LG’s Innovation
Banking on organic light emitting diode (OLED) TVs, LG Electronics is developing an OLED-based rollable TV with the goal of release next year. In addition to a rollable display, the rollable TV will hit the market.
According to industry sources on Sept. 14, LG Electronics is working on developing a rollable TV, based on an OLED panel of its subsidiary LG Display, and will unveil the 55-inch TV at the International Consumer Electronics Show (ICES) in January 2016. Mass production will take more time, but the flexible TV is expected to be common in a few years at the latest.
The flexible display is indispensable to the rollable TV idea. LG Electronics considers OLED the most suitable material, since it doesn’t need a backlight and uses a flexible plastic board.
A spokesman at LG Electronics spoke about this by saying, “We haven’t decided what products will be introduced at the 2016 ICES. So, it is difficult to say firmly that we will release the 55 inch rollable OLED TV at the exhibition.”
Although the company gave no definite answer, industry watchers expect that the rollable TV is highly likely to be launched next year. An official from the industry said, “Usually, it takes a year from the development of a new display to the release of a TV. As the rollable display is already available, there is the high possibility that LG Electronics will unveil the rollable TV at ICES, which has great ripple effects on the whole world.”
In a bid to show off its cutting-edge TV manufacturing technology to the world and expand OLED TV alliances, LG Electronics set the release date of the rollable TV at the ICES next year. With the IFA tech show this year as the starting point, Japanese and Chinese TV producers such as Panasonic, Skyworth, Changhong, and Hisense, and Turkey’s largest home appliances manufacturer Vestel have revealed the OLED TVs, growing the OLED TV market pie, in which LG struggles.