Samsung, LG set to launch new TV models, respond to market challenges
2026.03.30 07:00
Every time Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics unveil a new TV, they roll out the same kind of promises: the brightest and most accurate colors yet, overwhelming picture quality and built-in generative AI.
Yet behind the flashy technology lies a more precarious reality. China has tightened its grip on the low-end liquid crystal display (LCD) ecosystem, while the mass adoption of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs has remained sluggish for years, leaving the two Korean companies squeezed on multiple fronts.
Even so, Samsung is set to launch its new models in April, while LG Electronics unveiled its 2026 TV lineup on Thursday.
By revenue last year, market researcher Omdia data cited in the report show TCL and Hisense closing in on Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics in the global TV market. Yet unlike Japanese rivals, Samsung and LG cannot simply ease out of the TV business. Instead, they are still searching for a way forward.
LG Electronics used its latest launch to once again highlight its OLED technology. “When it comes to OLED, we are confident we can maintain a performance edge,” said Baik Seon-pil, head of the display business at LG Electronics.
The problem is that OLED still represents only a small slice of the global TV market. According to Omdia, OLED accounts for just 3.1 percent of TV shipments and only 11.3 percent of sales revenue. Of the 200 million TVs produced in 2025, only 6 million are OLED models.
LG Electronics’ Media Entertainment Solution Company posted an operating loss of 750.9 billion won ($467.7 million) last year. Samsung Electronics, meanwhile, reported that its Visual Display and Digital Appliances businesses posted a combined operating loss of 200 billion won for the full year.
In the end, both companies have returned to LCD TVs dressed up with more premium technology. On Thursday, LG Electronics introduced its Micro RGB TV, which uses red, green and blue mini-LED backlights instead of conventional white backlights to improve picture quality. Samsung Electronics has likewise announced it will push ahead with Micro RGB TVs as part of its 2026 premium TV strategy.
Japan, once a consumer-electronics powerhouse, has effectively ceded ground in televisions to China. Toshiba’s TV business was transferred to Hisense in 2017. Sony, for its part, announced in January that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with TCL Electronics Holdings Limited to establish a joint venture that would assume Sony’s home entertainment business, including televisions and home audio.
Experts say there is a clear reason Korean companies are still defending the increasingly difficult TV market.
“Japanese TV makers shifted toward entertainment, while Korean companies are still taking direct aim at the display market,” said Moon Dae-gyu, a professor in the Department of Display and Advanced Materials Engineering at Soonchunhyang University. “If they want to showcase technological prowess, they need TV products.”
Lee Jong-hwan, a professor in the Department of System Semiconductor Engineering at Sangmyung University, made a similar point. “For Samsung, TVs are important for the stature of the overall brand,” Prof. Lee said. “For LG, home appliances are the backbone of the company, so it is structurally difficult to let go of the TV business as a core profit source for now.”
Industry officials still see reasons to stay in the fight. They are betting that the TV market will eventually grow around OLED, that emerging demand remains in Global South markets such as India and Brazil, and that TVs still need to serve as a profit buffer while the automotive electronics and robotics industries are in transition.
In the long run, the task comes down to two things: lowering the price barrier for OLED and expanding the platform ecosystem around TV operating systems (OS). First, consumers need a reason to open their wallets.
“OLED TVs are more like Lexus than Lamborghini,” Baik said. “They are not yet at the price level of an Avante, but we are bringing them down to a range that many people can reach with only a little extra budget.”
LG Electronics claimed it has reduced costs by upgrading power-control technology and cutting heat generation and materials use. It has also lowered the price of some 2026 premium OLED evo models by as much as 1.31 million won from a year earlier.
There is also a growing view that both companies need to strengthen their competitiveness as software companies by expanding their in-house TV operating systems and boosting advertising and content revenue.
Unlike Chinese manufacturers that rely on Google and Amazon operating systems, Samsung and LG continue to build out their own ecosystems through Tizen OS and webOS. LG Electronics has stated webOS-related revenue topped 1 trillion won, while Samsung continues to expand Tizen OS across TVs and partner products.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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