LG's rollable OLED TV is so much more expensive than we thought

The LG Signature Series OLED R – a rollable OLED TV designed to roll up into a discreet box when not in use – is finally going on sale.

The set is initially launching in South Korea, the home of LG Electronics, this month, after months of uncertainty over when the experimental tech would finally come to market. The innovative OLED was first shown off at CES 2019 – back when it was acceptable to gather at crowded tech expos in person to gawk at new gadgets – and was meant to launch later that year, but to no avail.

Almost two years later, the rollable OLED is finally coming to its first territory. While we do expect it to come to global markets eventually, the long delay and surprisingly high price tag does mean it's likely we have some time to wait before anyone can buy it (let alone afford it) elsewhere.

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How much does it cost?

Nikkei Asia reports that the rollable OLED TV will retail for around $100,000 – ‎₩116,091,000 in South Korean won by current conversion rates. That converts to roughly £77,000 / AU$140,000, which is a big step above the rumored $60,000 retail price we heard about at the start of this year.

Given the novelty of the technology, it's not surprising that there might have been production issues, but the high cost of manufacture has now given the rollable OLED a far higher price tag than we first expected.

The rollable OLED isn't just a TV, of course. It's also a showcase for the future of TV display technology, which LG is determined to have a part in shaping.

The flexible properties of OLED are leading a lot of display manufacturers to experiment with new form factors, especially with smartphones – while the original Samsung Galaxy Fold was something of a disaster, the market is now filling up with folding, flexing, and twisting alternatives to the standard smartphone shape.

LG's rollable OLED is certainly a sight to behold. Having seen it in action at a tech expo or two, we can vouch for the slick unfurling mechanism – and LG has hinted at its capability to do so downwards from the ceiling, too. 

Whether rollable OLEDs become a widely adopted technology, of course, will depend on it coming to other territories – and eventually becoming affordable. With this jaw-dropping price tag, though, that future seems a way off.

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