Anyone excited by the prospect of 48-inch OLED TVs, but who’s been dismayed by the small number of televisions actually available in the compact size, shouldn’t have to sulk much longer.
LG Display looks to be drastically ramping up its production of 48-inch OLED panels, which indicates we could see a lot more TVs and TV brands make use of it in the coming year.
The website for South Korean daily newspaper Chosun Ilbo broke the news, writing that “LG Display will start producing panels by newly operating a 48-inch OLED TV line in Paju from next month” that exclusively produces the smaller panel size (via OLED-info). The report goes on to predict that the 220,000 units made by LG last year could go up to “1 million units this year”.
The 48-inch OLED size was a new invention for 2020, and it only came to a select number of OLED TVs, such as the LG CX, Sony A9S, and Philips OLED+935. This time, though, you can expect to see it become a lot more widespread – especially as there are even new sizes LG Display is keen to trial on the mass market.
The news comes off the back of LG Electronics’ 2021 TV range starting to roll out worldwide, with new entry-level models like the LG B1 and LG A1 OLEDs set to make the technology more accessible than ever. We can only hope the increased production lowers the cost of manufacture for 48-inch panels, in order to fix the imbalanced pricing from last year’s LG TVs.
Playing the market
It’s very possible that the success of the 48-inch size has something to do with the launch of the next-gen PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles – with families or gamers with limited space in their home looking to buy more compact televisions that don’t compromise on quality.
We usually see the best TV specifications and features saved for the largest screens, like these 75-inch 4K TVs, but single-player gaming sessions don’t need a screen that’s visible to a room of people, and it can make a lot more sense to invest in a more manageable TV size for a bedroom set or second screen.
- Be sure to check out our LG TV 2021 guide for the latest updates