Samsung Electronics is upping the ante with the launch of a brand new flagship model in its Neo QLED range, featuring 8K resolution and a display panel made by TCL.
The new Samsung QN990C, available now in South Korea, is a 98-inch, 8K Neo QLED TV featuring mini-LED backlights to make thousands of local dimming zones. It also sports a 6.4.4-channel, 120-watt sound system that supports Dolby Atmos for more atmospheric sound. Of course, it’s incredibly sleek-looking too with its super-slim Infinity One design specification.
While Samsung hasn’t mentioned anything about availability in the U.K., Europe or the U.S. just yet, it could well make an announcement at the upcoming IFA 2023 event, which takes place in Berlin, Germany, next month. That would be the perfect occasion to announce a global rollout.
Prospective buyers had better get saving though, for the QN990C won’t come cheap, if its South Korean price tag is anything to go by. The company is asking for consumers to part with 49.9 million won to purchase the set. That works out at around £30,000, or $38,100 in a direct conversion based on current exchange rates.
It’s worth noting that is around four-times the price of Samsung’s recently announced 98-inch Q80C TV, which is a 4K resolution set without the Mini-LED backlighting.
The interesting thing is the use of TCL’s panel, which suggests that the Chinese display maker is slowly but surely strengthening its grip on the market for extremely large-sized LCD televisions.
In a press release published before Samsung’s announcement, TCL CSOT CEO Jun Zhao explained that the company has noticed a growing consumer preference for large-screen televisions. He added that the 98-inch panel in particular has “become the new standard for large-screen TVs, with better border effects, power consumption performance and picture display”.
What’s key for TCL is that it’s able to produce such panels at affordable prices, making them attractive to not only Samsung, but other TV brands such as Sony, Xiaomi, Changhong and Haier. TCL explained that it has made big efficiency gains in the production of 98-inch panels, and can now transfer those costs to buyers. The 98-inch TVs are still very expensive, of course, but as they become more affordable TCL seems to think more brands will be willing to use them.
TCL said brands are also choosing its panels due to their anti-reflective properties, which includes “soft light technology” that reduces reflections caused by ambient lighting.
