LG, Panasonic and Philips have all toyed with OLED TVs over the years, and now Sony is finally ready to launch its own models.
Until now, Sony has been rather bullish with its LCD TV technology and has restated time and time again that the technology inside its TVs meant that it didn’t need to adopt the ‘expensive’ OLED panels used by LG.
The Sony ZD9 was supposed to be proof of this, and it’s certainly considerably brighter than any OLED on the market, but it seems that the world’s third largest TV manufacturer is now ready to make an OLED of its own.
Barry Young, CEO of the OLED Association, confirmed Sony’s plans to Forbes Magazine, and even revealed that there will be two OLED models from the Japanese technology giant. The OLED TVs will supposedly be available in both 55-inch and 65-inch panels, with shipping expected to start in the second quarter of 2017.
Sony isn’t the first manufacturer to toy around with the idea of launching its own OLED sets; Panasonic made similar waves when it announced its OLED TVs. Sony will supposedly look for mass market appeal however, whereas Panasonic distinctly targeted the higher end of the AV market.
According to Barry, Sony is anticipating sales in the region of 80,000 units for the 55-inch variant, while the 65-inch version is being tipped for sales in excess of 120,000. That would mean Sony has more confidence in the larger screen version, despite LG having more success with 55-inch OLEDs.
Like most OLED TVs, the displays themselves will be sourced from LG Display, meaning Sony will have to make nice with one of its fiercest competitors in order to launch its new model. We can expect LG’s models to be priced below those of Sony.
Sony hasn't said when it will make its OLED TV debut, but CES 2017 is just around the corner. Just saying.
This article was originally published on CE Pro Europe.
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