QLED, OLED TV shipments to reach record highs in 2021: report

SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- QLED and OLED TV shipments are projected to reach record highs this year, a report showed Wednesday, boding well for the South Korean TV makers that lead the premium TV market.

The annual shipment of QLED TVs for 2021 is expected to reach 11.02 million units, up 22.4 percent from a year earlier, while that of OLED TVs is estimated to be 7.1 million units, up 80 percent from a year ago, according to market researcher TrendForce.

"Continued price hikes of TV panels, as well as a simultaneous shortage and price hike of semiconductor components required for manufacturing TV sets have forced TV brands in 2021 to reduce the shipment of their mid- and small-sized TVs in favor of the more profitable large-sized, mid- to high-end TVs instead," TrendForce said.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. is the leading vendor of QLED TVs, while LG Electronics Inc. is the largest supplier of OLED TVs.

QLED TV refers to a LCD TV with quantum dot technology, while OLED TV is a TV with organic light-emitting diode display highlighted by self-illuminating pixels.

TrendForce predicted Samsung's QLED TV shipment is expected to increase 17 percent on-year to a record 9.1 million units.

"Samsung Electronics has not only lowered the retail prices of its QLED products to attract consumers, but also released its new Neo QLED lineup, which features Mini LED backlights and resolutions ranging from UHD to 8K," it said.

The market tracker added Samsung's shipment of Neo QLED TVs is expected to reach 1.5 million units, with 33 percent of them being 65-inch models, and account for half of the global Mini LED TV market.

When it comes to the OLED TV market, TrendForce projected that LG will take more than 50 percent of the market share followed by Sony Corp. with 20 percent.

With LG Display Co., the world's sole supplier of large-size OLED panels, expanding its capacity with full operation of its plant in Guangzhou, China, TrendForce expected more OLED TV supply in the market with diversification of TV sizes.

"Brands are willing to expand their OLED TV product lineups because strategic reductions in OLED panel costs have now significantly narrowed the gap between the cost of OLED panels and that of equivalent LCD panels, thereby giving OLED panels a cost advantage that allows TV brands to reap increased profitability," it said.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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