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28 March 2024

32-inch TVs dying… how cheap are they now?

Published
By Joseph George

Are 32 inch LCD and LED TVs dead?

With the arrival of Ultra High Definition and now, OLED technology, 46 inch and 55 inch have now become the new entry level sizes.

According to rough estimates of sales figures from Gitex Shopper, sales of 32-inch TVs have dropped drastically and in most instances, are being given away as free.

A senior Samsung official here confirmed the trend.

Speaking to Emirates 247 the official said, “There has been a shift towards the 46” and 55” sets.

“The shift has been happening over the last one year.

“This trend that we identified among the consumers at a global level,” said Vinod Nair, General Manager, TV at Samsung Gulf.

According to him this is what is prompting the company to launch new TVS in the larger size segments.

“In fact, at Samsung we only have a 55-inch available in the newly launched UHD segment,” he said.

Both Samsung and LG recently launched the curved OLED TVs.

James Kim, product manager at LG Electronics, told Emirates 24|7 that Middle East provides them with a good market for the premium TV segment.

According to him, while the demand for 32 inch units is in decline, the new trend is gaining momentum.

LCD was followed by LED and then came the HD, Full HD and Ultra HD. “Today there are two simultaneous technologies gaining momentum – the UHD and OLED. It will take a while for these to become as popular as LCD and LED,” said Nair.

As Kim pointed out, OLED will become mainstream in three to five years.

“It is a totally new technology and a change in trend similar to how it moved from CRT to LCD and LED and 3D,” he said.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s OLED enables users to watch two different channels simultaneously across the full screen in a full HD format while wearing a special glass.

“We have the 3D glasses that come attached with an earphone.

“When the glass is removed the screen will look jumbled. “We launched the TV last month and the response has been very good. Whatever stocks we had were sold out. We have ordered for fresh stocks and it is on its way,” said Nair.

Samsung also launched a new series of 55- and 65-inch UHD TV during Gitex Shopper.

Both Samsung and LG have continued to outsell the other brands this Gitex Shopper. Several sales staff confirmed this trend to Emirates 247 and said 46- and 55-inch continue to sell faster while there are hardly any customers for the low end 32 inch models.

(Home page image courtesy Shutterstock)