Samsung Overhauls TV Lineup With Ultra, Plus and Basic Tiers

Samsung Electronics is preparing a sweeping overhaul of its premium TV lineup for next year, according to industry sources. The range will be organized into three tiers, AI TV Basic, Plus and Ultra, instead of leading with hardware labels such as Micro RGB, OLED, Neo QLED and Mini LED.

The plan covers everything above the entry-level Crystal UHD LCD line. The structure mirrors the standard, Plus and Ultra naming used for the Galaxy S smartphone series.

Why the names are changing

The main reason is that premium TV hardware has converged around backlight technology. Samsung is reportedly set to end production of quantum dot (QD) TVs, a pillar of its premium range for nearly a decade, after next year. From then on, its upper-tier models will essentially all rely on backlight approaches such as Mini LED and Micro LED.

Differences remain at the component level, for example smaller LED particles in the backlight or red, green and blue Micro LED chips. But the technologies now sit in a similar category, and Samsung is said to have concluded that a list of technical names no longer gives shoppers a meaningful way to tell products apart.

One industry official expects the tiers will not split strictly by technology. Still, Ultra should center on high-value Micro RGB and OLED models, while Basic will be mostly lower-margin Mini LED sets.

A shift toward AI subscriptions

The simplification also points to a change in the business model. Industry watchers see Samsung moving from hardware sales toward AI-based subscription services. The idea is to sell more sets at lower margins and lock customers into the Samsung TV ecosystem with paid AI services.

Another industry source said Samsung aims to grow TV shipments from about 35 million units this year to well over 40 million next year, and to build new revenue from its AI ecosystem rather than from hardware alone.