Dubai: LG is confident of boosting its market share in the UAE with the launch of 55-inch curved organic light emitting diode (OLED) 3D TV in the UAE.
OLED TVs can make images 50 per cent sharper and colours 20 per cent brighter than the current liquid-crystal-display (LCD) models. It has the same full high-definition resolution as the LCD displays (1920 x 1080 pixels), or in others words two megapixel as the Full HD TVs.
“Globally, LG has launched two OLED designs — curved and flat — but LG will be launching only the curved design in the Gulf, James Kim, product manager at LG Electronics, told Gulf News.
He said this year LG will be launching only one model — 55-inch — and more models will be launched only in next year.
Right now, the product will be available only in the UAE and others Gulf countries only by end of November.
“We are accepting only pre-orders now and the product will be delivered by within two weeks. We are expecting to sell 100 units per month in the UAE but it all depends on the availability,” he said.
Samsung launched its 55-inch curved OLED TV in September for Dh32,999 but LG’s TV costs Dh35,000.
When asked why the price is high when compared with Samsung, Kim said the thickness of the LG TV is 4.5mm and weighs just 17 kilogrammes. It is the thinnest and lightest in the market plus LG uses fours colours — white, red, green and blue — compared to Samsung’s three colours — red, green and blue.
High demand
“The picture quality will be much brighter and better than in Samsung’s OLED TV because of the white pixels,” Kim said.
He said LG has a market share of around 28 per cent in the UAE and hopes to attain 30 per cent market by end of the year.
“We are expecting very high demand because it is a new technology and from high-income people.
But the problem will be the production of panels. Both Samsung and LG cannot meet market demand globally,” he said.
“OLED TVs will really serve the high end of the market. The cost is very high. The cost is almost nine times higher than the same size LCD TV. The concern is that whether consumers will pay nine times more for an OLED TV just for the high picture quality. It will take some time for panel manufacturers to reduce the price of OLED panels and the volumes produced also are not that high,” Sweta Dash, senior director for display research at IHS, told Gulf News.
Globally, around 5,000 OLED TVs are likely to sell this year. In the MEA, only 1,000 units are expected to be sold.
4K TV or ultra-high definition TV will be more in demand than OLED due to the cost factor. Many low-cost 4K TVs will be produced this year.
Depending of the availability of the panels, Kim said demand will be created.
