Azernews.Az

By Alimat Aliyeva

Samsung, the South Korean tech giant, is no longer the world’s leading television manufacturer, AzerNEWS reports.

The company has long held a dominant position in the global TV market. However, a recent report from CR shows that Samsung’s market share has fallen to around 17%, while its main rival, Chinese manufacturer TCL, has reached 16%. Analysts further confirmed that in December 2025, TCL temporarily overtook Samsung in monthly shipments.

In that period, TCL held approximately 16% of the market, while Samsung dropped to 13%. They were followed by Hisense, LG, and Walmart, with market shares of 12%, 8%, and 5% respectively.

“TCL has been steadily strengthening its position over the past several months. Strong end-of-year performance allowed the company to surpass Samsung in December. Although this reflects only a single month of data, TCL continues to show consistent year-over-year growth in shipments,” said Bob O’Brien, research director at CR.

The report also notes that global TV shipments in December 2025 increased by 1.6% compared to the same period the previous year. However, overall, the market experienced a slight decline of 0.13% throughout 2025.

Interestingly, analysts point out that TCL’s rapid rise is closely linked to its aggressive pricing strategy and expansion in mid-range and budget smart TVs. At the same time, competition is increasingly shifting from hardware alone to smart TV ecosystems, where operating systems, streaming platforms, and AI-based picture optimization are becoming just as important as display quality itself.