LG Electronics Inc., one of the world’s largest TV makers, is leading the TV industry’s shift toward organic light-emitting diode (OLED) television sets, which are gaining popularity among high-end users and gamers.
According to market tracker Omdia, the South Korean home appliance giant took the lion’s share of the global OLED TV segment with a 63.7% market share among 19 OLED TV manufacturers.
In the first six months of the year, the company shipped 1.73 million OLED TVs and in the second quarter alone, LG’s shipments reached 945,000 units, its largest-ever quarterly volume since it started selling such TVs in 2013.
LG’s decent performance comes as the premium TV is positioning itself as the industry’s mainstream, quickly replacing the liquid-crystal display (LCD) TVs.
Global OLED TV shipments by TV manufacturers stood at a total of 1.53 million units in the second quarter, a quarterly record-high and a 2.7-fold increase from a year ago, Omdia data showed.
The second-quarter volume exceeds Omdia’s expectations of 1.28 million units.
In the seasonally strong fourth quarter, global shipments of OLED TVs will reach as high as 2 million units, Omdia forecasts.
“OLED TVs have already proven their quality compared to other types of TVs such as LCDs. If the current trend of high-volume sales continues, OLED will lead the premium TV segment sooner rather than later,” said an industry official.
Omdia predicts the global OLED TV market will grow to 6.1 million units by year-end, up 70% from 3.65 million units at the end of 2020.
LG's OLED evo GETTING LARGER
The shipment of 48-inch OLED TVs, the current mainstay products, reached 188,000 units globally in the second quarter and is forecast to rise beyond 1 million units by year-end, as the size is particularly popular among gamers.
The 80-inch and larger-size OLED TV segment is also growing rapidly.
About 8,000 units of 80-inch and above-size OLED TVs were shipped in the second quarter and the number is expected to double over the next year, according to Omdia.
Among all OLED TVs sold globally so far this year, 77-inch and larger-size products accounted for 17.6% and the ratio is growing, it said.
Demand for OLED TVs that offer stunning picture quality has been growing rapidly as consumers, including gamers, are being attracted to large-size LED TVs as big-screen gaming gains popularity in the stay-at-home non-contact era.
OLED is highlighted by self-illuminating pixels that do not require a separate light source, allowing manufacturers to produce lightweight, thin and flexible display products, thus appealing to high-end consumers.
LG's 48-inch gaming OLED TV The average sale price of OLED TVs hovered around $2,053.4 in the second quarter, four times higher than the LCD TV price of $512.3.
According to recent data from US media outlet Consumer Reports, seven LG products were included in the top 10 OLED TVs rated by the Consumer Reports, while three from Sony made it to the list.
The LG OLED evo, launched earlier this year, was recently rated as the top OLED TV by Canadian electronic gadget review and rating company Rtings.
Five of LG’s OLED products were included in Rtings’ top 10 products.
Write to Hyung-Suk Song at click@hankyung.com In-Soo Nam edited this article.
