Electronics major Samsung expects a surge in volume within India’s premium smart TV segment, despite prevailing market pressures. In the wake of a year marked by stagnant growth, the company said it remains optimistic about the future trajectory of the premium TV segment, particularly in the AI space.
Smart TV shipments have declined globally by 5.5 per cent in 2023 compared with 2022, according to IDC estimates. However, Samsung told BW Businessworld that it is optimistic about growth in the present year, largely due to positive expectations from the premium segment.
“This year, the volume growth is going to happen because of step up in premium segment – the higher range of the products we will see growth. That’s our expectation,” Mohandeep Singh, Senior Vice President, Visual Display Business, Samsung India said in an interview with BW Businessworld.
Samsung on Wednesday launched the 2024 range of AI-powered New QLED 8K TVs, which feature NQ8 AI Gen3 processors. The NQ8 AI Gen3 processor has a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that operates at double the speed of its predecessor. Additionally, it has a notable enhancement in neural network capabilities, with an eight-fold increase from 64 to 512.
The AI features in the new TV range are expected to enhance clarity and naturalness, including matching content to the 8K display. According to Samsung, ‘AI Motion Enhancer Pro’ will bring clarity during fast-paced scenes like sports, tracking objects without distortion. ‘Real Depth Enhancer Pro’ will add lifelike depth to scenes, while 'AI Sound Technology' is expected to deliver precise audio, adapting to content and room acoustics. Also, 'AI Auto Game Mode' optimises gaming scenarios and 'AI Customization Mode' tailors settings for each scene.
The company also launched Neo QLED 4K and OLED TVs.
Samsung stated it believes that the new AI-powered TV lineup, which include QLED and OLED technology, gives it an edge in the Indian market, where it competes with the likes of Xiaomi, LG and Sony.
“Last year, for the first time we had introduced OLED technology. And we saw a new set of consumers coming to us. We have QLED now. I think with this twin strategy in the premium segment, we are expecting to do extremely well as far as the Indian market is concerned. Super premium is a growing segment and we expect to do very well in this market,” said Singh.
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