From China to the globe, the color TV industry stands at a strategic inflection point that occurs once a decade. In the past year of 2025, the global market contracted in volume, while retail sales in the Chinese market hit a ten-year low. The industry is mired in an inward-looking, scale-driven rivalry, seeking to transition to a new phase of value-based competition characterized by "the strong getting stronger and the weak being eliminated."

Since the start of 2026, three major events—the accelerated integration of TCL and Sony, Samsung's withdrawal from the Chinese market, and the intense competition between Hisense and TCL—are set to reshape the global and Chinese color TV landscapes. The Home Appliance Circle believes that the industry's trajectory for the next decade will be entirely dominated and defined by Chinese companies.

Global Landscape: Three Camps in Stalemate, Samsung's Short-Term Dominance Unchallenged, TCL-Sony Alliance on the Rise

The global color TV market is transitioning from a multi-player melee into an oligopolistic competition among three major camps: Samsung, TCL-Sony alliance, and Hisense-Toshiba alliance. LG, Xiaomi, and Skyworth can only compete in local markets and are unable to disrupt the core market dynamics.

Despite exiting the Chinese market, Samsung maintains an absolute advantage in European, American, and Southeast Asian markets, leveraging its global brand momentum, display technology superiority, and mature overseas channels. Its position as the global leader remains unchallenged for the next three years. However, by abandoning the world's largest consumer market, Samsung has voluntarily surrendered its competitive initiative, sowing the seeds for a future decline in market share.

The real game-changer is the integration of the TCL-Sony alliance. TCL has acquired global operational rights to Sony's TV and home entertainment businesses, achieving a powerful synergy of "a complete display industry chain + Sony's brand and technology." Leveraging the cost advantages of self-manufactured panels, its market share in Mini LED TVs, and Sony's premium brand premium (brand premium), the TCL-Sony alliance is poised to rapidly capture market share from Samsung, emerging as the second-largest global force. In the first quarter of 2026, TCL Electronics reported a 15.3% increase in revenue and a staggering 123.6% surge in net profit, with overseas revenue accounting for over 61%, demonstrating significant success in globalization and premiumization.

The Hisense-Toshiba alliance, driven by a dual strategy of "technology + brand," is deepening its presence in markets such as North America and Europe. Leveraging RGB-Mini LED technology and Toshiba's imaging heritage, it has established a differentiated barrier in the ultra-large screen market. In 2025, Hisense's overseas revenue accounted for over 50%, with average selling prices rising in the North American market, solidifying its position among the global top three.

Over the next three years, the global color TV market will exhibit a dynamic of "Samsung defending its position, the TCL-Sony alliance attacking, and the Hisense-Toshiba alliance stabilizing." The Home Appliance Circle predicts that by around 2028, the TCL-Sony alliance could challenge Samsung's reign as the global leader in TVs.

China's Landscape: A Dual-Power Showdown Defines the Industry, Second-Tier Players Face Increasing Marginalization

The Chinese color TV market has entered a final showdown in the existing market, with TCL and Hisense's rivalry defining the industry's boundaries. Xiaomi, Skyworth, Sharp, and Philips are gradually relegated to supporting roles in the industry chain. The Matthew effect is in full force: in 2025, the top five players accounted for 76% of sales volume, with TCL, Hisense, and Xiaomi combining for 58%. Meanwhile, Konka Group incurred significant losses, and Skyworth Group voluntarily delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

TCL is set to lead in both scale and profitability, driven by its vertically integrated industry chain. Leveraging its "panel + finished product" integration, TCL has surpassed Hisense in revenue scale. In 2025, TCL Electronics' revenue exceeded HK$100 billion for the first time, reaching HK$114.58 billion. In the first quarter of 2026, its net profit surged by 123.6% year-on-year, ranking first in the industry for profit growth. Its core competitiveness lies in efficiency and cost control: CSOT ensures a stable supply of panels, Mini LED technology enables mass production, and significant growth in 75/85-inch large screens, along with breakthroughs in 98/100-inch ultra-large premium screens, forms a product portfolio that "offers volume in the low end and profitability in the high end."

In the domestic market, TCL continues to squeeze the space for second-tier brands with its "cost-effectiveness + large-screen strategy," while rapidly penetrating overseas markets through dual channels of TCL and Sony, establishing a pattern (pattern) of "domestic market stability and high-profit overseas earnings." TCL is poised to become China's "Samsung" in the color TV industry, building an absolute barrier through scale and efficiency.

Hisense will reign supreme with technology and branding, solidifying its moat in the premium market. Although Hisense TV lags behind TCL in revenue scale, it excels in brand recognition, technological barriers, and premium market share. In the first quarter of 2026, Hisense Visual Technology reported a 6.71% year-on-year increase in net profit, ranking first in market share for ultra-large screens (100 inches and above). Its core strength lies in continuous technological iteration: RGB-Mini LED technology leads the industry, large-scale AI interaction enhances the smart experience, and Toshiba's imaging technology reinforces its picture quality advantage.

Hisense adheres to a "premium + scenario-based" approach, focusing on ultra-large screens, art TVs, and smart interaction terminals to escape the price war quagmire. Hisense is set to become China's "Sony" in the color TV industry, occupying the high-end value chain through technology and branding, forming a differentiated competitive pattern with TCL.

Second-tier players are struggling to survive, facing a choice between transformation and exit. Xiaomi, Skyworth, Konka, and other color TV companies are seeing their living space continuously eroded. Xiaomi, while leveraging its internet ecosystem to maintain a certain market share, faces obstacles in premiumization and struggles to shed its "cost-effectiveness" label. Skyworth's TV business has shrunk, forcing a pivot to new energy, with TVs becoming a non-core business. Brands like Konka, Sharp, and Philips continue to see declining market shares. Over the next 3-5 years, second-tier brands will gradually exit the mainstream market, either being acquired and integrated by leading companies or reduced to contract manufacturers.

Future Trends: From TV Competition to Omnipresent Display Dominance

The ultimate battleground for the color TV industry has long surpassed standalone TV products, with omnipresent display capabilities determining a company's future trajectory. Samsung has shifted its focus to chips and display panels, while TCL and Hisense must accelerate their transformation from "TV manufacturers" to "global display technology companies."

Technological Iteration: Mini LED Becomes Mainstream, Micro LED Shapes the Future. In 2026, Mini LED TVs are expected to account for over 35% of sales, becoming a standard feature in the mid-to-high-end market. TCL and Hisense continue to invest heavily in R&D, driving down Mini LED costs and increasing penetration. Meanwhile, Micro LED technology is gradually breaking through, with commercial mass production expected after 2028, presenting new opportunities in the high-end market.

Scenario Expansion: From Living Rooms to Omnipresent Spaces. TVs are no longer confined to living rooms but are extending to bedrooms, studies, commercial displays, in-vehicle screens, offices, and other scenarios. Hisense is deepening its presence in smart homes and commercial displays, while TCL is focusing on in-vehicle displays and public large screens. Future competitiveness will hinge on a company's ability to provide omnipresent display solutions, necessitating the recreation of new systems, resources, and markets.

The New Endgame: Chinese Dual Powers Lead the Globe, Display Reigns Supreme. Around 2030, barring unforeseen circumstances, the global display market is expected to form a new commercial landscape where "the TCL camp dominates, followed closely by the Hisense camp and Samsung." Chinese companies, leveraging their complete industry chains, technological innovation, and global layout (layout), will completely dominate the global display industry, shifting the competitive focus from "being the world's top TV brand" to "being the king of global displays."

2026 marks a year of reshuffling for the color TV industry and the rise of Chinese companies. Time waits for no one, and complacency will lead to elimination. Chinese color TV leaders like TCL and Hisense must accelerate their efforts to deeply engage users and clients, safeguard their core markets, and enhance differentiated competitiveness.

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