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After 11 years in the red, Sony’s television hardware unit is craving a return to profitability — so it’s shying away from pricey OLED TVs.The Japanese electronics maker is shelving commercial development of new OLED TVs to focus on Ultra HD “4K” sets, reports Japanese business publication Nikkei.
Organic light-emitting diode displays (OLEDs) work without a backlight, so they can display deep black levels with a thinner, lighter form factor than other current display tech – but the production process for large OLEDs remains extremely expensive.
Sony had partnered with Panasonic on OLED tech, hoping that shared technologies would drive down production costs, but that initiative disintegrated by the end of December. Sony pursued further development of OLED displays for a few months, but company executives have evidently decided that effort is no longer worthwhile — not while the company’s 4K TVs are selling so well.
Sony’s 4K displays command prices up to $1,000 more than its comparably-sized HDTVs. Sony leads the 4K market, soaking up around 20% of global 4K revenues last year. It plans to release eight new 4K models this summer, which are likely to feature LED or LCD displays.
The company clearly forecasts increased demand for the high-resolution displays, which it believes are more likely to bring its TV business back into the black.
Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony’s game business, also shelved the PlayStation Vita’s OLED display in favor of an LCD screen in the newer Vita model. The new display looks worse than the original screen on Sony’s portable game system, but it’s a lot cheaper for Sony to produce.
Sony has yet to release an official statement about its intentions to halt further commercial development of OLED displays. The company did not respond to inquiries from VentureBeat by the time of publication.
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit and the parent company of the Sony Group, which is engaged in business through... read more »
Panasonic Corporation group of companies is a globally recognized manufacturer of electric and electronic products that range from electronic components to consumer electronic products, home appliances, factory automation equipment, in... read more »
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