The best TVs in 2024 are so eye-arousing, they should almost be outlawed. Almost. When it comes to TV tech though, progress is king, and as such, there’s always an even better, brighter, and more exciting TV on the horizon.
There’s no denying TV technology progresses at a bank balance-obliterating rate. While that QD-OLED sitting pride of place in your lounge may be the best OLED TV right now, the simple fact is that it will likely be usurped by a better model in 2025. Granted, these improvements may be minor – say an improved UI to make navigating apps easier or a slight brightness boost – but hey, an upgrade is an upgrade.
If you’ve not bought a new TV in a while, 2025 could well entice you back into the market for a fresh display, be it a super bright “MAX” OLED panel or potentially even the long-rumored debut television from Apple. Read on for the TV tech trends we think could emerge in the year ahead.
Apple will enter the TV market
We’re pretty sure early humans were riding woolly mammoths back when the rumors of Apple entering the TV market first surfaced – don’t worry, you can totally trust our Ice Age facts. Well in 2025, all of that long-gestating scuttlebutt could finally become a reality.
Over the past few months, whispers have grown that Apple is ‘evaluating’ a launch of its long-lost TV set. Why now? With an increasing number of TV manufacturers demanding your data when you first set up your smart TV, Apple, which is bigging up the privacy features of its devices more than ever, might have seen a gap in the market.
If Apple markets its rumored debut TV to those users who aren’t keen on regularly sharing their details every time they want to download an app, the Cupertino Crew may find some sales success.
This being Apple, longstanding software support would likely be stellar if the California company did decide to release a TV. That shouldn’t be sniffed at when several traditional TV manufacturers haven’t done a great job on this front.
Throw in the fact Apple fans have an almost cult-level appreciation for the firm’s products, and we can genuinely see a future where Apple releases an ‘I-TV’, if not in 2025, but certainly in the near future.
MAX OLED could set better, brighter standards
Quantum Dot technology and Micro Lens Array (MLA) panels have seen the best OLED TVs reach near unimaginable brightest levels over the last 24 months compared to what the technology used to be capable of. But if it’s up to a company called Applied Materials, the future is going to cook your pupils even more as pictures get even brighter. Better grab some shades.
Without bombarding you with too many head-spinning specifics, ‘MAX OLED’ (via HDTVTest) could be the next lotto-winning ticket in the Organic Light-Emitting Diode world.
Conjured up by a company called Applied Materials, this new tech scales OLED manufacturing in a way that triples brightness lined up next to W-OLED panels, while also more than doubling screen resolution. If Applied Materials info is on the money, these advanced screens will provide panels with a pixel density of 2,000 pixels per inch.
Those rumored stats are certainly eye-catching, no question. A little less exciting, but more beneficial in practical everyday use? MAX OLED displays could be 30% more energy efficient than old-school OLEDs, with the scrumptious cherry on top that they could also last up to five times longer.
Samsung is the first TV giant to hop on the MAX OLED train, and if the final results are as promised, we could be stepping into the brightest and most planet-friendly version of the premium TV tech currently available.
LCD TV viewing angles will improve
With OLED and mini-LED TVs continuing to evolve, LCD sets that use a regular LED backlight have felt more and more like the forgotten middle child over the past few years. While the technology will never offer the contrast quality or convincing black levels of its rivals, certain LCD TVs are due for significant upgrades in 2025.
According to a report (via HDTVTest), a range of premium WHVA LCD televisions from Samsung and TCL will launch next year, offering improved contrast and color when viewing content at wide angles – something that has been a historic weakness with traditional VA (Vertical Alignment) LCD TVs.
These premium LCD panels are being manufactured by TCL CSOT, a subsidiary partner of TCL. The company recently revealed some of these new screens at an event where it showed off an 85-inch WHVA LCD TV that had an impressive 150Hz refresh rate.
Considering the majority of consumers still mostly buy LCD/LED TVs, it would be great to see WHVA shake up and evolve a technology that has long needed significant revisions to fix its glaring flaws.
More ads on your smart TV
On a slightly gloomy note, 2025 may not be all sunshine and lollipops for the future of TV tech. With several TV firms losing money on hardware to profit from ad revenue (something that is particularly prominent in the United States), it’s difficult to envision a future where unskippable commercials aren’t the norm.
As TV prices continue to drop, manufacturers need new ways of offsetting these costs. Seemingly the easiest way? Ramping up the number of ads that pop up every time you switch on your smart TV’s home menu.
If TV companies are willing to reduce hardware prices to secure a bigger audience they can peddle mandatory ads upon, they’re probably onto a winner. After all, do you really think about how many sales pitches you’re going to have to skip on your set when you’re buying a new TV on Black Friday?
OLED TVs will also get cheaper thanks to inkjet tech
Prices of OLED TVs have dropped significantly in recent years, yet they’re not exactly ultra-affordable quite yet. That may change in 2025 and beyond though, with the advent of TCL inkjet-printed OLED panels.
The Chinese firm has been talking about inkjet in regards to OLED displays for a decade at this point, but it’s only now that the tech is set to become a reality. The prototype technology is finally rolling out in the form of a 21.6-inch 4K OLED screen that’s designed to be used by medical professionals. The exciting knock-on effect for potential future OLED IJP TVs? The inkjet-printed production process is 20% cheaper and 30% faster than manufacturing traditional OLED panels.
Though it’s currently unclear whether the IJP process can enter mass market production in its current form, if it does, the more affordable costs will hopefully result in savings for folks interested in inkjet OLEDs.
Not only could IJP OLED TVs be cheaper than traditional W-OLED screens, but they should also last longer and save you money on your energy bill, as they’re supposedly more energy efficient.