Samsung's Micro LED TV is coming in 2021, and we finally have a firm idea of when its various sizes are going to be on sale.
The new Micro LED television will be launching in its largest 110-inch and 99-inch sizes "globally beginning at the end of March", with an 88-inch size coming in late 2021.
Part of the announcement, though – which comes during Samsung's Unbox & Discover March event – confirms a fourth, step-down 76-inch size. While it's still in big-screen territory, it's the smallest for the Micro LED tech, which is famously difficult to condense to smaller sizes.
You could well see the Samsung Micro LED TV come to our best 75-inch TV guide, but there's no release window confirmed for this size beyond "the future roadmap".
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2021 is proving something of a turnaround for the Micro LED display tech, given it first launched in 2018 at a near-incomprensible 292-inch size, requiring professional installation and custom pricing.
These new sizes are bringing it firmly into the world of commercial retail, even if pricing is still set to be somewhat high and most of the sizes are beyond the most common 55-inch and 65-inch TV size categories.
Micro LED, macro screen
Samsung's Micro LED TVs feature a 99.99% screen-to-body ratio, meaning the bezel is pretty much non-existent, while these models have "no need for professional assembly and installation".
The benefits of Micro LED are pretty clear, with its microscopic LEDs creating incredible brightness control and contrast – resulting in a picture that can even rival the best OLED TVs – and we've seen the technology quietly gaining steam in the past couple of years.
There are a few advantages over OLED, with no risk of image retention, and a panel structure that's far simpler to expand to larger screen sizes (hence the 163-inch microLED set from LG, or 292-inch screen from Samsung).
The arrival of Micro LED in earnest could, incredibly, make OLED seem like the cheaper underdog, in a reversal of the usual OLED vs LCD comparison.
It's yet to be seen if there's public appetite for Micro LED TVs in their current forms. Some features, like the split-screen 4Vue / Quad View that lets you "watch up to four sources of content simultaneously" seems a bit useless for most TV buyers, and largely as a way to spin an oversized screen in a positive light.
However, we can't argue with Micro LED's picture benefits. The other announcements from Samsung's Unboxed event, such as The Frame's Shelf accessory and a 75-inch full-sun model of The Terrace, show that Samsung is leaning in hard to the things that really make its TV range stand out – and it's looking to be a big year ahead for the massive electronics giant.
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