LG has announced that it’ll begin the roll out of its 2019 premium TV lineup this week. Customers in the U.S. and South Korea will be able to buy the devices first and then key markets in Asia, Europe, and South America will follow. Pricing and availability of each individual model will be announced separately in each region.
Discussing this year’s new product range, Brian Kwon, president of Mobile Communications and Home Entertainment companies, said:
“LG continues to push the boundaries of TV technological innovation, as can clearly be seen from our premium TV lineup for 2019. LG’s advanced AI technologies to improve picture and sound enrich and expand the viewing experience.”
OLED TVs will be getting more important for LG this year as it expects them to make up 20 percent of the firm’s high-end TV portfolio with demand reaching 3.6 million units this year. The demand is only set to grow in the next two years, reaching 10 million in 2021.
This year, the firm will offer several OLED TVs with different screen sizes as well as the world’s first 8K OLED TV. It will also offer several NanoCell LCD TVs which are expected to deliver “stellar picture quality” with wider viewing angles in a sleek package with ultra-thin bezels. Select, but unspecified, OLED and NanoCell LCDs will also support HDMI 2.1 which permits viewing 4K content at 120 fps. If you"re looking for HDMI 2.1 support you"ll have to check the specs of the individual products when they"re available.
All of the OLED and NanoCell offerings will include the second generation α9 processor equipped with deep learning technology to deliver improved picture and sound. Additionally, they’ll get an update mid-year to support Apple AirPlay 2 and Apple HomeKit. Another firmware update will bring Amazon Alexa support, adding to the Google Assistant support that they ship with.
The NanoCell range this year consists of the 75SM99, 65/55SM95, 86/75/65/55SM90, 75/65/55/49SM85, and 65/55/49SM80 models. The OLED lineup includes the 77/65W9, 65/55E9, 77/65/55C9, and 65/55B9 models.