LG Electronics South Africa hosted a virtual event yesterday to launch its 2021 home entertainment line-up, which includes new televisions, wireless earbuds and speakers.  

Starting off with arguably the stars of the show, LG touted its OLED TVs' (series Z1, G1, C1, A1) picture quality, with self-lit pixel technology that produces "ultra-sharp and ultra-realistic images with smooth, natural motion". All the OLED G1 series models and above now feature LG’s new OLED evo technology, which apparently delivers more light per pixel to produce punchier images, a 20% brighter viewing experience and better HDR performance.  

There's also a new processor present, the Alpha 9 Gen 4 AI, which revamps the performance of the LG OLED TV models in the Z1, G1 and C1 series. This processor leverages deep learning to enhance upscaling, while LG notes the Alpha 9 Gen 4 can further detect the genre of the content to optimise picture quality, the amount of light in scenes and ambient conditions in various viewing environments. 

LG’s new TV range now plays host to a redesigned operating system, webOS 6.0, which the company states is more intuitive and provides faster access to apps as well as simpler content discovery with better personalised recommendations. Another favourite of ours, the Magic Remote has seen the addition of dedicated hot keys for all our favourite content providers, for users to jump to their favourite services. A new feature called Magic Tap, which is powered by near field communication (NFC), allows you to simply touch an NFC-enabled device to the remote, and seamlessly share content between your TV and your smartphone. LG says this means you can share photos or videos and display them on your OLED, or you could take that show you’re binging with you while you head off to the kitchen without any interruption to your viewing experience. 

LG’s A1 series of OLED TVs offers consumers an affordable price range, while still including features such as Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, Filmmaker mode, and HGiG HDR gaming support. 

For gamers, LG  was  the  first  TV  manufacturer  to  offer  NVIDIA  G-SYNC  compatibility,  which  dynamically synchronises your screen’s refresh rate to match the frames-per-second output generated by your graphics card. LG OLED TVs have some of the quickest response times - 1 ms - to handle fast paced scenes better. LG also unveiled its new ‘Game Optimizer’ feature at CES 2021, which can prevent input lag, reduce blue light that causes eye strain, and use AI to automatically optimise your graphics depending on the game you’re playing.  

LG's new OLED TV range will be available in South Africa at the end of May 2021 at the following prices: 

88” Z1 8K Self- Lit OLED TV – R549 999 

77” G1 Gallery Design Self-Lit OLED evo TV - R114 999 

65” G1 Gallery Design Self-Lit OLED evo TV - R54 999 

83” C1 Self-Lit OLED TV – R199 999 

65” C1 Self-Lit OLED TV – R49 999 

55” C1 Self-Lit OLED TV – R26 999 

48” C1 Self-Lit OLED TV – R21 999 

65” A1 Self-Lit OLED TV – R42 999 

55” A1 Self-Lit OLED TV – R21 999 

LG’s QNED MiniLED TVs are another addition, with options ranging from 65" to 86". Available during Q3 in SA in a selection of 8K and 4K models, the range uses LG’s Quantum Dot NanoCell technology and Mini LED backlighting.

For consumers looking for a different option, LG also has their NanoCell TVs. TechSmart tested LG's 55" NanoCell television last year and came back very impressed, in part thanks to a hassle-free experience. LG states NanoCell technology uses nanoparticles to filter out colour impurities and produce rich detail, clarity and colour from wide viewing angles.

With the addition of Dolby Vision IQ that automatically adapts your picture to changing ambient conditions and the sport, show or movie that you’re watching. LG NanoCell is also great for gamers, supporting HDMI 2.1, AMD Free Sync, VRR and ALLM, meaning you’ll be able to play your 

favourite games in 4K at 120 Hz.

As far as prices are concerned for the LG NANOCELL range, it's available in South Africa at the end of May 2021 at the following costs: 

86” NANO85VPA – R52 999 

75” NANO85VPA – R36 999 

65” NANO86VPA – R22 999 

55” NANO86VPA – R17 999 

75” NANO80VPA – R32 999 

65” NANO80VPA – R20 999 

55” NANO80VPA – R15 999 

86” NANO75VPA – R42 999