For two decades, Samsung has occupied the center of the global living room, a dominance built on manufacturing prowess and sheer scale. But the geometry of the television market is shifting. In the high-stakes premium segment, the narrative of "budget" Chinese alternatives has been replaced by a more formidable reality: technical parity. Brands like TCL and Hisense are no longer undercutting on price alone; they are winning on performance, particularly in the burgeoning MiniLED and large-format categories.
The data from late 2024 underscores this encroachment. TCL recently surpassed Samsung in the 80-inch-plus category, capturing a 23 percent market share against the incumbent’s 19 percent. Meanwhile, Hisense has claimed a quarter of the premium market, unveiling technologies like RGB MiniLED evo that challenge the color accuracy and brightness of traditional OLED and LCD panels. For Samsung, the battle is no longer about who can produce the largest or cheapest panel, but who can offer a more cohesive reason for the screen to exist.
Charlie Bae, who leads Samsung’s TV product division in Europe, suggests the company’s defense lies in the "ecosystem"—a pivot from selling hardware to selling an integrated experience. As display technology reaches a plateau of perceived excellence, the differentiator becomes how a television interacts with the home’s wider digital architecture. By moving from "volume to value," Samsung is betting that in an era of commoditized hardware, the software and connectivity surrounding the glass will be what ultimately preserves its legacy.
With reporting from Xataka.
Source · Xataka
