LG Electronics to launch first 8K OLED TV in Korea next month

LG Electronics has announced that it will launch its groundbreaking 8K OLED TV next month, joining the global competition for consumer 8K television. The 8K TV comes with an OLED panel with 8K Ultra HD resolution (7680 x 4320), equivalent to 16 times more pixels than full HD and four times that of 4K UHD. Samsung Electronics and Sharp have already provided the 8K TVs in the market, but LG is the first to showcase the 8K OLED TV.

The South Korean company said Monday that it started taking preorders for the “LG Signature OLED TV” on Saturday. The 8K OLED TV will be first launched in South Korea next month, and then go on sale in North America and Europe in the third quarter of the year. The TV set’s retail price is 50 million won, but during a one-month period of preorders, it will have a reduced price of 40 million won.

The electronics manufacturer’s 88-inch 8K OLED TV is the largest OLED TV available in the market, and employs an advanced panel with 33 million pixels to deliver higher picture quality. In addition, the set’s image and sound quality are further enhanced by the company’s second-generation Alpha 9 8K intelligent processor, which utilizes deep learning technology to automatically optimize contents. Also, LG’s AI platform “LG ThinQ” and Google’s “Google Assistant” will be supported by LG’s latest TV.

The world’s 8K TV market has been largely taken by Samsung Electronics and Sharp. According to IHS Markit, Samsung and Sharp sold 10,300 and 4,800 units of the 8K TV in the first quarter of this year, respectively. The sales volume of the 8K TV was around 18,600 units last year, but the figure is expected to grow to around 6.29 million by 2023.


Dong-Jun Heo hungry@donga.com