OLED LIKE WALLPAPER ON THE WALL

When we meet Jim Calverlay from LG Home Entertainment USA at CES in January, he says the company wants to showcase the breadth of this year's range at the Las Vegas fair. We start with television.

– We send a wireless signal from the Zero Connect box to the TV for all control, says Calverlay, pointing to the W6 series.

This features LG's new Wallpaper design, where the screen is meant to sit almost as flat against the wall as wallpaper. The series comes in 77 and 83 inches, has the Alpha 11 AI Gen 3 processor, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos.

Calverlay says the thickness is around nine millimetres, comparing it to a pencil.

– The reason we can achieve this this year is the new Alpha 11 Gen 3 processor, which we've included in the W6 in 77 and 83 inches, he says, noting that the W and G series have the same panel, with improved brightness.

Oled is the flagship

He also highlights the MRGB96, which is the only LED product in this year's new portfolio that has the Alpha 11 Gen 3 processor.

– The Micro-RGB TV is triple colour certified with 100 percent of Adobe RGB, DCI-P3, and BT.2020, he says.

At the same time, Calverlay emphasises that oled remains LG's flagship.

– Oled will still perform better than anything LED, based on simple laws of physics, says Calverlay, before adding that micro-RGB offers colours in a way that hasn't been seen in LED TVs before.

According to Calverlay, the C series is among the most popular TV series for LG, and this will continue with this year's improvements.

– C6 still has a slight thickness at the back, and therefore does not lie completely flat on the wall like the G series does, he says.

– What we want is to provide a good experience regardless of the content they watch, says Calverlay about the upscaling (AI Super Upscaling) that is in the a11 processor.

Bluetooth speakers

On the audio side, he starts with the Bluetooth speakers in the Xboom series.

– They have passive radiators on both sides, you can carry it like a boombox, and it even has a stand mount, says Calverlay.

He describes the model as a classic variant with lights, and says it can be set in a reclined position that is suitable for karaoke, among other things.

– Xboom AI Stage 301 is so popular that LG is introducing the 501 model in the same series this year. It is larger, has more power, more volume, and it has a karaoke setup with two microphone inputs and a function to remove vocals using AI, says Calverlay.

In the same family, he highlights Xboom AI Rock and Xboom AI Mini. Rock has six watts, 1.5-inch woofer and passive radiator, while Mini has five watts, 1.75-inch woofer and passive radiator. Both are IP67 certified.

Sound suite multiroom

LG also showcases Sound Suite AI, a multiroom solution consisting of the speakers M5 and M7, the soundbar H7, and the subwoofer W7.

– The great thing about Sound Suite is Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, which gives us the flexibility to use many different combinations or as little as a single speaker, says Calverlay.

With Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, the system is supposed to adjust to where you are in the room and the limitations you have for placement.

– If you only have space for one speaker, and it's over there on the shelf, the software will adapt, says Calverlay.

The M5 has one horizontal channel, one bass channel, and one height channel, while the M7 has two horizontal channels, one bass channel, and one height channel. All support wifi, Bluetooth 5.4, Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Tidal, and Spotify Connect, along with AI Sound Pro, Room Calibration Pro, and My button.

Less refocusing

On the gaming side, Calverlay highlights the UltraGear evo 52G930B, a curved 52-inch LCD screen with 5K2K and 240 Hz, 1000R curvature, and 5120×2160 resolution. He says the curve reduces eye strain, as you don't have to refocus while your gaze scans the gaming surface. On the OLED side, LG showcases the gaming monitor 39GX950B, which can run at 165 or 330 Hz in Dual Mode. It has a 0.03-millisecond response time and is supposed to cover 99.5 percent of the DCI-P3 colour space.

In the same category, he highlights the UltraFine evo 32U990A, a 32-inch IPS Black 6K display that has the same colour gamut and 2000:1 contrast.

– It is aimed at the Mac user, he says.

Smart monitor

Regarding the Smart Monitor platform, LG shows models at 27 and 32 inches (32U721SB), with 4K, built-in speakers and webOS 2026.

– This is a solution where the user can play or work, and then sit back to watch a film on the same screen, says Calverlay.

StandbyME Go is a battery-powered and portable 32-inch 4K display with touch, voice control, and a detachable, rotatable screen.

For those who want to use the gaming functionality in LG's TVs, the company has developed a game controller in collaboration with Razer.

– It features Bluetooth ultra low latency with a 2.6 millisecond delay, which is available on all LG TVs, not just the premium models, says Calverlay.