[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] This year, OLED TV shipments have recorded an all-time high performance, and next year, the OLED TV market is expected to grow into a 7 million unit market, intensifying competition. LG Electronics, which holds a 70% market share, is accelerating sales, and Samsung Electronics, developing Quantum Dot OLED (QD-OLED), is expected to launch new TV products as early as the beginning of next year, raising expectations that there are sufficient factors for market expansion.
According to market research firm Omdia on the 7th, global OLED TV shipments next year are expected to reach around 6.9 million units, approaching the 7 million mark. This year, shipments are expected to reach about 6.1 million units, nearly doubling compared to the previous year.
Since the fourth quarter of last year, the OLED TV market has entered the '1 million units per quarter era,' and in the first half of this year, it has broken the record for the highest shipments ever, setting a new record. Shipments in the first half of this year are projected to increase by 107% compared to the first half of last year (1.19 million units), reaching 2.47 million units.
In particular, next year, the launch of OLED TVs using Samsung Electronics' QD display is expected to intensify competition in the premium TV market. Samsung Electronics is currently in the final stages of yield adjustment through ramp-up (yield improvement) of the QD display and plans to mass-produce QD displays starting from the fourth quarter of this year. Choi Kwon-young, Executive Vice President of Samsung Display, said, "We completed equipment installation in the first quarter through equipment manufacturing and are currently progressing with ramp-up," adding, "We plan to mass-produce in the fourth quarter as scheduled after prototype testing."
Samsung Display currently has a production capacity of 30,000 units per month and plans to supply new QD display products that can support both TVs and monitors. Industry insiders expect that through securing initial yields, QD OLED shipments next year will reach around 1 million units. The launch of finished TVs is expected as early as the beginning of next year, with the CES event held in Las Vegas, USA, in January likely to be the first unveiling stage. The main products to be revealed are expected to be 55-inch and 65-inch models, with initial prices estimated to be over 10 million KRW.
Dongwon Kim, a researcher at KB Securities, said, "Samsung Electronics' entry into the OLED TV market through Samsung Display's QD-OLED panel production is expected to expand the global OLED TV ecosystem," adding, "Samsung Electronics, currently leading the large-sized TV market, is also expected to drive acceleration in large-sized OLED TVs in the future."
LG Electronics, which currently dominates the OLED TV market with a share approaching 70%, also plans to continuously increase its market share in line with market expansion. In the first quarter, LG Electronics' OLED TV shipments reached about 790,000 units, growing 116% year-on-year. This rapid growth in the OLED market is even more significant considering that the average selling price is about $2,000, representing a premium TV product group.
LG Display, the only company in the world supplying large OLED TV panels, has contributed to the expansion of the OLED TV market by expanding production capacity and securing cost competitiveness. According to TrendForce, the proportion of premium OLED panels among global TV panels shipped in the first half of this year increased, while the proportion of LCD panels decreased.
This is attributed to LG Display completing the expansion of its Guangzhou, China plant, securing a monthly production capacity of 140,000 units. With increased production capacity, the price gap between OLED panels and LCD panels has narrowed, creating price competitiveness for OLED panels. LG Display plans to supply 8 million OLED TV panels this year and aims to supply 10 million units next year.
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