OLED televisions are going to get even bigger, with reports out of South Korea saying LG Electronics is planning to launch its first 97-inch TV sets in 2022.
The report from Korea Bizwire says LG is desperate to compete with its rival Samsung Electronics in the ultra large-sized TV space, and that it announced its plan to produce the larger panels at an international forum taking place in Korea.
What wasn’t mentioned is if LG’s 97-inch OLED TV would be 4K or 8K resolution, but the report says the latter seems most likely.
At present, the largest OLED TV on the market weigh is the 8K LG Signature ZX, which weighs in at 88-inches. The company’s largest 4K set is the 83-inch C1 model. Sony offers an alternative to that in the shape of its 83-inch 4K A90J TV.
Korea Bizwire’s report added that LG may even be introducing bigger OLED TVs that exceed 100 inches in diagonal, though those plans have not been ‘confirmed’ by sources.
“To compete in the ultra large-sized TV market, LG has been mulling over releasing 100-inch models,” the report said.
LG is reportedly keen to bring bigger OLED TVs to market because the ultra large-sized segment is said to be growing at “blistering pace”. According to the TV market analyst firm Omdia, TVs of 74-inches and above reportedly accounted for 14.6% of all sales in the first six months of the year.
LG’s offerings in the ultra large-sized market are currently dwarfed by those of Samsung, which launched its first 98-inch Mini-LED TVs in the second half of the year, and has had 98-inch QLED models on sale for some time already.
Samsung has another contender in the shape of its 110-inch MicroLED TV, and the report said the company is planning to release a 99-inch version by the end of this year. That tallies with a report from last week that Samsung Display, which makes the MicroLED panels for Samsung Electronics, had successfully managed to reduce the size between the MicroLED pixels small enough to achieve 4K resolution.
As well as going bigger, LG Electronics is catering to the other end of the market too. According to report this summer, the company will also launch its first 42-inch OLED TVs next year, its smallest ever.
