TCL OLED TVs are coming — and they're about to get a lot cheaper

(Image credit: TCL)

It seems like everyone wants a piece of the OLED TV business. Rumors initially suggested that Samsung was moving into OLED TVs, and now it looks like TCL is working on OLED sets of its own.

A recent tidbit from a European press conference with TCL Europe has prepare off speculation that not just is TV manufacturer TCL working on its own OLED engineering, but that we might see the first TCL OLED TVs as early as 2023.

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The rumor comes from a seemingly offhand annotate made during a TCL Europe press briefing, as reported by What Howdy-Fi and Tech Radar. While this roughly tracks with other public statements from the visitor and open up information nigh investments past the Chinese consumer-electronics maker, information technology'due south the first time nosotros've heard anyone putting a engagement on when we might begin to see the first TCL OLED models.

To find out more than about TCL's plans regarding OLED TVs, we spoke to Aaron Dew, director of production evolution at TCL North America.

Is TCL preparing to brand its own OLED TVs?

From the start, Dew was not comfortable making whatever firm statements nearly when we might come across an OLED Television receiver from TCL. However, he was more than willing to assist u.s. larn more about the present land of TCL'south OLED development.

"As you saw in the news, the comments from Europe this week," said Dew, "we definitely are investing in self-emissive technologies [like OLED] and we do see a future opportunity for that technology."

This is largely in reference to sizable investments by TCL in Japanese visitor JOLED, which is developing a new ink-jet printing process that promises to be cheaper than LG's white OLED (WOLED) technology and make OLED TVs easier to industry.

According to a JOLED press release terminal twelvemonth, TCL bought a 10% stake in the visitor. Other reports bespeak that TCL has invested 20 billion yen ($187 1000000) into the OLED maker to jointly develop the new OLED applied science.

All of this conversation is complicated by the fact that TCL's panel manufacturer, subsidiary China Star Optoelectronics Engineering — ofttimes referred to as simply TCL CSOT — is in a separate part of the larger TCL corporate family than TCL Due north America or TCL Europe.

Equally a result, details about technical developments and upcoming manufacturing capabilities might non be well-known elsewhere in the company. Yet there was no denying that TCL is looking at adding OLED sets to its roster of TVs and is working hard to develop OLED manufacturing capability.

"We are evaluating hereafter display technologies," said Dew. "Nosotros are investing in those time to come display technologies, and then we retrieve at that place will exist a time for that."

Where does OLED fit into TCL's plans?

But an OLED model joining TCL's other smart TVs would be a big shift for the manufacturer, which has largely focused on creating loftier-quality yet value-priced TVs. OLED technology may be the top canis familiaris in terms of picture quality and dissimilarity, but it's besides (for now) a premium production, and makes up a minority of sets in the Tv globe.

"If you just take a big step back," said Dew, "in that location'due south two kinds of TVs in the world today: There's self-emissive OLED TVs and there'south LED LCD TVs. And the way the market looks, it's over 97% LED LCD TVs and less than 3% cocky-emissive white OLED in the world today."

Any OLED development volition run parallel to the existing technologies that TCL is already using and working to improve. Aaron Dew specifically cited mini-LED backlight as the master focus for electric current TCL TVs, which makes a lot of sense.

TCL introduced the smaller-backlight technology back in 2019. Just in 2021 did competitors begin to adopt like mini-LED tech in their ain TVs, such as the Samsung Neo QLED line and the LG QNED with Mini-LED , in an attempt to catch upwards with excellent models like the TCL half dozen-Series Roku Tv (R635).

"That'due south our focus," said Dew, "in terms of any sort of new Boob tube engineering," speaking of that balance between value and performance.

"We were the first to introduce mini LED back in 2019," he added. "We're continuing to roll that out and you lot'll see that on more than of our TVs, and we'll have more to talk about subsequently on this twelvemonth."

When will we run across the first TCL OLED sets?

Just what virtually the bigger question of when those OLED TVs volition make it? TCL Europe has said that OLED models could show upward as early on equally 2023, but Dew isn't ready to give any business firm dates.

"I'm non prepare to talk near when nosotros'll productize that," he said in response to our questions.

That said, he was more than happy to bespeak out that this sort of investment into R&D was a large part of TCL's success in the last few years.

"That'due south what helped to get united states of america to a top-two position here in the U.S. in terms of Television market share," said Dew. "Largely, nosotros produce everything in-house that we distribute and sell to customers. That gives the states peachy ability in terms of bringing new engineering science faster."

"And we continue to invest and you see those new investments around things like ink-jet printing of OLED materials, which is a little means off, but you see that continued investment."

Given some recent rumors about Samsung buying OLED panels from rival Korean manufacturer LG, I as well asked if we might always see a TCL OLED Telly that used a console made past another company.

"No," Dew said flatly. "We certainly don't take any plans to do anything like that, and we don't exercise that today."

Whatever the future holds for OLED TVs coming from TCL, we can exist pretty sure that TCL will continue to maintain control over its manufacturing and won't exist turning to outside sources to provide parts.

Brian Westover is an Editor at Tom's Guide, covering everything from TVs to the latest PCs. Prior to joining Tom'southward Guide, he wrote for TopTenReviews and PCMag.