The annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas kicks off on January 8, 2018. At CES 2018, we expect to see 8K TVs, more HDR, new OLED and "QLED" TVs, and possibly even a new display technology.
8K TVs next year?
We have already seen lots of prototypes at trade shows, including at CES in past years. However, HDMI 2.1 makes 8K TVs feasible, and the new interface standard has just been finalized.
FlatpanelsHD has discovered that Sony has filed for an ’8K HDR’ logo and trademark for use with TVs, which hints that Sony is planning to launch its first 8K TV at CES. Korean media is also reporting that Samsung will ”introduce” its first 8K TV.
So what about LG? The company will reportedly need to have its new OLED factory to be up and running before it can start mass-producing 8K OLED panels.
OLED vs. QLED vs. microLED?
We expect to see lots of new OLED TVs from a range of manufacturers. LG is likely to lead the pack as it still fully controls mass production of basically all OLED TV panels.
Korean media are reporting that LG is planning to launch its first ’Crystal Sound OLED’. This is the speaker technology first employed in the Sony A1 OLED. Two actuators use the display panel as a speaker membrane. LG is also expected to focus on its ‘wallpaper OLED’ and introduce a smaller version.
We expect Sony to launch a new OLED TV (A2?) and we expect other manufacturers to jump on the bandwagon. We do not expect Samsung to introduce an OLED TV. Instead, the company will continue to push LCD TVs as “QLED”. One way to improve peak brightness and colors will be to move the quantum dots to the color filter in front of the LCD panel.
But most importantly, Samsung is rumored to be planning to showcase, and possible launch, its first TV based on microLED technology. It is a new self-emitting display technology that in many ways resemble OLED. One vital difference is that microLED is easier to produce in large formats. Samsung is believed to bring along a TV measuring more than 100” in diagonal.
HDR, voice assistant, more!
We also expect CES 2018 to shed more light on the development of HDR. HDR10 is well established as a base format but HLG and Technicolor’s Advanced HDR are still emerging. Dolby Vision has strong momentum in the premium segment but Samsung and others have formed HDR10+ as a front.
Alexa is already starting to appear in TVs, even Android TVs, while Google is slowly rolling out Google Assistant to Android TVs. Apple is not participating at CES so we do not expect any new Siri tricks but we are curious to see if LG and Roku will jump into the space. Samsung will introduce its Bixby voice assistant for TV.
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