Sony may have inadvertently revealed the pricing of its forthcoming A95K range, widely expected to be the first commercially available TVs featuring QD-OLED panel technology.
Although official pricing and release information is yet to be published, the A95K pre-order page on Sony’s US website does include the number of Sony Reward Points that shoppers can expect to receive. The points system garners customers rewards redeemable on a wide range of products, including music, movies, and games. The XR-55A95 K’s will earn buyers 3000 points while the XR-65A95 K’s will bag 4000 points.
Sony’s existing rewards point system doesn’t have a declared exchange rate, but it appears to convert every dollar spent to one point, suggesting that the XR-55A95K will be priced at $3000 (around £2214, AU$4981) and the XR-65A95K at $4000 (around £2951, AU$7581).
Of course, Sony could change its points system for 2022 or even for specific models, but if it remains at 1:1, then the brand’s QD-OLED TVs will be only slightly more expensive than its flagship OLED range for 2021.
This potential affordability comes as a surprise given the recent rumours of problems for Samsung Display, the supplier of QD-OLED panels both to Sony and Samsung Electronics. Production issues have reportedly resulted in a meagre product yield of around 30%. Meanwhile, the two factions of Samsung are said to be engaged in a wholesale price dispute, with Samsung Electronics petitioning to pay a price equivalent to what its primary competitor, LG Displays, charges for its own standard OLED panels. However, it has been suggested that Samsung Display is unwilling to accept these terms.
With neither side willing to compromise, Samsung is thought to be considering delaying the release of its QD-OLED models, which had been expected to launch later this year, meaning that Sony will most likely be the first company to launch its QD-OLED TVs.
However, it looks as though Dell will beat both Sony and Samsung at bringing QD-OLED to the marketplace with the release of its Alienware QD-OLED gaming monitor. Dell has announced that the 34 -inch QD-OLED Gaming Display will arrive “early this Spring” for a surprisingly reasonable price of just $1299 (around £960 or AU$1820).
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