Count on Samsung to make a splash at CES. Despite having an inkling as to what the Korean electronics manufacturer was going to reveal at CES 2026, I think we were all surprised when not one but two 130-inch RGB Micro TVs hit the stage.
Unveiled at Samsung’s First Look event ahead of CES proper, there was a lot of applause and whooping (even some audible gasps) when the TV emerged but, being my usual critical self, I can’t help but feel we’ve been here before.
The 130-inch TV was a most definite flex in the direction of its Chinese rivals in Hisense and TCL, who’ve stolen a march with their super-duper sized TVs; this RGB Micro TV in particular felt as if it was Samsung stamping its authority in the TV market – but to what end?
Defining the rules of engagement
Here’s the thing. Despite Samsung calling its humongous TV an RGB Micro, it is the same as RGB Mini LED technology that underpins the rest of the models that have launched and will launch in 2026. Samsung has developed it to its own requirements but it’s following the same idea as everyone else of having indepedent LEDs for red, green, and blue colours.
Calling it RGB Micro is similar to what Samsung did with its Mini LED models by calling them Neo QLED. It’s a branding exercise rather than a completely different type of technology.
The problem here the confusion this could cause with customers who may think this is a different type of technology when it’s not. The thing about OLED is that it all eventually came under the same banner, and despite my misgivings about Samsung not labelling its OLEDs as QD-OLED, it makes sense if you want to keep things simple.
I understand what Samsung is attempting to do. Much like with 8K, it wants to dominate the market and the first step in doing so is to define the terms of engagement with your rivals. Samsung wants to fight on its terms, and not on Hisense or anyone else’s.
I do think that can cause problems as the TV industry is one where it doesn’t always see the simple and straight line. RGB Mini LED (as I’ll be calling it), could be the next big thing in the TV market, and no one wants to be holding the losing hand. Much like how LG dominates OLED, whoever gets the march with RGB could be at the top for a few years.
But who is it for?
This is the main question. We’ve seen with MicroLED that TV brands have tried to make it a consumer proposition but not really figured out who it’s for.
That fate won’t befall RGB Mini LED, which is a pretty simple proposition – better colours, brighter images – but the bigger the TV, the more I wonder who this TV is being aimed at.
There’s no mention of pricing, which is no surprise, but my expectation is that this 130-inch TV will be somewhere in the range of £30,000 to £40,000 (at the very least). That’s a small slice of the market, and while Samsung wants to make a splash at CES with this most transfixing of designs, in doing so it’s neglected to make the conversation about the more affordable (less expensive?) RGB models due later this year.
I doubt Samsung is worried much about this – after all, they’ve sold the most TVs for the last 20 years.
But 130-inch TVs isn’t the battlefield that Samsung will be fighting on, it’s not where it’s dominated for the last twenty years. If Samsung wants to win the RGB TV wars, it won’t do it with 130-inch models but the 55-inch TVs that’ll fit in your home.
