LG Display is said to be expanding its scope of OLED display panel sizes, with reports suggesting it will soon start manufacturing 27- and 32-inch panels later this month. That would mean we can expect the first products using them to appear next year.
South Korean news site Hankooki stated that LG Display is looking to expand upon its existing lineup of smaller sized TVs and computer monitors, adding more OLED options into the mix, OLED-INFO reported.
The paper added that the move should ensure LG gets a wider grip on the market for second-screen TVs and gaming/business monitors. The 27-inch displays will arrive first in the first quarter of 2023, with the 32-inch panels coming afterwards. Both are aiming at the TV-gaming crossover, Hankooki reported.
LG Electronics already sells 27-inch and 31.5-inch Ultra Fine OLED Pro monitors, however these are built using panels supplied by JOLED. The Japanese display maker uses a different, inkjet-based manufacturing system to produce its OLED panels, which some say is more suitable for smaller displays. However, the reports suggest LG Display is looking to adapt its alternative technique to smaller screen sizes. It has a track record of doing this after all, with the addition of 48-inch and, later, 42-inch OLED TV panels to its lineup over the last couple of years.
There are few details available about the capabilities of these smaller LG Display OLED panels, nor do we know what products might use them. That said, the Ultra Fine OLED Pro displays sold by LG Electronics do provide 4K resolution and 8M Pixel Dimming, with a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. However, those monitors are notably very expensive, designed for professional users, with prices starting at £3,299 for the 31.5 inch EP950. That compares to the £1,399 price tag of a 42-inch LG C2 OLED TV. As such, if LG is going to sell cheaper OLED monitors in these sizes, there may well be some kind of compromise in terms of functionality and features.
LG’s switch to focus on smaller panels comes at a time when it’s also expanding its OLED size options with even-bigger panel sizes. The company recently announced its super-hyped 97-inch LG G2 OLED TV, which reportedly has a $25,000 price tag. At a time when TV sales are reportedly in decline amid a stuttering global economy, LG clearly sees a profit to be had both by scaling down, and up, in terms of panel size.
Don’t forget that for now LG Display’s plans are just rumours and there has been no official confirmation of them. The company may or may not make an announcement, but in any case we don’t expect to see the first 27-inch and 32-inch OLED products to arrive until CES 2023 in January.
