LG Electronics plans to sell 55-inch TV sets using the new OLED technology for more than $9,000 in the U.S., two people with knowledge of the matter said.
The price is higher than that predicted by analysts for IHS’s iSuppli and NPD Group’s DisplaySearch, who expected the sets to sell for about $8,000 when they debut later this year. LG can’t charge less for the organic light-emitting diode TVs because production costs are too high, one of the people said.
LG and its bigger competitor, Samsung, are trying to rebound from stagnating sales of liquid-crystal-display TVs by adopting OLED technology. The OLED sets modeled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year were as thin as 4 millimeters (0.16 inches) and produced sharper images than LCD models.
LG hasn’t made a decision on pricing yet, Im Seung Kyoo, a spokesman for the Seoul-based company, said by phone Friday.
Samsung, which also plans to start selling 55-inch OLED sets this year, said its models will cost at least double the $4,700 price tag of the most expensive flat-screen TVs of similar size in South Korea.
