TV display technologies have evolved at a frenetic pace in the last few years, with a never-ending influx of new panels popping up in our living rooms – Primary RGB Tandem OLED, Micro Lens Array OLED, QD-OLED, RGB Mini-LED, SQD Mini-LED and so on.
But the future of TV technology won’t belong to any of these panels, if you listen to the experts. For years, they’ve been talking up the potential of an entirely different tech called MicroLED, which uses millions of micro-sized, self-emmisive LEDs to deliver an OLED-like experience without any of the downsides.
Problem is, MicroLED isn’t a new thing. The first TVs based on the technology were launched years ago, with new iterations of products like Samsung’s series of The Wall TVs often popping on these very pages. Our reviewer, Vincent Teoh, has often enthused about the technology too, being privy to the occasional showcase at major industry conferences.
But despite this, we’ve yet to spot any MicroLED TVs sitting in physical high street stores. The price of these TVs is just too much for your average consumer, which is why most installations have been in commercial environments or the homes of extremely rich people, to date.
Enter Hisense, which is now showcasing one of its MicroLED TVs at a physical retailer in the U.K. for the first time. The company recently installed its cutting-edge 136-inch MX Micro LED TV at the luxury department store Harrods, in an effort to turn the heads of the deep-pocketed clientele that usually frequents London’s most exclusive shop.
Obviously, the Hisense MX Micro LED TV isn’t a product that’s going to appeal to most of us, for it remains an extremely luxury product with a price tag that emphasises it. It’s on sale for an eye-watering £119,999, and is perhaps the strongest sign yet that Hisense is looking to shed its reputation as a more affordable brand and establish itself as a premium manufacturer instead.
The Hisense MX Micro LED TV boasts a dazzling brightness of 8,000 nits, together with what’s likely to be a superb sound system tuned by the premium French audio visual company Devialet. Colour reproduction covers 95% of the BT.2020 colour gamut, the company added.
Now, if you happen to own an elite penthouse apartment in, say, Mayfair or Knightsbridge and in need of a suitably deluxe TV, you might be wondering how you’re supposed to get a 136-inch TV up the elevator and in through the front door. But you don’t need to worry about that, because Hisense will send a couple of engineers along with the TV’s frame and multiple MicroLED panels directly to your home. They’ll then proceed to assemble the TV for you, with the process taking around four hours, the company said. In other words, it’s offering the kind of service you’d hope for at this price. This is possible due to the modular nature of MicroLED panels:
Surprisingly though, Hisense’s product isn’t the only Micro LED TV currently on show at Harrods. You’ll also be able to spot Samsung’s latest MicroLED model on the same floor at the luxury retailer. It, too, costs an absolute fortune.
As for when we can expect to see such TVs at more pocket-friendly retailers, we’re still not sure. There have been reports from analysts in the past that the cost of MicroLED technology is likely to come down in future, and we’ve also seen smaller variants of 85-inches and even 65-inches, which do suggest we’re getting closer, even if they were only concepts.
That said, Micro LED displays have been waiting in the wings for a long time already, and it will likely be another long time before they go on sale at prices lower than six figures.
