News
OLED TV Panel Costs Are Plummeting and It Could Upend the Premium TV Market
The economics of OLED TV manufacturing are shifting fast. According to a new report from South Korea’s The Chosun Ilbo, the production cost of large OLED panels, like the 65-inch variety powering premium living room setups, has halved over the past five years. In 2020, LG Display reportedly spent close to $1,000 per panel. That figure is now on track to fall below $500 by the end of 2025.
That is not just a financial footnote. It is a warning shot to RGB Mini LED, the latest LCD-based tech trying to rival OLED on contrast and brightness. It also signals a potentially massive change in how high-end TVs are priced, marketed, and adopted in the next wave of living room upgrades.
OLED’s Price Collapse Isn’t Random
This steep drop is no accident. LG Display, the dominant supplier of large OLED TV panels, is systematically reworking its DDI (display driver IC) architecture to improve output efficiency. While material costs and scale improvements play their role, the bigger shift is that OLED is no longer the exotic, high-cost panel it was when LG introduced its first OLED TVs over a decade ago.
What we are seeing is the tech maturing at scale. Production bottlenecks, yields, and backend integration have reached a point of steady optimization. In short, OLED’s premium tax is eroding.
Cheaper Panels, Cheaper TVs
Lower upstream costs mean downstream brands, whether it is LG Electronics, Sony, or even budget disruptors like TCL, have more room to play with pricing. With OLED panels now at a much more palatable cost base, brands can aggressively push mid-premium and even upper mid-range OLED models without bleeding margin.
This accelerates the trickle-down of OLED tech into living rooms that would have otherwise defaulted to high-end LCD or QLED. We are talking about mainstream 65-inch TVs that look like flagship models from just two or three years ago, but without the eye-watering price.
RGB Mini LED Has Work to Do
On the other side of the fence, RGB Mini LED is still finding its rhythm. While it delivers stunning brightness and refined backlight control, it remains a newer technology with more complex manufacturing and quality control overhead. Component tuning, consistency in dimming zones, and supply chain optimization are still very much in progress.
This does not mean Mini LED is falling behind. It still outperforms OLED in raw brightness and is often a better pick in bright-room environments. But the value calculus is shifting fast. OLED now has momentum, scale, and price on its side.
The Takeaway
For years, OLED held the crown for picture quality, but its price kept it out of reach for most buyers. That is changing quickly. By 2026, OLED may no longer be the premium pick. It may become the default choice. Unless RGB Mini LED can compress its cost curve at a similar pace, OLED’s renaissance could turn into total dominance.
In related news, LG Display CEO Jeong Cheol-dong also said LCD panels need 1.5 million dimming zones to match OLED, highlighting OLED’s superior contrast and precision. He added that LG is cautiously evaluating new OLED lines while investing in Micro LED and other next-gen display technologies.
News
TCL T7 QLED TVs unveiled with 4K, 144Hz refresh & Google TV, starting at $599.99
TCL is expanding its 2025 Google TV lineup with the new T7 Series, a range of 4K QLED TVs that promise high refresh rates, rich visuals, and strong gaming credentials without breaking the bank. Announced as a more affordable alternative to its high-end QD-Mini LED sets, the TCL T7 QLED TVs slot neatly into the mid-tier with plenty of premium touches.
TCL T7 4K QLED TV Specifications
The T7 Series is available in four sizes: 55, 65, 75, and 85 inches. While the 55-inch model sticks to a 120Hz native refresh rate, the larger models bump that up to 144Hz, making them suitable for fast-paced gaming and sports. TCL pairs its Quantum Dot panels with the AiPQ Pro processor, which handles real-time color and contrast adjustments for better 4K HDR visuals. Support for HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG, and Open HDR is standard across the lineup.
Audio gets a solid upgrade too. All models feature Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital+ support, with the 85-inch version stepping up to a 2.1-channel Onkyo speaker setup with 40W output. For connectivity, users get four HDMI ports (including eARC), USB 3.0 and 2.0, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi 5. The TVs also support Chromecast, AirPlay 2, and voice assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit.
Running on Google TV, the T7 Series offers access to thousands of apps, hands-free voice control via far-field mics, and smart home integration. It also supports Apple and Android casting, plus advanced gaming features like Game Accelerator 288 and Auto Low Latency Mode.
Prices start at $599.99 for the 55-inch model and go up to $1,399.99 for the 85-inch. TCL hasn’t confirmed an exact release date yet, but the T7 Series looks positioned to challenge more expensive QLED and Mini LED rivals in 2025.
In related news, we recently explored what makes the RayNeo Air 4 AR glasses stand out.
Featured
What’s So Special About the RayNeo Air 4 AR glasses?
RayNeo has officially launched the Air 4 series in China, bringing major improvements in display, performance, audio, and comfort. The lineup includes the standard Air 4 and the premium Air 4 Pro. While its predecessor, the Air 3s Pro, continues to sell globally, the Air 4 series has just debuted in China and is expected to expand internationally in 2026. Let’s take a closer look at what makes this new generation of AR glasses stand out.
World’s First HDR10 AR Glasses
The RayNeo Air 4 is the first AR glasses product to support HDR10, setting a new benchmark for display technology in the category. The glasses include AI-powered SDR-to-HDR conversion, which upgrades non-HDR content to HDR quality on the fly. This enhancement improves contrast, deepens blacks, and boosts color depth without user intervention. The 1200-nit peak brightness ensures clarity even in well-lit environments.
Vision 4000 Display Processor
Both the Air 4 and Air 4 Pro use the Vision 4000 image-processing chip, co-developed by RayNeo and Pixelworks. The chip handles real-time tone mapping, white balance adjustment, and contrast enhancement. The Air 4 Pro supports 10-bit color output, delivering 10.7 billion colors, which results in a 64x improvement in tonal depth over standard 8-bit displays. This processing power ensures that image quality remains consistent across varied content and lighting conditions.
Micro-OLED Display and 3D Support
The glasses use 0.6-inch dual-layer Micro-OLED panels with support for 1920×1080 resolution in 2D and 3840×1080 in 3D mode. They simulate a 135-inch virtual screen viewed from 4 meters, suitable for streaming, gaming, or multitasking. With a 200,000:1 contrast ratio and 98% DCI-P3 color coverage, the display produces rich blacks, vibrant highlights, and accurate tones. The 120Hz refresh rate supports fluid motion during gameplay and high-frame-rate video.
TCL Optical Engine
RayNeo integrates TCL’s second-generation Peacock Optical Engine 2.0 across both models. The optics system benefits from TCL’s display calibration expertise and pushes color coverage up to 145% sRGB. The engine supports precise color tuning that meets the needs of video professionals and content creators. Visuals remain accurate, natural, and free from color drift, even in high-contrast scenes.
Bang & Olufsen Audio
The Air 4 series introduces a four-speaker audio system co-engineered with Bang & Olufsen. It supports spatial 3D surround sound, uses large polymer diaphragms, and employs a proprietary DAC algorithm to maintain clarity and balance. The sound-guiding fins reduce leakage by up to 80%. Whisper Mode focuses sound into the ears, ideal for quiet environments. The Air 4 Pro adds Surround Mode, expanding the soundstage for immersive content.
Comfort and Fit
RayNeo maintains a lightweight design at 76 grams across both models. The frame uses a balanced 46.7:53.3 front-to-back weight ratio to reduce strain on the nose and ears. The temples offer nine levels of adjustment, while the nose pads include three positioning levels, allowing the headset to fit a wide range of face shapes. Prescription lens support adds flexibility for nearsighted users.
Compatibility and Charging
The Air 4 series connects to smartphones, tablets, laptops, and gaming consoles, including the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, using USB-C or HDMI adapters. The glasses support up to 100W Power Delivery passthrough charging, allowing users to continue viewing or gaming while their device charges in the background. This makes them suitable for long usage sessions without power interruptions.
Buy RayNeo Air 3s Pro From Official Website
In related news, global TV shipments fell below 50 million units in Q3 2025, marking a 4.9% year-over-year decline, and Redmi’s product manager stated that RGB OLED represents the future of display technology.
News
Global TV Shipments Slip Below 50 Million Units in Q3 2025, Down 4.9% YoY
Global TV shipments are showing signs of fatigue. According to the latest data from TrendForce, total shipments in the third quarter of 2025 dropped to 49.75 million units, a 4.9% year-over-year decline, and the first time Q3 figures have dipped below the 50 million mark. Despite a 6% sequential uptick from Q2, the market continues to face headwinds from weaker consumer demand and shifting global dynamics.
TrendForce attributes the slump to extended replacement cycles and the early pull-forward of demand caused by economic uncertainty. In China, where government subsidies previously helped boost local sales, the fading of those incentives has led to a measurable contraction in the domestic market. Together, these factors have slowed momentum for an industry still recovering from the post-pandemic surge in TV upgrades.
The research firm expects a rebound in Q4 as brands push through heavy promotional activity during key shopping seasons like Double 11 and Double 12 in China, as well as Black Friday in Western markets. Shipments are forecast to climb 7.3% quarter-on-quarter to 53.21 million units. Even so, full-year figures are projected to total just 195.59 million units, a 1.2% annual decline.
Samsung maintained its lead as the top global TV brand, followed by Hisense, TCL, LG Electronics, and Xiaomi, together commanding 64.3% of total shipments. Hisense saw the biggest momentum shift, moving from a conservative first half to an assertive pricing strategy in the second. Its Q3 shipments rose 9.7% quarter-on-quarter to 7.66 million units, securing the second spot globally and a 15.4% market share, its highest yet.
While the U.S. market remains relatively stable, the global TV landscape appears to be entering a mature phase, one where innovation, affordability, and brand agility will define who leads the next growth cycle.
(Via)