Following September 19 as one of the representatives of the seven major domestic TV manufacturers, Hisense joined LG, Skyworth, Sony, Changhong, Konka, Philips and other brands to participate in the OLED Summit hosted by LG Display. There have been reports recently that Hisense is expected to start selling high-definition TVs equipped with LG Display OLED panels in the third quarter. South Korea said that the supply of OLED panels to the Chinese TV manufacturing giant Hisense Group will help LG Display increase its profitability.
Hisense has not yet formally responded to this, and some media claim that this is just LGD's hype. However, according to Koubei Home Appliances, as early as November last year, Hisense spent 800 million yuan to acquire Toshiba color TVs, and Toshiba had already released an OLED TV before. At that time, people in the industry inferred that, in addition to focusing on Toshiba's own technical strength and brand value, its OLED product line is the important anchor point of Hisense's acquisition of this time.
In the post-LCD era, quantum dots, OLEDs, and laser TVs have always been the focus of debate in the industry as to who is the development direction of the next display era. At present, more than 80% of the world's color TV companies have chosen the OLED direction, and about 15% have chosen the quantum dot direction. As the very few remaining companies, Hisense insists that laser TV is the first choice for the replacement, which naturally attracts continuous attention from the industry.
In fact, in the non-OLED quantum dot camp, Samsung is already one of the world's two largest OLED giants. Although TCL is not very active on OLED, its subsidiary China Star Optoelectronics has invested in the construction of the 11th-generation ultra-high-definition new display device production line in Shenzhen, which mainly produces and sells displays including 65-inch OLED and 75-inch OLED. Due to the effective vertical integration of its panel, TV assembly and brand business, TCL expects its shipments in 2018 to increase by 6.7% year-on-year. Compared with the above two color TV companies, Hisense has also begun to involve in the field of quantum dots, but there is neither a liquid crystal panel industry nor a continuous layout of OLEDs, and Hisense, which all depends on external procurement, is in a slightly embarrassing situation at this time.
As we all know, Hisense TV mainly promotes ULED TV and laser TV. The so-called ULED is the technical name after Hisense has enhanced the LED backlight, and it uses LCD liquid crystal panels. In this regard, the person in charge of Hisense TV R&D said that the greatest value of ULED is that it has improved the image quality of LCD TVs to an unprecedented level with a lower cost and more mature technology. Under Hisense’s main push, laser TVs have changed from "exclusive precision instruments" to "household consumer goods."
Currently, Hisense Laser TV has a market share of 61% and 65% in China’s TV market of 80 inches and above. In the field of super-large-screen smart TVs where LCD TVs cannot be reached, and quantum dots and OLEDs are not yet available in large quantities, the size effect and viewing experience of laser TVs "can be large but not small" cater to the appetites of some consumer upgrade users, and they have seized the opportunity The niche business opportunities in the color TV market also make Hisense earn a lot of money.
However, it is understood that there are more than 20 laser TV brands on the market in 2017, including Hualu, Hisense, XGIMI, Baofeng, Guangfeng, PPTV, Changhong and others. The 80-inch 4K laser TV released in May of this year has a suitable viewing distance of only 3 meters and the price is less than 20,000 yuan. But then, the Internet brand Nuts launched the U1 4K laser TV. The price of the 100-inch large screen is only 8,999 yuan. The laser TV reproduces the iron law of price war at the end of the technical concept of electronic products.
Analysts believe that, compared with other brands that promote laser TV as a "supplementary" product, Hisense TV, which is all betting on laser TV, has invested a lot. Although it will be difficult to get rid of the constant bite of competing companies in the future, it is hindered by laser TV. The camp is relatively small, and Hisense still hopes that more TV companies will enter the laser TV industry and take the lead in promoting laser TVs to smaller sizes and higher picture quality.
According to media reports, the OLED TV panels purchased by Hisense may supply Toshiba color TVs that have just been acquired, and OLED TVs will be launched overseas first. Prior to this, Hisense had insisted that OLED was just a game of hegemony between LG and its rival Samsung. Once OLED becomes the mainstream of the market, Chinese companies can only become distributors and porters of foreign brands. Because Chinese companies do not have the ability to produce and supply OLED panels, the scene of panel constraints on Chinese color TV companies may be staged again. Speaking of low, if China's color TV industry wants to survive and develop, it must rely on its own core technology and take its destiny in its own hands. There has always been a big controversy within Hisense whether sticking to ULED, laser TV or transforming to OLED.
However, with Sony's return to the OLED camp and Apple's launch of OLED screen iPhones, global consumers' confidence in OLED TVs has been ignited again. In the Chinese market, OLED is more popular, and capital is actively pouring in. A number of companies such as BOE, Truly, Tianma, Visionox, and Hehui Optoelectronics are involved in the OLED industry.
At present, there are about 15 mainstream color TV companies in the world, and OLED TVs have seized more than 50% of the high-end market in North America and Europe. High added value has become the main revenue driver of TV manufacturers. For example, Sony's overall TV revenue in 2017 increased by 21% year-on-year, of which OLED TV contributed 8%. LG Electronics' overall TV revenue in 2017 increased by 9% year-on-year, of which OLED TV contributed as much as 52%. Skyworth's 2016/17 fiscal year report also pointed out that the sales of OLED organic TVs were the main reason for the surge in sales of high-end product lines.
The creation of his own "outlet" has made Hisense the industry's only "OLED public enemy" and the king of topics, which is unbearable. Refusal to enter the OLED industry, I am afraid it will lead to the continuous loss of high-end users in the future, and the brand's premium ability will lose its color. These are the troubles that Hisense is facing and needs to be solved urgently.
Industry analysts believe that the current dominant position of LCD is largely due to the strong industrial foundation that has been built over the past ten years and the low product prices. In addition, the price of OLED TVs is relatively high. The quantum dot camp's strong attack on OLED has caused many consumers to be in a dilemma when facing OLED and quantum dots. They don’t know which one to choose is the right one. This kind of erratic mentality is actually Shanghai also brings certain opportunities to categories such as laser TVs.
However, it is certain that OLED as the next-generation display technology has become the consensus of the industry. In the next three to five years, the global color TV market competition will continue to revolve around LCD and OLED, with quantum dot TVs and laser TVs playing the role of blockers. In this process, most color TV companies will adopt a follow-up strategy, focusing on user needs and insisting on walking in multiple categories at the same time. After all, betting requires strength. Faced with the continuous expansion of the OLED camp, as China's number one TV manufacturer, Hisense cannot circumvent the hurdle. Seek to the trend, not to blame, Hisense TV may not be able to retreat, and the rhythm must not be chaotic.
Ningbo Xingchuangzhi Electric Appliance Co.,Ltd. , https://www.xingchuangzhi.com