LG Electronics on Monday detailed its 2018 lineup of “futuristic” smart television sets that are planned to be released in the United States over the course of this year, having also confirmed that the models will be showcased from tomorrow until Friday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The new TVs have several major selling points, with one of them being the α (Alpha) lineup of custom chips specifically designed for heavy workloads and artificial intelligence applications. The core experience of the LG ThinQ ecosystem that spans all kinds of devices will also be ennobled by the addition of support for the Google Assistant to select webOS-powered TV models from the South Korean company, marking the first occasion on which the AI service has been integrated into a television platform that isn’t Android TV.
LG is quick to boast about its Full-Array Local Dimming (FALD) backlighting solution that it claims will bring one’s home cinema experience to the next level in an energy-efficient manner. In total, the Seoul-based firm introduced nine 4K OLED models and seven 4K SUPED UHD ones, with both categories being classified as “smart.” The OLED lineup includes devices with screens spanning from 55 to 77 inches, whereas the SUPER UHD series encompasses equally compact models but stops at 75-inch display panels. The ThinQ AI platform behind the new offerings comes with support for hundreds of voice commands, all of which are issued via the Magic Remote which also serves as a relay for conveying queries and orders to the Google Assistant. In essence, compatible TVs will now be able to double as Internet of Things hubs akin to Google’s Home series, with the solution itself being capable of differentiating between commands meant for the TV and the AI service itself. In other words, telling Google to pause a movie will never result in a mistaken Internet search and if you ask for a takeout from Domino’s, the assistant won’t attempt to interact with the TV.
In terms of audiovisual quality, combined support for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision should have you covered on all fronts, with LG’s offerings being capable of displaying arguably the best HDR standard currently available on a consumer level. Handling HDR10 and HLG content is also an option, as is taking advantage of a wide variety of third-party apps developed for webOS. No pricing and availability details have yet been provided by LG, though first products from the company’s portfolio should start hitting the market in the coming months.
