MicroLED TVs - Page 4

UBI Research says that full-scale commercialization of microLED TVs will begin in 2027, and then the market will grow at a fast 50% CAGR, from 2028 to 2030, when it will generate revenues of $1.3 billion USD.

UBI says that it sees production capacity growing from around 50,000 yearly TVs in 2023 to over 6 million units by 2030.

Samsung Electronics officially launched its first microLED RGB TV. The 115" TV is an LCD TV that is backlit by red, green and blue microLEDs. Samsung says that this TV "establishes a new benchmark for color accuracy, contrast and immersive viewing in the ultra-premium TV segment".  The TV supports a wide 100% BT.2020 color gamut.

The TV is now available in Korea, and it will also launch in the US - and globally - soon. The price in Korea is 45 million Won, or around $32,000 USD. This is a premium product indeed - although the price is much lower than a comparable true microLED Samsung TV.

During CES 2025, Samsung Electronics demonstrated a 98-inch 8K microLED-backlit LCD TV, branding it as RGB MicroLED TV. This is not a true microLED TV, as it is not emissive, but unlike other LED- and miniLED- backlit LCDs, this one uses smaller red, green and blue microLEDs. A few weeks ago Samsung announced plans to produce this TV commercially by the end of 2025.

According to a new report in Korea, Samsung is now ready to begin trial production of this new TV type. Apparently the company's production process has matured enough and it is progressing as planned.

Most companies in the display industry believe that microLED is the leading next-generation display technology, that will be able to replace LCDs and OLEDs in many applications. MicroLEDs offers many advantages – both technical such as higher durability and higher brightness and efficiency, but also in unique production processes and models.

The two leading Taiwanese display makers, AUO and Innolux, have been pushing forward aggressively with their microLED projects. This is mainly due to the fact that both companies do not have any real OLED projects, which means that it is easier for them to develop microLEDs as their next-generation technology. MicroLEDs could provide a way for both AUO and Innolux to “leapfrog” over OLED technology.

Against this backdrop, a potential merger between AUO and Innolux presents an intriguing strategic opportunity. By combining their technological expertise, manufacturing capabilities, and financial resources, a merged entity could potentially accelerate microLED development, and perhaps also receiving meaningful financial support from the Taiwanese government, as such as move could strengthen Taiwan's position in the global display industry.

Note that we have no indications that such a merger is even considered by the two companies, but we feel this is a fascinating topic that should be explored and is supported by several strong arguments.

AUO announced that it will showcase new microLED display prototypes and technologies at Touch Taiwan next week. First up, the company has demonstrated a 42-inch single module microLED, which is said to be the world's largest (beating AUO's own record at 31-inch from 2024). The module offers a brightness of up to 1,000 nits, and AUO is showing a 127-inch tiled TV made up from these new modules. AUO will also show a full range of microLED TVs, developed in collaboration with Samsung Electronics. These TVs are based on AUO's MicroLED backplane technology.

Another new display will be the world's thinnest 17.3-inch dual-sided transparent Micro LED display.  AUO did not detail any more information on that display - or just how thin is it. Among its use cases are interactive, first-class cabin interfaces that facilitate seamless communication between passengers and flight attendants via real-time translation on a transparent screen. The display also has use in commercial advertising, home decoration, points of sales and many other fields where the display can increase tech and style while also transmitting information.

During CES 2025, Samsung Electronics demonstrated a 98-inch 8K microLED-backlit LCD TV, branding it as RGB MicroLED TV. This is not a true microLED TV, as it is not emissive, but unlike other LED- and miniLED- backlit LCDs, this one uses smaller red, green and blue microLEDs.

Samsung now says that it plans to launch this new TV, at a size of 115-inch, later in 2025. This will be Samsung's most premium LCD TV. One of the main advantages over its current miniLED-backlit LCDs, is the use of red, green, and blue microLEDs, rather than blue miniLEDs and color-conversion (QD and phophors) technology to create white-emitting LEDs. This should enable a larger image gamut. The microLEDs may also contribute to a higher contrast compared to the bigger miniLEDs, as there will be better dimming zone control.

In August 2023, China-based BOE HC Semitek started building its $700 million microLED epiwafer production line in Jinwan District, Zhuhai, China. In October 2024, the company announced that it started producing sample wafers.

A few days ago the company held a ceremony as it is starting to mass produce 6-inch microLED wafers, as the project enters its commercial stage. BOE now has a full microLED industry chain, from epiwafers to modules and applications.

Hisense launched its first microLED TV, the 136" UX MicroLED TV, available in China only. The TV costs $110,000 (799,999 Yuan) and offers brightness of up to 10,000 nits, VRR, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+ and a color gamut of 98% DCI-P3.

It is reported that the refresh rate is 3,840Hz "at the pixel level", but likely the real refresh rate is closer to 120Hz.

China-based San'an Optoelectronics is experiencing increased demand for its microLED wafers, and the company is expanding its production capacity. San'an currently has the capacity to produce 250 6" microLED wafers per month, and by the end of the quarter, it will be increase its capacity to 1,400 monthly wafers.

San'an also has passed Samsung's audit and microLED validation tests for its latest chips, and the company is now entering into Samsung's supply chain for the company's large-area tiled Wall microLED TVs. 

Hisense has unveiled the 136MX MicroLED TV, a 136-inch tiled microLED TV that it said to be "consumer ready". This is a 4K 120Hz TV that offers high brightness (up to 10,000 nits) and is powered by Hisense's flagship Hi-View AI Engine X. Other features include Variable Refresh Rate, Auto Low Latency Mode, and support for FreeSync Premium Pro. The 136MX runs on Hisense's own VIDAA smart OS platform.

Hisense did not yet reveal whether it plans to release this TV anytime soon, and at what price. But we can expect this to be an ultra-premium product, like all other microLED TVs.