Neo QLED 8K Unveiled
Yong Seok-woo Declares "AI TV Era"
"LG Display Panels Will Continue to Be Mixed"
Yong Seok-woo, head of Samsung Electronics' TV division and president of the Visual Display (VD) Business Unit, stated on the 13th that "Samsung is rapidly catching up with LG Electronics in the domestic market for ultra-large organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs of 77 inches and above." He also mentioned that AI TVs from Chinese companies, based on Chinese language technology, have reached a level that cannot be ignored, and pledged to maintain a 'super-gap' advantage. With the launch of the 2024 model, he declared the "opening of the AI TV era."
At the new product launch event 'Unbox & Discover 2024' held at the multipurpose hall of the Seocho building in Seoul, President Yong said, "We will open the AI TV era with the 2024 Samsung TV, which consolidates Samsung Electronics' technology that has maintained the world's No. 1 position for 18 years." According to market research firm Omdia, Samsung Electronics has held the No. 1 global TV sales market share from 2006 through last year.
President Yong stated that Samsung is rapidly chasing LG Electronics' OLED TVs and is leading in the premium market. He said, "It has been about two years since Samsung started its OLED TV business, and our market share in the domestic ultra-large segment is about 23%," adding, "We will raise the market share even faster." He continued, "In the ultra-large OLED TV market of 77 inches and above, we have already surpassed competitors' market share," and said, "We will focus our sales strategy on ultra-large, premium TVs."
He also mentioned that panel exchanges with LG Display will continue. President Yong said, "In the case of OLED TVs, it is true that we share components with LG Display and Samsung Display," adding, "Rather than OLED panel technology, we focus more on completing our unique picture and sound quality through our (Samsung Electronics) TV platform technology, and we intend to use components regardless of the LG-Samsung supplier relationship."
Yong Seok-woo, President of Samsung Electronics (second from the left), is answering reporters' questions at the new product launch event "Unbox & Discover 2024" held on the 13th at the multipurpose hall of the Seocho Building in Seoul. [Photo by Moon Chae-seok]
He also expressed caution, saying that Chinese AI TVs cannot be ignored. President Yong said, "At CES 2024, customers said that connectivity between devices (in China) might be lacking," but added, "However, I confirmed on site that the 'AI TV' products themselves have reached an impressive level." He continued, "Chinese AI products running on TV and mobile devices have reached a certain level," and said, "We will research and explore how applying such features to TVs can create synergy and plan to widen the gap with China."
On the same day, Samsung Electronics announced a large number of new 2024 TV models. The flagship is the Neo QLED 8K. It is equipped with the third-generation AI 8K processor, the highest performing among Samsung TVs. It contains 512 neural networks, eight times more than the previous generation, and the speed of the neural processing unit (NPU) has doubled. Additionally, AI deep learning technology reduces image distortion, enabling low-resolution content to be displayed clearly in 8K. President Yong said, "Samsung TVs will play a central role in 'AI Home' based on on-device AI." On-device AI refers to devices that can perform AI functions even without network connectivity.
Samsung Electronics will release nine series of Neo QLED. The 2024 models unveiled on this day will be officially launched on the 15th, with a launch promotion running until the 30th of next month. The Neo QLED 8K will be released in three series, three sizes (85, 75, and 65 inches), and eight models. The retail price for the top model (QND900) is 15.9 million KRW for the 85-inch and 12.9 million KRW for the 75-inch. Neo QLED will be released in six series, seven sizes (98, 85, 75, 65, 55, 50, and 43 inches), and 27 models. The retail price for the QND90 model is 14.9 million KRW for the 98-inch, 8.89 million KRW for the 85-inch, and 7.29 million KRW for the 75-inch.
Meanwhile, LG Electronics also announced that it will officially launch the 2024 LG OLED TV and LG QNED TV in Korea, with significantly enhanced AI performance. This year, LG OLED TVs will be operated with the industry's largest lineup, including the OLED Evo with clear picture quality, standard OLED TVs, and lifestyle OLED TVs such as the Pose and Flex. Notably, the wireless OLED TV lineup has expanded from last year's 97, 83, and 77 inches to include 65 inches this year. For LG QNED TVs, a 98-inch model has been added to meet customer demand for ultra-large, premium liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs, offering a full lineup of QNED TVs (43, 50, 55, 65, 75, 86, and 98 inches).
The core elements of LG TVs this year are the strengthened AI deep learning performance and the enhanced central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) performance that support it, providing clear picture quality and rich spatial sound. The Alpha 11 processor applied to the LG OLED Evo is four times stronger in AI performance compared to the previous Alpha 9. Based on this, graphic performance has improved by 70%, and processing speed by 30%. LG Electronics plans to sequentially launch the 2024 LG TVs in about 150 countries globally, including North America (end of March) and Europe (early April), following the domestic release.
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