19 years of dominance may be coming to an end...
Samsung has held the top spot in the global premium TV market for nearly two decades — and while the company still leads, the competition is not only catching up but is almost overtaking. The latest Counterpoint Research report (Q1 2025) shows that Chinese brands Hisense and TCL are no longer playing the game for second place. They are genuinely threatening the number one position.
Increases That Can't Be Ignored
In the last year, Hisense increased its revenue in the premium television segment by as much as 87%, while TCL recorded an equally impressive growth of 74%. Both brands significantly strengthened their market position, seeing a noticeable jump in global shipment share. Hisense’s share rose from 14% to 20%, while TCL increased its share from 13% to 19%.
Similar changes are visible in the revenue structure. Hisense improved its result from 13% to 17%, and TCL from 13% to 16%. The report did not provide exact figures for Samsung, which is telling in itself. Meanwhile, LG, which lost its runner-up position last year, did not record any significant growth during this period.
Hisense aims for the USA, then the world
This is no coincidence. Already in November 2024, Hisense announced its intention to dethrone Samsung. The plan? First, the American market, where the Korean brand still holds strong, and then taking the global leadership position. And looking at the growth rate — these are not empty PR announcements, but a very concrete expansion strategy.
TCL operates less flamboyantly, but equally effectively. It is systematically building its global presence, and a 6 percentage point year-on-year growth in the premium segment is a strong signal for the entire industry.
Samsung has gone for OLED, but it's not enough
One of the reasons for Samsung's weakening position could be its change in technology strategy. The company has abandoned the aggressive development of Mini-LEDs in favour of OLEDs. By 2023, Samsung was the leader in Mini-LED TV sales, but after the debut of its own OLEDs (finally) — it lost its edge. By 2024, TCL had overtaken it. Now the same is happening with Hisense and Xiaomi.
It's worth noting: in 2024, for the first time, Samsung sold more OLEDs than Mini-LEDs. It continues to develop the Neo QLED line with Mini-LEDs, but OLEDs are being positioned as its flagship products. The problem is that OLEDs, especially in larger sizes, still cost significantly more than competing Mini-LEDs.
Chinese Brands Play with Size and Price
At the same time, consumers' desires have changed. Televisions over 75 inches are gaining strength, and Hisense and TCL are perfectly positioned to take advantage of this wave. They offer large diagonals at prices that don't deter customers. Mini-LEDs from these brands are increasingly chosen over OLEDs — not because they are “better”, but because they are larger for the same money.
Counterpoint reports that just in the last year:
shipments of premium televisions increased by 79%
revenues in this segment rose by 59%
But this growth did not go to Samsung or LG. Most of these gains were taken by Chinese manufacturers.
Mini-LED cheaper, OLED still luxurious
Bob O’Brien from Counterpoint explains it quite simply:
“MiniLEDs and OLEDs compete at similar price points. But due to the differences in production costs for OLED and LCD, the customer has to choose: a smaller OLED or a larger MiniLED. And increasingly, they are choosing the larger screen.”
This explains why brands like Hisense, TCL, and Xiaomi are growing, while Samsung is not. Because while OLEDs offer fantastic quality, consumers have started to focus primarily on… screen size. The "wow" factor of an 85-inch screen matters more than perfect black levels.
Samsung is still the leader — but for the first time in years, they can’t be certain of that. Chinese brands have a clear plan, an aggressive pricing strategy, and increasingly better technologies. And customers? They are becoming less loyal to logos, and more interested in how many inches and what quality they get for a specific amount.
If nothing changes, 2026 could be the first year that Samsung relinquishes the throne in the premium TV market. And that would be a significant shift in the global puzzle of consumer electronics.
Source: hdtvtest.co.uk
