A new range of LG OLED TVs are starting to launch worldwide, and it looks like pricing could be very competitive compared to last year's sets.
Korea JoongAng Daily reports that brand new OLED TVs like the LG G1 Gallery Series and C1 OLED are selling for as much as 20% less than the launch prices of their 2020 predecessors (the LG GX and CX OLED, respectively).
That's a massive discount considering we only expect the processing and overall picture performance to increase over last year's models, especially with the new OLED evo panel technology supposedly upping the brightness on the LG G1.
Reporter Park Eun-jee writes that the pricing strategy is "a move aimed at boosting appeal to mass consumers." This lines up with what we know of LG's 2021 range, with its new entry-level A1 OLED model showing a clear intention to target lower price points and get its LG TVs in the homes of more consumers.
This is only in South Korea, LG's homeland, but it does signal possibly pricing strategies globally. So what could new 2021 models actually cost elsewhere?
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When the price is right
Last year's GX Gallery Series OLED retailed at $3,499 / £3,199 / AU$5,999 for a 65-inch size. If other territories follow a similar discount, then that would bring the G1's launch price to $2,800 / £2,560 / AU$4,800. Still a sizeable amount of money, certainly, but considerably less than we'd have expected.
The LG CX OLED – one of the best TVs of last year – retailed at $1,499 / £1,499 (around $1,900) for a 48-inch size, and $3,499 / £3,499 (around $4,500) for a 77-inch size. With the same discount, that would become $1,200 / £1,200 (around $1,500) for the former size and $2,800 / £2,800 (around $3,600) for the latter.
We'd still expect discounts on these sets throughout the year, of course, though we could foresee LG offering a lower initial launch price in place of the aggressive price drops we saw on 2020 sets.
The biggest repercussions may be for the new affordable A1 OLED model, which could make history as an OLED TV with a launch price of $1,000 / £1,000 (around $1,300) or lower. We've seen other OLEDs discounted below this figure, but never for its initial RRP.
It's worth noting that LG's high-cost and very experimental rollable OLED TV, the 65RX, has reportedly sold a mere 10 sets in South Korea, the only country where it has launched – and it may be LG is looking to shore up more certain sales elsewhere in the range.
Via OLED-info
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