Lowering Price by up to 30%
LG Electronics Inc. unveiled its latest OLED television lineup equipped with a second-generation artificial intelligence (AI) technology on March 6.
With the 2019 edition OLED TV, the company is planning to raise the ratio of OLED TVs to total TV sales to 25 percent this year. In particular, the 8K OLED TV and rollable TV models to be released in the second half of the year are expected to boost sales of OLED TVs.
LG Electronics held a launching ceremony for its 2019 edition premium TV lineup at LG Science Park in Seoul on March 6. “OLED TVs accounted for a little over 20 percent of the total TV sales last year. We are aiming to boost the ratio to 25 percent this year,” said Kwon Bong-seok, president of LG Electronics' mobile communications (MC) and home entertainment (HE) divisions, during a press conference.
As a first step to boost sales, LG Electronics has reduced the price of new OLED TV models by up to 30 percent. The company has confirmed the price of 77-inch Signature OLED TV at 18 million won (US$15,946), down 6 million won (US$5,315). The largest 77-inch OLED models will be launched with a price tag of between 12 million won and 18 million won (US$10,633 to 15,946), while 65-inch models will be priced between 5.2 million won and 8.9 million won (US$4,607 to 7,884). The price of 55-inch OLED TVs is between 2.7 million won and 3.1 million won (US$2,392 to 2,746).
LG Electronics has also reinforced TV functions themselves. The so-called second-generation Alpha 9 processor to be featured in its 2019 TV models delivers a more vivid color by going through two times more processes than the first generation processer. It also analyzes the original content to eliminate noise and "up-mix" two-channel audio into 5.1 surround sound.
In addition, LG Electronics has installed “AI Home Board” function in its latest TV models so that users can control other smart home appliances, such as dryers, air conditioners and air purifiers, through the television remote control. For instance, users can check the concentration level of fine dust on the AI Home Board and turn on an air purifier with the TV's remote control while watching TV.
Meanwhile, the size of the global OLED TV market is forecast to nearly triple over the next three years from 3.6 million units in 2019, 7 million in 2020 and 10 million in 2021.