With any luck, OLED TVs will be much cheaper next year

MW
Mike Wheatley

If you’re holding out to buy a new OLED television at lower prices, then you could do well to wait until next year, as the premium display technology is set to become much cheaper by then.

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That’s according to a report from Display Supply Chain Consulting, an industry analyst firm, which says increased production efficiency and yield should help to reduce the costs of manufacturing OLED displays in the coming months. Those savings will likely be reflected in lower TV prices, Flatpanels HD claims.

According to DSCC, the production cost of a 55-inch White OLED panel manufactured by LG Display, the technology used by the vast majority of OLED televisions, is expected to reduce by around 20% this year, compared to 2022’s production costs. WOLED displays, as they’re known, are used in TVs such as LG Electronics C3 and G3 OLED models, as well as Philips’ new OLED+908 and Panasonic’s new MZ2000.

Consumers will likely have to wait until next year to see the benefit of these lower production costs, DSCC said. The OLED panels made this year will most likely not be used for this year’s models, though we could see some starting to be used towards the end of the year.

The lower costs will in any case be a welcome respite, considering that the production costs for OLED displays actually increased in 2022, due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and higher demand at the time.

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The price declines expected this year are in line with a general trend that has seen OLED become progressively cheaper over the years. Indeed, last year LG Electronics announced the LG A2 OLED TV, with smaller sizes selling for less than $1,000. However, LG notably didn’t announce any successor to the A2 this year, meaning super-cheap OLED TVs will be in short supply in 2023. Hopefully, the lower production costs will lead to more budget buys.

DSCC also had good news regarding QD-OLED, which is the OLED technology manufactured by Samsung Display and used in premium TVs such as the Samsung S90C and Sony A95L. According to the analyst firm, Samsung Display is hoping to reduce production costs by as much as 30% this year, thanks to increased utilization of its existing factory lines and improvements in yield. In other words, Samsung Display is getting better at making the panels, resulting in less wastage and lower overall costs.

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Samsung Display’s QD-OLED panels cost a lot more than WOLED at present and that is reflected in the high cost of products like the S90C, so the efficiency gains are welcome. By next year, we could well see the first QD-OLED TVs at mid-range price levels.

That said, it’s likely Samsung Electronics will aim to distinguish QD-OLED from WOLED. The company has recently inked a deal to buy millions of WOLED panels from LG Display, and is expected to offer a range of OLED models next year. Most likely, QD-OLED will be reserved for next year’s flagship models.