The legacy of the LG rollable OLED TV may be in the smaller, more portable devices it inspires rather than simply a cheaper version of the same technology.
The LG rollable OLED TV has, since its launch, been an exciting mess of contradictions. The primary one being that, while its innovative unfurling mechanism makes it a great space-saving measure, the high price tag means it’s likely only to feature in the large homes of the wealthy. Retailing for $99,999 / £99,999 in the US and UK, the rollable OLED is little more than a proof of concept to be enjoyed by a small handful of technology enthusiasts – with the added convenience of its rolling mechanism having to be weighed up with the exponential cost compared to an LG C1 or LG G1 OLED, either of which could be bought 50 times over for the same amount of cash. That’s despite both featuring effectively the same panels and processors as their rollable counterpart. A rollable OLED TV will only really enter the mainstream when costs reduce sufficiently – though it may be the model’s legacy is in the smaller, more portable devices it inspires rather than simply a cheaper version of the same technology. That’s what we’re told by Jacky Qui, VP and Co-Founder of OTI Lumionics – an innovator in next-gen OLED display tech – who spoke exclusively to TechRadar about where the LG rollable OLED TV could go next. Qui tells us that “The high cost for the rollable OLED TV is due to reduced yield for the new process required to make the rollable TV,” and while production costs should gradually decrease, and the RRP drop for any hypothetical second iteration, “it is unlikely that you can see a 10x price reduction from $100,000 a unit to $10,000 a unit.” The great complexity of the production process is a huge factor here, given the challenge of ensuring an ultra-thin 55-inch TV panel can be handled without damages – an issue that plagued early OLED TV production and led various big TV brands to ditch the technology altogether, even if some came back into the fold after LG’s success in the area.
