MicroLED TVs were initially conceived as an OLED killer, with specs that combined the best of LCD and best OLED TVs. However, MicroLED's flying start may not be so glamorous as soon as companies pull investment and R&D away from the technology.

As MicroLED-Info reported, for Samsung and LG, the investment in MicroLED is proving too expensive in the face of a technology stack that will take many more years to fully realize (especially at a price commensurate with its brilliance).

The article cites reports from South Korea and Taiwan claiming that "both Samsung Display and LG Display have decided to slow down their Micro-LED business plans. This move makes sense when one looks at Samsung's latest lineup of Micro-LED TVs, which boast prices as low as 110,000 yen for an 89-inch unit.

MicroLED displays, first introduced at CES to high acclaim, have since been relegated to the extreme side of the premium TV market. In particular, the MicroLED vs. OLED debate is being drowned out by far more interesting display technologies in the form of QDEL and NanoLED offshoots.

Despite being back in the limelight, MicroLED TVs are not necessarily new. The technology dates back more than a decade, to Sony's 2012 iteration.

Unfortunately, these pricing woes have not changed much in the past decade, and manufacturers are still trying to offer MicroLED TVs at more reasonable prices, and without serious funding, they are unlikely to get cheaper anytime soon.

The good news is that according to MicroLED-info, Samsung is not exiting the technology entirely and will continue to invest in MicroLED R&D without any major plans to expand production. Ironically, the site also mentions that some of LG's MicroLED engineers will be transferred to the OLED team. If this doesn't spell disaster for MicroLED, I don't know what else will.

In addition to the exorbitant prices associated with MicroLED TV production, high competition is also one of the key factors driving LG and Samsung away from the technology; according to MicroLED-Info, the low profitability due to this high competition has been as detrimental as the production costs

But the competition is not the only factor that is driving the industry away.

But they are not alone, even Apple is reconsidering the MicroLED approach for the Apple Watch. The reason? As one might expect, because of the high cost. Even for a company like Apple, which has the highest (if not the highest) market capitalization in the world, MicroLED seems too expensive.

Could we see a resurgence of MicroLED displays in the far future? With alternative display technologies like the aforementioned QDEL and NanoLED already making waves, we may see huge competition once the high costs come down.