OLED TV: Introduction and Industry News - Page 49

LG started to ship its entry-level OLEDC7 OLED TVs in the US - the 55" model costs $2,999 while the 65" one costs $4,497. The 55" model is actually out of stock at Amazon.com (yesterday it was still listed as avialable) but Amazon will ship new orders on the 9th of March.

The OLEDC7 is one of LG's basic models in its 2017 OLED TV lineup, an update to the OLEDC6 series from 2016. Interestingly, the C7 uses a flat panel (unlike the curved one in the C6). These OLED TVs (55" or 65") feature 4K resolution, HDR support (four different standards), WebOS 3.5 and Dolby Atmos sound.

LG revealed its 2017 OLED TV lineup in January at CES, but the company did not yet disclose the price or actual release date of these new TVs. A few days ago we found some initial information on Amazon.com, and today Robert Zohn from Value Electronics updated us with more details.

Below you can see the release date and price of LG's entire 2017 OLED TV range, except the entry-level B7 TVs. Roberts though says that LG may of course change the release dates. Prices may also end up lower than official prices, this has been the case every year since LG launched its first OLED TVs in 2013.

LG revealed its 2017 OLED TV lineup in January at CES, but the company did not disclose the prices or actual release date of these new TVs. Well, except the 65" OLEDW7 Wallpaper TV which costs $7,999 and is up for pre-order at Best Buy.

Today Amazon.com published product pages for some of LG's 2017 OLED TVs, with listed prices. Amazon lists the 55" OLEDC7, the 65" OLEDE7 and the 65" OLEDG7 signature TV. Amazon did not yet publish its product page for the OLEDB7, but it's still great to finally know LG's prices for 2017:

• 55" OLEDC7: $2,499
• 65" OLEDE7: $4,999
• 65" OLEDG7: $6,999

BOE Display announced that it signed an agreement with a Hefei municipal government to co-invest 1 billion CNY (around $145 million USD) in a new OLED TV production line in Hefei. BOE will invest 80% of the funds, and the rest will be provided by the Hefei government.

BOE already has a 8.5-Gen pilot line in Hefei, which is actually producing commercial OLED TV panels, albeit in very small volumes. It 2014 it was reported that BOE plans a $1 billion OLED TV line in Hefei.

Towards the end of 2015 LG Display announced that it plans to build a new OLED fab (P10) in Paju in a $8.7 billion investment. The P10 will produce both mid-sized flexible OLED and large-sized OLED TV panels. Production was planned for the first half of 2018.

ETNews now reports that LG is indeed constructing the new fab (as can be seen in the image above) and the company is on track to finish the project by Q2 2018 (although mass production will probable take longer).

LG lowered the price of its high-end 2016 OLEDE6 OLED TVs - the 55" model costs $2,499 while the 65" model costs $3,999. That's about $1,000 lower than the price before. LG may be starting to lower the price of its 2016 models as it gets ready to release its newer 2017 OLED TVs.

LG's OLEDE6 is a series of flat-panel 4K smart OLED TVs introduced in 2016. The TVs feature an ultra-slim on-glass design, a fixed soundbar, LG's webOS 3.0, Color Prime PRO technology and HDR.

LG Display reported an excellent Q4 2016, with the company's highest quarterly operating profit of $775 million USD. The main drivers for this profit were higher prices of large size LCD panels and a weak Korean Won rate (which also boosted Samsung's profits).

LGD also updated on its OLED program. The E5 flexible AMOLED fab is expected to start production in Q3 2016 - which is a slight delay because LGD aimed to start production in the first half of 2016.

Toshiba announced that it will launch its first OLED TV later this year (probably in March). Toshiba will offer 55" and 65" 4K OLEDs in Japan for ¥700,000 (about $6,100) and ¥900,000 (about $7,900) - which is reportedly similar to LG's high-end OLED TVs in Japan.

Toshiba will use panels produced by LG Display - which is also supplying OLED TV panels to Japan-based Sony and Panasonic.

Philips announced its first OLED TV, the 901F, in September 2016, and the TV is now starting to appear in European stores. The price for the TV (which comes in 55" only) is €3,500 in Germany.

Philips' 901F has s 55" 4K panel (LGD WRGB) and features include three-sided Ambilight (LED strips that add external illumination), HDR, Philips' own Perfect Pixel Ultra HD picture processing, integrated 6.1 sound system and a Smart TV powered by Android.

LG did not officially state the price or release day of its top-of-the-line OLEDW7 Wallpaper Signature OLED TV, but BestBuy already lists the 65" model for $7,999. You can pre-order it now, although it's not clear when the TVs will actually ship.

LG's OLEDW7 TV (which comes in either 65" or 77") is extremely thin (2.57 mm all the way) and attaches to the wall using magnets. A thin cable on the bottom connects to the sound bar. Other features include a 4K resolution, HDR support (to four different standards), WebOS 3.5 and Dolby Atmos sound.