4K OLED: introduction and market status - Page 12

Yesterday I posted that LG Display managed to increase their 4K OLED TV production yields - and I said it may lead LG to reduce the prices of their latest OLED TVs. In perfect timing, Amazon reduced $1,000 off the 55EG9600, LG's 2015-model UHD (4K) 55" curved OLED TV.

LG's EG9600 TVs were introduced at CES 2015, and the new 4K OLED TVs feature a new anti-glare filter, webOS 2.0 OS and quad-core CPUs. The 55EG9600 is now shipping for $4,499, down $1,000 from the original asking price.

LG Display is currently focused on 4K OLED TV panels, and according to ET News, the company managed to increase production yields of 65" and 77" 4K OLEDs to 65% and they expect the yields to continue and increase and reach over 85% by the end of they ear. LGD's Full-HD panel yields are now over 80%.

This is good news which will hopefully lead to lower OLED TV prices soon. We know that LGD aims to produce 600,000 OLED TVs in 2015 and 1.5 million in 2016. ETNews says that most of these panels will be 4K OLEDs: 510,000 in 2015 and 1.29 million in 2016. LGD's goal is to produce over 5 million 4K OLED TV panels in 2018.

Researchers from Japan's Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL) and Advanced Film Device developed a 81-inch 8Kx4K OLED display that is built from 36 13.5" flexible OLED panels that have transparent edges on two adjacent sides.

The transparent edges enabled the researchers to connect the tiles seamlessly - to create the world's largest OLED display ever developed.

Yesterday we reported that Amazon.com lowered the price of LG's 2014 65" 4K OLED TVs to $8,999 (down from $9,999) - and today the online retailer reduced the price by another $1,000 - so the 65EC9700 is now offered for $7,999.

The price of LG's 2015 65" 4K model (the 65EG9600) is still $8,999 - which at least makes sense because previously the 2014 and the 2015 models were offered at the same price. The 2015 model is still not shipping - Amazon says it will ship within 4-6 weeks.

Yesterday we quoted a report from Korea Times claiming that LG Electronics' OLED TV sales are lower than expected. Today another Korean publication (ETNews) runs the same story with some more details.

According to ETNews, LG Display reduced its OLED TV panel 2015 production projection to 500,000 units (down from 600,000). The main reason is that LG is seeing sluggish sales of Full-HD OLED TVs, as it faces a tough battle from Quantum-Dots enhanced LCDs.

Update: LG lowered the price of the 65EC9700 again to $7,999!

Amazon.com now offers LG's 65" 4K OLED TVs for $8,999 - down from $9,999. This actually matches the price of LG's 2015 65" 4K model (the 65EG9600). The 2015 model is still not shipping - Amazon says it will ship within 4-6 weeks.

LG's 65EC9700 is a UHD (4K, 3840x2160) 65" curved OLED TV, that supports LG's High Dynamic Range (HDR) algorithm, the True 4K Engine Pro (to upscale SD, HD and FHD content to 4K) and support of H.264 and HEVC H.265 formats (30p and 60p). The TV also supports automatic color temperature control for individual pixels via LG's Color Refiner.

LG Display recently upgraded their OLED TV production capacity to 14,000 Gen-8 panels in a month, which will enable them to produce around 600,000 TVs in 2015. A company official told CNet that they currently cannot meet the demand for OLED TVs, and they "cannot build OLED TVs fast enough".

LG currently sees OLED as a way to gain brand perception - as "OLED equals LG equals great televisions". It seems the company is not in a rush to reduce prices as they want to have a premium price and perception for their OLED TV range, which also explains why they are currently focusing on 4K OLEDs and not FHD ones.

Amazon.com is now shipping LG's new 55EG9600 curved 55" 4K OLED TV (2015 model). LG did not yet actually officially launch this TV in the US, but it's already shipping from Amazon. The price is $5,499 (and Amazon says that they currently have only 4 in stock).

LG EG9600 OLED TV

The EG9600 OLED TV series offer curved display, 4K resolution, LG's new anti-glare filter, LG's WebOS 2.0 Smart TV OS and quad-core CPUs.

Amazon.com now lists LG's new 55EG9600 curved 55" 4K OLED TV (2015 model). While LG did not yet officially launch this TV in the US, Amazon says it will ship in 3-6 weeks (i.e. during April) and will cost $5,499 (you can already place your order now).

LG EG9600 OLED TV

Amazon's product page actually says that this is a 65" model, but is obviously a mistake. The 65" EG9600 will cost $8,999.

According to reports from Korea, Samsung filed for some new trademarks in Korea on January 26: Super UHD OLED, Ultra Super OLED, Samsung Super Ultra OLED, Ultra OLED and Super UHD. Obviously these trademarks (except the last one, perhaps) will be used for UHD (4K) OLED TVs.

SDC repeatedly stated that it does not aim to mass produce OLED TVs in 2015. SDC did produce OLED TVs back in 2013, but the production yields were low and they could not keep up with the low prices of LG's OLED TVs. LGD's chosen technology (WRGB and Oxide-TFT, as opposed to SDC's direct-emission and LTPS) has better yields and is much easier to scale up.