The next big thing in the world of displays is micro-LED. This technology works like OLED in that each pixel generates its own light, and it made its big TV debut in a 110-inch set from Samsung in 2021, with smaller sizes to follow.
But these smaller sizes did not occur. So in 2022, Samsung announced a new range of sizes, but none of them happened — and according to a report in Digitimes (opens in new tab)we should not expect much until 2024-2025.
According to the report, the original plan to produce micro-LED TVs in 76, 88, 96 and 110-inch sizes was delayed by pandemic factory closures in Vietnam, so Samsung shifted its production plans to South America. Korea for 2022, and planned an 89-inch version, a 101-inch version and a 114-inch model. But production of the 89-inch version has been pushed to later in the year, and the report says no decision has yet been made on launching the larger models.
That year, Samsung’s projected price for the micro-LED TVs dropped by about 40%, which is great… but still meant the likely price for the 89-inch micro-LED TV would be about $80,000.
The only size remotely suitable for ‘normal’ homes in any of Samsung’s micro-LED plans to date has been the 76-inch model, but that never happened – and won’t be back anytime soon, it sounds like. If you’ve seen Samsung’s original 2021 announcement and hoped that these models would quickly drop in price to become viable alternatives to the best 4K TVs, you still have some time to wait.
Analysis: why is micro-LED so important?
The reason micro-LED excites TV geeks like me is that it offers all the benefits of the best OLED TVs without any drawbacks. You get the same dimming per pixel as OLED, so you get the infinitely deep blacks and precise contrast, except that micro-LED screens should be able to get much brighter. Today’s best OLED TVs can hit about 1,000 nits of brightness, but Samsung said it expects its first micro-LED TVs to hit about 4,000 nits of brightness, and that about 10,000 nits could be possible in the future. This means you get much, much better HDR from micro-LED than OLED ever seems to be able to offer.
Micro-LED is also made from more durable artificial materials, rather than OLED’s more delicate organic material, meaning you should get longer-lasting displays with no burn-in issues (which today’s OLED TVs have largely overcome, to be fair). to be).
But micro-LED is still cutting edge technology. For example, all these huge TVs that Samsung has announced are only 4K, while as Samsung’s flagship large mini LED TVs, such as the Samsung QN900B, are 8K – and cost about 10% of what the micro LED TV does at the same time. .
Micro-LED is used in products, but is almost entirely in advanced digital signage for businesses. Samsung’s first micro-LED product for the home, called The Wall, is really just a series of micro-LED boards that you can place in a TV shape at home.
Putting the technology in a self-contained TV screen, bonded to glass substrates in a single panel, really pushes the boundaries of current technology. So while micro-LED remains one of my most anticipated things to look out for in TVs in the years to come, don’t expect it to be one of the best 55-inch TVs at affordable prices for a while.