The 2021 LG TV range is now upon us, with the electronics company confirming its latest OLED, QNED (Mini LED) and NanoCell LCD TVs are beginning to roll out worldwide.
It’s an exciting time for any LG TV fan, with an upgrade to last year’s excellent LG CX OLED (the LG C1), an ‘OLED evo’ iteration of the Gallery Series OLED with higher peak brightness (LG G1), as well as a brand new A1 OLED aimed at smaller budgets.
This year’s range packs in a large number of OLED TVs, even for LG. Alongside the sets above, we’re also getting a Z1 8K OLED, and an update to the LG BX OLED (LG B1) we saw last year – even if the new A1 model looks set to beat it for sheer value.
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The biggest unknown comes in the form of the QNED range – LG’s Mini LED backlit TVs that will sit underneath the OLED range, and offer a more premium LCD experience. We’re yet to test any of these, and while the benefits of Mini LED seem pretty certain – with improved brightness control, for one – we’ll need to wait until we’ve done some thorough testing to make any definitive pronouncements.
Given the rollout announcement, we expect models to start landing in retailers in the coming weeks, with flagship models arriving in late February and more mid-range sets coming in early-mid March.
Same but different
LG doesn’t need to do a whole lot to convince TV shoppers in 2021: its OLED TV range is highly accomplished already, particularly when it comes to picture quality, and to a certain extent any iterative changes this year are just ticking any remaining boxes.
We’re told that “Every model in the 2021 LG TV lineup supports the advanced HDMI 2.1 feature”, as well as eARC and ALLM (auto low latency mode) – which is quite extensive coverage by anyone’s standards. The new a9 Gen 4 AI processor only looks set to improve picture processing too, better identifying onscreen objects and up-mixing “two-channel audio to virtual 5.1.2 surround” for a more fleshed-out home theater system – which we hope addresses the slightly disappointing built-in audio of last year’s LG OLEDs.
There’s a new webOS 6 smart TV platform, for one, as well as redesigned Magic Remote.
The new entry-level A1 OLED is only going to bring the benefits of OLED to more cash-strapped buyers, though it might be that the compromises needed to bring down the cost put consumers off. As ever, we’ll need to wait until we have a firm price to make any further predictions – and we’re hoping LG manages to offer some more consistent pricing compared to 2020.
We’re told that “Select TV series, models and sizes will begin rolling out to participating retailers in the first quarter continuing throughout the year with specific dates and lineups announced locally” – so we’ll be sure to keep you informed of the pricing and availability in specific territories as more information comes through.
- Be sure to check out our LG TV 2021 guide for the latest updates
