Hisense, a leading Chinese television manufacturer, showcased its advanced mini light-emitting diode (LED) technology at the world's largest IT exhibition, CES 2025, expressing ambitions to seize leadership in the global TV market. Hisense declared the era of 'self-emissive RGB' TVs, significantly improving color accuracy and brightness, which have been chronic issues for Chinese TVs.
On the 6th (local time), executives from Hisense who attended the media conference at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, USA, expressed confidence, stating, "Our TV technology has surpassed QD (quantum dot)-OLED (organic light-emitting diode)." David Gold, vice president of Hisense, opened the discussion by noting, "Last year, Hisense led in both sales volume and revenue in the premium TV market for models over 87 inches, surpassing its competitors." Andre Clark, a director at Hisense, followed on stage, saying, "We have overcome the technological limitations of RGB LED chips for the first time, achieving color performance superior to QD-OLED while drastically reducing energy consumption," and added, "This product will set a new standard in the display industry."
That day, Hisense asserted its competitive advantage by directly comparing its products to Samsung Electronics' premium QD-OLED TV. The 116-inch 'RGB mini LED TV' showcased by Hisense at CES 2025 is characterized by the use of independent red (R), green (G), and blue (B) LEDs emitting light directly, unlike traditional mini LED TVs that use white LEDs and LCD color filters. This allows for more vivid color representation; however, the process of ensuring that each color operates correctly is complicated. Additionally, RGB LEDs generate more heat than white LEDs, which could negatively impact the TV's lifespan and performance if not addressed.
Hisense emphasized that it has resolved all these challenges. Dennis Lee, president of Hisense, stated, "Hisense's RGB mini LED 'Trichroma TV' reduces energy consumption by over 20% while delivering more vivid colors compared to QD-OLED and traditional mini LED TVs," noting, "While QD-OLED is still a mainstream technology, improvements in brightness and energy efficiency are needed."
Hisense also expressed confidence while comparing its micro LED TV, dubbed 'ultimate display technology,' to OLED TVs. Micro LED TVs, consisting of hundreds of millions of ultra-fine LED chips that emit their own light, represent the sharpest image quality among display technologies. Clark noted, "We plan to unveil the first 136-inch micro LED TV equipped with over 24.88 million micro LED chips," and stated, "While OLED is vulnerable to burn-in and heat, micro LED provides vibrant and consistent visuals for years." He added, "Hisense is leading the change in manufacturing high-performance displays."
Another Chinese TV manufacturer, TCL, also presented its next-generation mini LED TV at the media conference. Scott Ramirez, vice president of TCL, remarked, "TCL continues to invest heavily in mini LED technology," noting that the latest TVs feature high-output LED chips and incorporate precise light control technologies, including condensed micro-lenses and optical design. Taking the lead with these premium TVs, TCL also stated that it saw the largest market share growth among TV manufacturers in the North American market last year.
Audiences observing the announcements from TCL and Hisense noted that these corporations seemed intent on conveying the message that Chinese TVs are no longer merely "cheap" products focusing solely on cost-effectiveness.
In contrast to the aggressive push from Chinese corporations, new TV products from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics received little attention at CES this year. During Hisense's presentation, LG Electronics only raised doubts about the commercial viability of micro LED TVs. An executive during the media booth tour stated, "Micro LED might be prohibitively expensive for commercialization," adding, "While Chinese products may have advantages in brightness, LG Electronics' new OLED TVs have also significantly improved brightness compared to previous models."
A local electronics industry official who attended all the presentations commented, "Chinese corporations have demonstrated noticeable improvements in the picture quality of mini LED technology they've long invested in," adding, "Since Samsung Electronics first introduced mini LED TVs at CES four years ago, it has lacked any significant innovative technology and made no research and development investments, meaning that mini LED and micro LED technologies are likely to be dominated by Chinese corporations."