LG is planning 48-inch OLEDs to compete with smaller televisions

LG is looking to expand the model sizes of its OLED panels, with plans to start manufacturing 48-inch varieties over the coming years.

The plans were announced at this week's OLED Korea conference, where LG and its manufacturing partners took to the stage to lay out the future of OLED TV in today's crowded television market. It comes only weeks after LG announced a $10bn expansion (around £8bn/AU$14bn) to continue developing its OLED panel technology.

• Check out the cheapest OLED deals
• Best OLED TVs: our pick of the best OLED sets out there 
• OLED vs QLED: which TV technology is better?

Alongside the expected mention of new form factors – such as the rollable LG Signature Series OLED R – LG also let slip that it was working on bringing 48-inch OLED panels to market.

OLED panels currently only come in a limited few sizes: 55-inch, 65-inch, and 77-inch, as well a new 88-inch size for its flagship LG 8K OLED.

There's no immediate date for when we'll start seeing 48-inch OLEDs on the market, though we've reached out to LG for comment.

Size is everything

The announcement of a new, slightly smaller panel size might not seem like the biggest news, but one of the main criticism still laid at OLED's door is the restrictive panel sizes.

Manufacturing OLED is hugely expensive compared to regular LCD-LED panels, which come in a much larger variety of shapes and sizes. And the minimum 55-inch sizing for OLED has kept it out of homes that simply don't have space.

News of a 48-inch model points to a smaller, cheaper OLED model coming to market, making the stunning panel technology available to more viewers than ever before. And that's something to be excited about.




READ MORE: