Chinese TV makers are making strides in the ultra-large TV market, with TCL Technology now pulling ahead of Samsung Electronics when it comes to TVs that are 80 inches or bigger. Market research firm Omdia says that in the third quarter of 2024, TCL held onto a 23 percent share, while Samsung’s slice went down from 26 percent to 19 percent compared to last year.
But it’s not just TCL gaining traction. Another Chinese brand, Hisense, is catching up fast to Samsung, with only about a 1.65 percent difference in market share—way down from an 11 percent gap a year ago. LG Electronics also got squeezed out of its third-place spot by Hisense last year.
Chinese companies are doing so well because they dominate the LCD panel supply chain, allowing them to keep prices lower without skimping on quality. During November’s Black Friday, this became much clearer: TCL’s 98-inch mini-LED TV was going for around $2,900, and Hisense’s 100-inch model cost about $1,599, while a similar Samsung 98-inch mini-LED TV was priced around $8,997, according to DSCC’s numbers.
The tech difference between Chinese and Korean LCD TVs has gotten a lot smaller, too. Chinese brands have made strides in ultra-large 100-inch TVs and are adding high-end AI-powered processors to their premium models.
Regarding revenue, Samsung’s share in the ultra-large TV market fell from 40 percent to 31 percent year-over-year in Q3, while TCL’s share pretty much doubled from 9 percent to 18 percent. Experts say this is mainly because Chinese makers get state subsidies and have lower production costs, making it hard for Korean brands to compete on price.
Now, Korean companies are looking for other ways to make money. Some experts think software and operating systems might be the real future, not just the hardware. But Chinese brands aren’t slowing down either—they’re quickly improving their software capabilities, giving the traditional market leaders even more to worry about.
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