2021 is the year we’re all finally getting an OLED TV

People enjoying an LG OLED TV in their living room
(Image credit: LG)

If you’ve bought an OLED TV so far this year, you aren’t alone. Even though TV sales have generally slowed, market analysts are predicting 2021 will be the year of the OLED, with shipments of OLED screens meant to increase by 80% from 2020 (via LG).

Market research firm TrendForce expects OLED TV sales to set records this year, with “excellent image quality” being a primary factor for consumers looking to upgrade their home cinema. Another analyst firm, Omdia, believes that the huge sporting events taking place this year (such as Euro 2020 and the delayed Tokyo Olympic games) are other driving factors for those grabbing a new OLED display. 

As OLED displays become considerably cheaper, there's also been a rise in people buying OLEDs as secondary TVs in locations like bedrooms and gaming rooms. You can now consistently find OLED TVs under $1,000 / £1,000, albeit for older models or in limited flash sales. The tech is now so consumer-friendly that even the new Nintendo Switch OLED model will use an OLED display.

You also can’t ignore all the extra time we’re spending at home since the Covid-19 pandemic first hit back in 2020. More than ever we’re spending time stuck indoors, and with TVs our main source of entertainment it makes sense that people would be desperate to make sure they can achieve the best experience possible.

TrendForce predicts that these push and pull factors are what will lead to 7.1 million new OLED TVs finding their way into our homes this year. This huge increase over last year’s sales (just 3.65 million OLEDs) will mean that the displays will account for 10% of the overall global TV market by the end of 2021.

If this turns out to be correct, 2021 could be the first year in a decade that LCD screens have accounted for less than 90% of the total TV market, marking a major milestone in the downward trajectory for LCD screen sales that we’ve been seeing since 2015. 

What is the best OLED TV for you?

It seems like there’s never been a better time to get an OLED than in 2021, so what are our recommendations? Well if you’re looking for the best possible experience, why not check out our best OLED TV list? You’ll find a range of prices and options for a variety of TVs from the LG C1 Series to the Vizio OLED TV.

Alternatively, if you’re on a budget, you’ll want to check out our monthly round up of the best OLED TV deals. We try to keep our selection as up to date as we can, and do our best to spot the cheapest and best OLED options out there. If there isn’t something that takes your fancy right now, be sure to check back in a week to see if there’s anything new – after all, this is the year’s everyone’s buying. 

TOPICS
Hamish Hector
Senior Staff Writer, News

Hamish is a Senior Staff Writer for TechRadar and you’ll see his name appearing on articles across nearly every topic on the site from smart home deals to speaker reviews to graphics card news and everything in between. He uses his broad range of knowledge to help explain the latest gadgets and if they’re a must-buy or a fad fueled by hype. Though his specialty is writing about everything going on in the world of virtual reality and augmented reality.

Read more
Samsung S95D listing image
Samsung reportedly sold more OLED TVs than mini-LED in 2024, suggesting that if the price is matched, people have a favorite
Sony Bravia 9 backlight demo showing images on screen and on raw backlight
TCL overtaking LG's premium TV sales is the inevitable result of OLED's biggest problem and mini-LED's biggest strength
Best OLED TV hero image with Samsung S95D
The best OLED TVs 2025 for all budgets, as reviewed by our experts
Samsung S95D showing image of mountains
TV winners and losers of 2024: OLEDs got brighter and 8K strained for relevance
Image of Jones the cat from the movie Aliens, shown on the LG G4 OLED TV. A floor lamp emitting blue light is to the right of the TV.
The TV tech to watch out for in 2025, from even brighter OLEDs to better LCDs
best OLED TV deals
The cheapest OLED TV deals and sales in March 2025
Latest in Televisions
Eight Samsung TVs mounted to the wall showing different basketball games
Samsung is offering you 8 new TVs in one bundle for March Madness, in case you want to watch all games at once like a Bond villain’s lair
OLED Philips Roku TV
The new 65-inch Roku OLED TV is already under $1,000, and that's a price I can get behind
close-up of soundbar mesh with Sonos branding
Sonos reportedly cancels its streaming video player, but I hope it resurrects one part of it, because it could be huge
Best Google Chromecast Apps
Following recent problems, Chromecasts are getting a free update to Android 14 – here's what that means
Sony RGB LED visualization
I saw Sony’s next-gen RGB mini-LED TV tech in action, and OLED TVs should be worried
Google Chromecast 2
Chromecasts are still broken – but Google tells fuming owners not to factory reset their devices
Latest in News
Google Gemini Flash 2.0 Images
I tried Gemini's new AI image generation tool - here are 5 ways to get the best art from Google's Flash 2.0
An image of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra from a hands-on event
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could resurrect an intriguing camera feature
Eurocom Raptor X18
At $15,000, this massive 256GB RAM laptop makes Apple's MacBook Pro look affordable, tiny and very, very slow
Cristin Milioti in Black Mirror season 7
Netflix launches trailer for Black Mirror season 7, giving us a look at its first-ever sequel episode and an unexpected returning character
A graphic of the PC Gaming Show
Get ready for a bounty of PC games on June 8, as the PC Gaming show is back
A close up of The Daily podcast from Pocket Casts' web page
‘Podcasting shouldn’t be locked behind walled gardens’: Pocket Casts slams Spotify and makes its web player free to all