LG’s OLED TVs have been dominating discussions among high-end TV enthusiasts for several years now, but the latest pair has finally seen at least some OLED TVs available at prices that middle-class households could afford.
LG currently supports several different OLED lines: the entry-level A series, the B series with a slightly more feature-packed feature set, the flagship C series, the high-end G series, and the 8K Z series.
LG announced new models across all of these lines at CES this week. We’re mostly looking at minor updates, but the new C2 gets a notable change from the C1, now offering the brighter “Evo”panels LG introduced with the pricier G1 last year.
Reviewers often praise LG’s OLED displays for their inky blacks, accurate color reproduction, and strong contrast. But one of the two most common drawbacks is that they don’t deliver the same peak brightness as the most expensive non-OLED sets. (The other blow against them is, of course, the risk of burnout, which has decreased over the years but is still a problem for certain use cases.)
A large price gap has historically separated C-series and G-series TVs, so potential OLED buyers will likely be happy to hear that the lower-priced C-series get better peak brightness. We’ll have to wait for the first tests and reviews coming later this year to see how big the improvement is.
To further differentiate the G series, LG is giving the G2 a feature it calls “Brightness Enhancer”that is not available on the C2. The company says that brightness booster TVs have heatsink panels that allow them to reach peak brightness more easily.
In addition, the 2022 C2 and G2 have a screen bezel of just 6mm, up from 10.2mm in 2021. They are likely using LG’s new OLED EX technology, which we wrote about briefly a few days ago.
C2, G2 and Z2 (which are basically G2 but 8K instead of 4K) will have a new AI processor to support improved dynamic tone mapping. The cheaper A2 and B2 use an older, less powerful processor. B2 and above offer 120Hz displays, variable refresh rate support, and HDMI 2.1 support. The big difference between the A2 and the more expensive kits is that it lacks those things that are mostly relevant for gamers.
LG always has something for gamers with these updates, and this time it’s Nvidia G-Sync support on 120Hz TVs. The previous generation supported AMD FreeSync, but now both big VRR standards are here.
It’s not just about hardware changes – there are new software features as well. LG’s webOS now supports multiple user profiles for those using the TV’s built-in smart app features instead of a set-top box, game console, or dongle. LG plans to roll out support for the Matter smart home standard on its TVs in 2022.
The A2 will come in 48″, 55″, 65″and 77″sizes. For B2 it will be 55, 65 and 77 inches. The C2 comes in most sizes: 42″, 48″, 55″, 65″, 77″and 83″. However, it’s important to note that the 42- and 48-inch C2s don’t have a brighter Evo panel than the larger models.
The G2 comes in 55″, 65″, 77″, 83″, and 97″sizes, while the Z2 is only offered in 77″or 88″sizes.
Pricing and availability have yet to be announced, but LG probably won’t stray too far from 2021 prices given that it faces stiffer OLED competition than ever before. While LG, Sony, and Panasonic have made the majority of consumer OLED TVs in recent years, other companies, including Samsung, the current leader in the TV market as a whole, have picked them up.