Crowd Wisdom Consulting: Rising storage costs have led to a sharp increase in pressure on TV manufacturers, with 55" FHD panels becoming an important stress reliever.

On April 10, Qunzhi Consulting announced that starting from the fourth quarter of 2025, storage prices have been soaring, causing a sharp increase in cost pressure for TV manufacturers due to the continuous and steep rise in storage costs. This has led to increased concerns in the TV industry about retail performance. As a result, stability in costs has become a top priority in the development of TV products, and the downward trend in panel resolution specifications is a response to the cost reduction demand. The production of 50-inch FHD panels by HKC in the first quarter of 2025 is an important attempt at downsizing resolution specifications for medium-sized panels. The brand positions the 50-inch FHD+60Hz panel with 1GB+8GB low memory and other reduced configurations as the main selling point for a second TV for families at a low price. From a retail perspective, the retail price advantage of the 50-inch FHD TV in 2025 has been fully demonstrated, achieving effective breakthroughs in segmented races, which has also significantly boosted the shipment of 50-inch panels upstream. According to data from Qunzhi Consulting: in 2025, HKC shipped 6.93 million 50-inch panels, a significant increase of 112% year-on-year, with 2.15 million 50-inch FHD panels shipped; it is estimated that in 2026, the shipment of 50-inch FHD panels will increase by 86% to 4 million. In the first quarter of 2026, cost control has become a top priority for TV manufacturers, leading to the development of 55-inch FHD panels. Compared to the current mainstream 55UD panels equipped with 2GB+32GB storage, the 55-inch FHD panel not only has a price advantage over the 55-inch UD panel, but also has a relatively smaller storage capacity for the whole machine product, which can to some extent offset the cost pressure on TV manufacturers caused by the soaring storage unit price. Based on the data calculation from Qunzhi Consulting, for a 55-inch FHD+60Hz panel with 1GB+8GB storage, compared to the 2GB+32GB storage in the first quarter, the cost is reduced by 38%; combined with the synchronous decrease in panel prices, the relative price competitiveness of brand manufacturers' 55-inch FHD products has significantly increased. As the trend shifts towards larger sizes, panel manufacturers have significantly accelerated the development progress of 55-inch FHD panels. BOE, TCL CSOT, and Innolux, three panel manufacturers, are expected to achieve mass production and shipment of 55-inch FHD panels in the second to third quarter of this year. However, it is questionable whether the 55-inch FHD panel can sustain the rapid expansion seen in the 50-inch FHD. Qunzhi Consulting believes that it is easy to start production, but difficult to achieve mass production: Firstly, the image quality issues derived from the downsizing of resolution require further examination by end consumers. For FHD specifications, the 50-inch is generally considered the size boundary where low resolution is acceptable, while the graininess of the 55-inch FHD panel may be significantly enhanced, affecting brand promotion and consumer experience. Secondly, the price difference between the 55-inch FHD and 55-inch UD panels is a key factor affecting brand procurement strategies. If the price difference between the 55-inch FHD and UD is the same or even greater than the price difference between different resolutions of 50-inch, the demand attraction for brands will be more apparent, potentially diverting some demand from 50-inch UD to 55-inch FHD. Lastly, the double-edged sword effect of the 55-inch FHD in the panel manufacturers' operating strategies. Unlike the favorable production conditions of HKC for the 50-inch FHD, the 55-inch FHD is a supplementary product for capacity adjustment and demand filling for BOE, TCL CSOT, and Innolux. Although the 55-inch FHD can stimulate the process of large-scale production, its profitability will be significantly reduced, which is a key factor limiting the large-scale promotion of panel manufacturers. According to Qunzhi Consulting's forecast data, the shipment of 55-inch FHD panels in 2026 is expected to be less than 1 million, and its penetration rate will also grow relatively slowly. As costs rise across the board, the polarization of specifications will become a characteristic of the development of TV products in stages. Looking at the technical development of the TV industry, the road of downgrading specifications for penetration into larger sizes is contrary to the long-term path of technological upgrades, but it aligns with the survival strategy in the current environment of rising costs. In addition to the significant increase in storage prices, the prices of basic raw materials such as metal and oil have also risen to varying degrees, putting pressure on the purchasing costs of the TV industry chain, leaving brand manufacturers facing the dilemma of "protecting profits" and "maintaining scale." On one hand, brand manufacturers upgrade the specifications of mid-to-high-end products to secure revenue and profit through technical reserves, but retail scale may decline. Therefore, on the other hand, brand manufacturers passively mitigate the cost increase by reducing specifications to ensure stable sales volumes. In conclusion, Qunzhi Consulting believes that the current widespread cost pressure will drive the development of TV products to show polarization characteristics. In addition, the trend towards larger sizes remains the long-term technological focus, and the further penetration from 55-inch to 65-inch with downsized resolutions has a certain drive, but the image quality performance will still limit the growth of low-resolution large-size panels.