Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on Tom’s Guide.
When it comes to the best TVs, one of the biggest challenges is figuring out which display technology is truly the best. One of the contenders? MicroLED, which promises a serious upgrade over existing MiniLED technologies.
And soon you could be able to get a MicroLED TV in a — relatively — reasonable display size. Samsung [translated from Korean] has announced that its 89-inch MicroLED TV (model number MNA89MS1BACXKR) is now expanding to South Korea, its second market. The TV was initially launched in China in April 2022.
But even if the Samsung MicroLED makes its way to the U.S., don’t expect to get it anytime soon unless you have a lot of disposable income laying around. The 89-inch Samsung MicroLED TV costs 130 million South Korean won, which translates to nearly $102,000 in the U.S.
Samsung MicroLED — expensive, but trending in the right direction
MicroLED really does provide serious benefits due to its ability to produce brighter and more power-efficient pictures than other display technologies and MicroLED displays don’t degrade over time like OLED displays. There’s a good chance it will be the future display tech for the best TVs, and getting it into smaller and smaller displays is a real step forward toward that future.
That’s why the second part of Samsung’s announcement is such a big deal. In addition to the 89-inch MicroLED TV expanding to a second market, Samsung said that it will “expand the Micro LED lineup to 76, 101, and 114-inch to expand consumers’ ultra-premium TV choices [translated from Korean].” If Samsung makes a 76-inch MicroLED display, that will be a massive step forward in terms of getting MicroLED into the mainstream, even if it costs $80,000-$90,000 at first.
And it probably will cost that much at first. If you thought the Samsung 89-inch MicroLED TV’s price tag was shocking, I have something even more shocking to tell you — that’s relatively cheap for a MicroLED TV. Samsung’s 110-inch MicroLED TV, formerly named “The Wall” will set you back $149,000 if you have the space for a stunning display. And we recently saw the N1 Outdoor TV from C-Seed launch at $200,000 for a 137-inch display.
This higher cost is because MicroLED is still very much a display technology of the future, and incredibly hard to manufacture. MicroLED displays are made by combining many tiny LEDs into substrates that are then assembled into the final display panel, and if just one LED is out of place, the whole display panel is ruined.
That’s why — at the moment — MicroLED TVs are prohibitively expensive for most. But hopefully, as sizes become smaller, price tags will follow suit.
About the Author
Malcolm McMillan is a staff writer for Tom’s Guide, writing about the latest in tech, gaming and entertainment with a particular focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-based tools like ChatGPT. He has written up much of our coverage on the latest AI tools including ChatGPT, the new GPT-powered Bing and Google Bard. He also covers A/V tech such as televisions, soundbars and more, in addition to covering VR headsets from the Meta Quest 3 to the PS VR2. Before writing for Tom’s Guide, Malcolm worked as a fantasy football analyst writing for several sites and also had a brief stint working for Microsoft selling laptops, Xbox products and even the ill-fated Windows phone. He is passionate about video games and sports, though both cause him to yell at the TV frequently. He proudly sports many tattoos, including an Arsenal tattoo, in honor of the team that causes him to yell at the TV the most.
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