Last updated: May 31st, 2026 at 19:32 UTC+02:00
SamMobile has affiliate and sponsored partnerships, we may earn a commission.
Its lead might come under threat.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Max Jambor / SamMobile
Samsung has long been the dominant global TV vendor. It has remained at the top of the market for over two decades, thanks to its diverse range of products and technological advancements.
The first quarter of this year, which is typically when the company comes out with its new products, delivered high single digit growth for Samsung compared to the same period last year.
Counterpoint Research notes that global TV shipments were up 3% year over year in the first quarter of 2026. Samsung's global TV shipments increased by 8% this past quarter compared to the same period from last year. This indicates that the TV business had a solid quarter.
Samsung has been coming under considerable pressure from some of its Chinese rivals. TCL in particular has been catching up to the Korean giant quite rapidly, and it has sustained that momentum in the past quarter.
Samsung brought in a significant percentage of its shipment growth for this period through its OLED TVs. However, they still make up a small percentage of overall shipments, while TCL saw strong growth across all major categories, including QD LCD and Mini LED LCD TVs. The latter was actually the key driver of overall growth for TCL in the quarter.
It managed to close the gap to Samsung at an even faster pace, as TCL's global TV shipments grew at 20% in Q1 2026 over Q1 2025. This was actually the company's highest level in almost two years, indicating the seriousness of the threat that Samsung faces from TCL.
Adnan Farooqui is a long-term writer at SamMobile. Based in Pakistan, his interests include technology, finance, Swiss watches and Formula 1. His tendency to write long posts betrays his inclination to being a man of few words.
