An OLED TV war has broken out in Australia with both LG Electronics and Samsung rolling out their 2025 TV lineups, what LG is not telling the market is that they have significantly improved the Web OS smart TV engine to allow them to capture and sell personal data on consumers viewing habits.
Samsung the world’s #1 TV brand is battling arch rival LG Electronics who is in forth spot behind Hisense and TCL is confident that they can grow their share of the OLED TV market in Australia with their new range a simple shot across the bows in the developing OLED TV war, with the Company set to roll out their biggest ever range of OLED TV’s in Australia this year.
So far Samsung have only announced three models in their lineup, they include the S85F, S90F and the S95F with each available in both 83-inch and 77-inch sizes.
“Samsung has always been committed to providing a screen for every Australian experience and we are so pleased to have pushed the boundaries of innovation once more to provide the best of Samsung OLED technology in our biggest form factors across the range,” said Simon Howe, Director of Audio Visual, Samsung Australia.
“Each year we see a growing number of Australians looking to upgrade their screen size, and with this trend comes the need to offer more big screen options across our wider TV range he added.
Over at LG they are spruiking their OLED evoM5 and G5 TVs along with a line-up of cheap bottom end OLED TVs.
At the top end of the OLED TV market LG who initially pioneered OLED display technology is set to come under pressure from European brand Loewe, who earlier this week revealed a new range of Super Premium OLED TV’s that are set to be ranged at The Good Guys and at 22 Harvey Norman premium stores.
Unlike the LG premium evo OLED TV’s which house the A11 AI processor Gen 2 processor, Loewe has opted to use four Qualcomm processor engines to manage a multitude of processing needs in their TV’s which are also available with swivel mounts.
The problem for both Samsung and LG is that they are under siege from Chinese brands Hisense and TCL who already own the ‘Large Size’ TV market’ with new LED technology creating a disrupter environment for TV Companies.
This week ChannelNews was told by retailers that they have placed their biggest orders ever with Hisense and TCL for their 2025 TV stock requirements.
Lee Cheong, president of Samsung Display said recently “It is very concerning that Chinese corporations are narrowing the technology gap, but there is clearly still a difference in advanced technological capabilities,”.
Ironically the move by LG to roll out more data capture TVs comes as the Company is also moving into other product categories in an effort to capture and sell more information than ever before to advertising agencies, other brands and political parties.
Ironically LG Electronics is making more profits selling data from their products such as OLED TV’s and appliances than they are from selling a TV with the business generating billions last year from the sale of data.
Recently the South Korean Company acquired European smart home Company Athom, the move was seen as being a way for LG to use their technology to capture information on consumers home lives, and then sell the data to third party advertisers, the same way they do with their TVs and WebOS software.
The problem for both LG and Samsung is that they are both now in the exact same spot as were their Japanese TV rivals 20 years ago when brands such as Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer and NEC dominated the TV market in Australia only to be taken out by new kids on the block Samsung and LG. Now it’s Hisense and TCL that are the challenger brands taking on the South Korean TV Companies.
In a clear signal of the battle ahead TCL is now cuddling up with the likes of Danish Hi Fi Company to roll out new premium TV models.
Rather than unveiling most of its 2025 TV range all at once, TCL told me at CES that they would have a staggered launch this year of new models with a recent launch of a top end QM7Ks premium model housing Mini LED display technology and new Danish designed audio capabilities.
Their new QM7K TV series TVs are illuminated by Mini LED lighting, which some claim is superior to OLED.
This is already causing a problem for LG, who has ended up using third party manufacturers to develop TVs for the Company that houses alternative technology to OLED.
This comes after LG sold their LED manufacturing plants to a TCL subsidiary recently in an effort to bolster the profits of their struggling LG OLED Display operation.
Samsung Display no longer produces any LCD panels, and LG Display is expected to close the chapter on LCD panels later this month.
As a result, LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics are today forced to purchase LCD panels mainly from Chinese panel manufacturer such as TCL CSOT and BOE.
See separate stories here on Samsung latest OLED TV range.
