Why TVs and monitors have dropped 50% in price
55-inch TVs for 200 euros and monitors at half price. A market blessing or a data trap? We look at the causes and the paradoxes.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Why televisions and monitors now cost half what they did a few years ago
Anyone who has looked at TV or monitor prices lately has probably been in for a surprise. 55-inch models that cost 1,000 euros three or four years ago can now be found for 200-400 euros. Monitors trinc a similar trend: for 150-200 euros you can get a more than decent screen for home or office use. What peine? It is not magic or a one-off promotion: it is the combination of several factors that have driven down the prices of consumer electronics.
The first factor is Chinese industrial overcapacity. Over the past decade, Asian manufacturers — especially Chinese ones — built panel factories at a frenetic pace, without adjusting supply to demand. The result is an excess of production that has pushed prices down. Added to this is technological maturity: improvements in picture quality (LED, QLED, OLED) no longer justify such high premiums as before, and competition between brands is fierce.
But it is not all good news for consumers. Some analysts point out that the real business is no longer in selling the hardware, but in the data users generate through integrated services (smart TVs, assistants, advertising). "When something is cheap, you are the product," they sum up. Smart TVs have become data-collection devices, and their low price is the gateway to a business model based on commercial surveillance.
At the same time, the falling prices of these products contrast with the inflation of basic goods. While a 65-inch TV costs 500 euros today, groceries, housing and energy have only kept getting more expensive. The paradox is that consumers can afford a giant screen, but filling the fridge costs them more and more. It is the economy of technological abundance versus the scarcity of essentials.
In any case, the trend does not appear to be reversing. With the price war between Chinese manufacturers and the consolidation of Korean brands, prices will keep falling. Still, it is worth reading the fine print: the savings may later be paid for with your privacy.
Anyone who has looked at TV or monitor prices lately has probably been in for a surprise. 55-inch models that cost 1,000 euros three or four years ago can now be found for 200-400 euros. Monitors trinc a similar trend: for 150-200 euros you can get a more than decent screen for home or office use. What peine? It is not magic or a one-off promotion: it is the combination of several factors that have driven down the prices of consumer electronics.
The first factor is Chinese industrial overcapacity. Over the past decade, Asian manufacturers — especially Chinese ones — built panel factories at a frenetic pace, without adjusting supply to demand. The result is an excess of production that has pushed prices down. Added to this is technological maturity: improvements in picture quality (LED, QLED, OLED) no longer justify such high premiums as before, and competition between brands is fierce.
But it is not all good news for consumers. Some analysts point out that the real business is no longer in selling the hardware, but in the data users generate through integrated services (smart TVs, assistants, advertising). "When something is cheap, you are the product," they sum up. Smart TVs have become data-collection devices, and their low price is the gateway to a business model based on commercial surveillance.
At the same time, the falling prices of these products contrast with the inflation of basic goods. While a 65-inch TV costs 500 euros today, groceries, housing and energy have only kept getting more expensive. The paradox is that consumers can afford a giant screen, but filling the fridge costs them more and more. It is the economy of technological abundance versus the scarcity of essentials.
In any case, the trend does not appear to be reversing. With the price war between Chinese manufacturers and the consolidation of Korean brands, prices will keep falling. Still, it is worth reading the fine print: the savings may later be paid for with your privacy.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (50 replies).
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