LG Electronics Inc plans to begin selling big-screen TVs next year that can be rolled up and put away like a poster, the centerpiece of an effort to revive an ailing business, according to a person familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n
The envisioned 65-inch TVs will retract automatically at the touch of a button like a garage door, the person said on condition of anonymity because it\u2019s an internal matter.<\/p>\n
They will sport organic light-emitting diode or OLED screens, which produce crisper images and fold more easily than traditional LCD or liquid-crystal display panels.<\/p>\n
LG is counting on so-called \u201crollable\u201d and OLED televisions to revive a consumer electronics business that\u2019s grappling with price declines and stiffening Chinese competition.<\/p>\n
The South Korean conglomerate is shedding workers to streamline and refocus around future technologies, such as flexible displays. A prototype of the television displayed at LG\u2019s research center in Seoul can be rolled up and stuffed into a box when not in use.<\/p>\n
The company showed off the rollable screen technology earlier this year but 2019 will mark its first commercial release in TVs.<\/p>\n
LG declined to comment.<\/p>\n
OLED TVs are estimated to account for just 1.1 percent of the market this year, while LCDs claim almost 98 percent, according to data tracker Statista.<\/p>\n
But unit shipments of OLED TVs are projected to grow 70 percent next year to 4 million from an estimated 2.35 million this year, it said.<\/p>\n
LG is also preparing to make its mark on fifth-generation or 5G wireless technology, which is expected to revolutionize the mobile internet and power-up a plethora of gadgets from home appliances to cars.<\/p>\n
LG will likely unveil its first 5G smartphone at next year\u2019s Mobile World Congress, the person said. US telecommunications giant Sprint Corp. announced in August it\u2019s working with LG to bring a device that runs on 5G to the US in the first half.<\/p>\n
Plans for its own home market of Korea remain unclear, the person added.<\/p>\n
While Apple Inc. plans to hold off until at least 2020 before offering a 5G iPhone, Samsung Electronics Co is said to plan rolling out its entry next year after first introducing three versions of its new flagship, to be dubbed the Galaxy S10.<\/p>\n
Samsung is also said to be working on scrollable and stretchable screens that could eventually go into smartphones. The company declined to comment on its progress.<\/p>\n
Unlike Samsung, LG has no plans to introduce a phone featuring \u201cfoldable\u201d screens next year, one person familiar said. The company doubts the profitability of such a device given the uncertainty of demand and the cost of producing such a large screen for a mobile gadget, two people said.<\/p>\n