

Considering this point, LG Electronics has been dominating the global market ahead of Sony and Toshiba since May, starting with the United Kingdom where the premium TV market has grown.

Based on this, TV industry watchers predict that the sale of LG Electronics’ OLED TVs will begin in Japan around June 19 when Toshiba will release its new product and around July 25 when Sony will begin to sell its new product.

Currently, 48-inch OLED TVs released by TV makers are expected to cost around 2 million won, which is at least one-fifth of those classified as large and super-large TVs. The Sony Bravia, the only product whose price has been disclosed, will retail at 230,000 yen, which fits industry expectation.

According to market research firm Omdia, shipments of OLED panels for TVs are expected to increase 30 percent on year to 4.5 million units 2020. Some predict that OLED TV panel markets will grow by more than two digits every year with annual shipments reaching nearly 10 million units by 2023.

Meanwhile, LG Display which produces and supplies OLED panels for TVs is planning to lead trends in the OLED world in premium TV markets by having a full lineup of OLED TV panels ranging from 40-inch to 80-inch ones.