Currently, Samsung holds a 6.1% market share in OLED TVs, trailing behind LG Electronics at 54.6% and Sony at 26.1%. It has taken two years for Samsung to come to an agreement with LG Display to provide the necessary boost to Samsung’s OLED TV sales volume by helping it out with flat panel supplies, potentially allowing it to better compete with Chinese manufacturers.
Business Korea is reporting that Samsung just completed the first phase of getting an 83-inch OLED TV to market by this fall, having completed the compatibility registration for the KQ83SC90A at Korea’s National Radio Research Institute. This registration, a crucial procedure for the manufacture, sale, and import of broadcasting and communication equipment such as TVs, typically precedes a product launch by about three months.
As LG Display is currently the only producer of 83-inch panels, sources are suggesting that Samsung and LG are close enough to agreeing terms of supplies, and Samsung may already have received some shipments. The claim is that Samsung is expecting to commit to supplies of 500,000 displays, suggesting that it is going to be very aggressive in taking on up and coming competitors.
Judging by the model number for the 83-inch TV, KQ83SC90A, this TV is going to fall in line with the existing QD-OLED TV SC90 models. A few months ago, Samsung expanded its QD-OLED range by introducing a more affordable S90C series in 55-, 65-, and 77-inch screen sizes, starting at $1,899 and going up to $3,599 for the largest version.
This news is a continuation of the acceleration of Samsung away from LCD panel TVs where the company has been losing ground to Chinese manufacturers, and is not able to be competitive. The possible inclusion of the KQ83SC90A into Samsung’s line-up, with LG’s panels, indicates that the company is willing to collaborate with its nearest competitor to make gain market share quickly.
