One technology product that has experienced reduction in pricing over several decades has been the television. Thanks to the mass market that it appeals to, companies such as Samsung have produced fantastic panels for reasonable prices for most consumers (along with more expensive premium models too, of course). With the recent tariffs and change in the market landscape, fears are taking grasp that prices for everything, including TVs, will skyrocket. Samsung says, 'not so fast'.
According to Reuters, Samsung recently commented that its TVs will not be as adversely affected by the tariffs compared to many of its rivals. The reasoning behind this is that it produces its TVs for the North American market in Mexico, taking less of an impact compared to other countries. Samsung's visual display president, Yong Seok-woo, remarked that it has 10 production facilities worldwide. While this is less bad news for the North American market, overall macro economic conditions could still lead to problems for many corporations as demand dwindles or shifts rapidly.
Samsung makes both affordable under $1K TVs and high-end ones like this 8K QLED.
Samsung's TV lineup runs the gamut from entry level models under $500 (like this 65-inch model that's on sale for $379.99 at Amazon), all the way to behemoths such as the $39,999.99 98-inch Neo QLED 8K QN990C. Some examples of affordable models (including OLED!)...
4K and beyond TVs are no longer just for film enthusiasts, with gamers taking a liking to the colors and size of many panels. Samsung TVs can often double as gaming monitors, with many models boasting game modes with high refresh rates and variable refresh rate (VRR) technology.
Samsung also makes gaming monitors, and is often at the edge of innovation such as this 3D OLED 4K panel it recently revealed. Many U.S companies, such as Puget Systems, have been transparent about how tariffs will affect its products and pricing going forward. Even the massive Nintendo has delayed its preorders for the newly announced Switch 2 in order to better analyze market conditions.
While it is a good thing that Samsung TVs may be less affected by tariffs, the overall global market and macro economic conditions within the U.S may still make any price increase a heavy load on consumers. As global markets and ecosystems rush to address what the future may look like, only higher prices seem to be a certainty at this point. The question will ultimately be which companies will navigate these rough seas better and make it out the other side intact.
