The board is set. TV brands are moving their pawns into position. 2026 is going to be a mighty dust-up with RGB Mini LED in one corner and OLED in the other.
How confident am I of this? Very. And it’s not a pugilistic bout that’s been magicked up in a relatively short time a la Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua. This has been in the making for some time – an unavoidable impact that could shake up the TV industry.
Could being the operative word, as while there’s bound to be disruption, at the end of the day; it’s up to you as to which will come out triumphant.
The coming of RGB Mini LED
RGB Mini LED or RGB Micro LED as some brands have confusingly called it (TV brands do not like to keep things simple) will have its hard launch in 2026.
RGB Mini LED is, effectively, an evolution of Mini LED backlights and panels seen over the past few years. Rather than an LED module that pumps out blue (or white) light, which is then converted into red and green through another layer, RGB features three independent red, green, and blue LEDs, removing the need for that extra layer and process.
The implication is a much purer colour performance, more accuracy and a wider range of colours. Brightness should also be given a boost thanks to less light being lost.
And it’s not just one brand jumping into the fray but several, all with their own designs and solutions. I’ve seen Hisense’s 16-inch UXN Mini LED (which is also the world’s biggest TV). I’ve flown to Korea to see Samsung’s massive RGB TV (which it’s branding as Micro RGB). I was in Berlin to see Sony’s RGB Mini LED in a black-box demo; while LG will launch a Micro RGB model at CES 2026, as will TCL.
RGB Mini LED has the potential to push TV performance to new levels, and part of the reason so many TV brands are adopting it is potentially LG. Though not in the way you might think…
LG’s OLED dominance gave rise to RGB
LG Electronics’ OLEDs have been the best-selling models for 12 years, a figure it is very keen to promote. It helps that LG Display is the main supplier of OLED panels for TVs, with the only competition being Samsung’s QD-OLED panels.
While LG Electronics and LG Display are separate subsidiaries of the LG Corporation, it’s not hard to put the dots together and see the synergies that come from the tight integration between the electronics and display sides, which has given rise to LG being the number one brand in the OLED TV market. It’s an advantage that leaves others… frustrated.
OLED TV has become LG’s cash cow, but in the process, left other brands picking up scraps. Sony was quite big on OLED at one point but now only offers one WRGB OLED in its line-up with a panel from LG Display, and the other being a QD-OLED panel from Samsung.
Samsung’s re-entry into the OLED market provided more competition and innovation, but most brands have stuck with LG Display’s panels. QD-OLED has been a success for Samsung, though, quickly ascending to second position in the OLED charts. Those sales didn’t come from LG’s share of the pie.
LG’s dominance, with Samsung following in its wake, has led some brands to avoid offering OLED displays. TCL flat-out ignores OLED, continuing to devise its own solution, while Hisense is another that’s not too interested. It has an OLED TV in its line-up, but you wouldn’t know it considering they barely talk about it…
Why bother trailing in the wake of the leader when you can chart your own course? That is the opportunity that RGB Mini LED offers – to break the back of OLED, and like the shuffle that happens every time the regulations in a sport like F1 happen – it could shoot one brand into the lead.
That’s how important RGB Mini LED could be – but it is dependent on one particular factor…
The price has to be right
This is a new TV technology, so it will not be inexpensive. No one has mentioned price and likely won’t until their TVs are close to launch (as always, it’s a game of chicken) but I wouldn’t be surprised if they cost similar to what premium Mini LED TVs incur at the moment.
That’s not too much of an OLED killer. But let’s say that perhaps some brands are planning a premium model as well as less expensive models with RGB branding.
Like a pincer movement, some will go big on RGB Mini-LED and try to capture as much of the market as possible. Others may dabble to see the reaction, but 2026 will be a clash of the TV titans. It’s all to play for, and we’ll get a clearer idea of who’s in the mix once CES 2026 begins.
