LG Electronics on Tuesday unveiled its latest smart television sets planned to be released in the coming months and make up the bulk of the company’s 2018 TV lineup. The firm’s flagship series is the LG W8 which encompasses two models that only differ in terms of size, offering 65-inch and 77-inch screens that LG claims will provide consumers with a “next-generation” home entertainment experience. As expected, the new lineup is of the 4K variety and boasts support for Dolby Vision that’s widely considered to be the best HDR standard in the industry as far as color crispness is concerned. Besides the compatibility with Dolby’s HDR solution, the LG W8 models can also display HDR10 content and feature Dolby Atmos, a 4.2-channel surround platform that’s been a hallmark of high-end television sets for some time now.
The LG W8 series is characterized by a “picture-on-wall” aesthetic that should allow it to easily blend into a wide variety of living rooms. While the South Korean original equipment manufacturer didn’t embrace the Android TV operating system with its new premium models, its close partnership with Google allowed it to integrate the Google Assistant into webOS powering the LG W8 lineup, marking the first time a TV version of the digital companion made its way to a device running an OS not made by Google. In practice, support for the Google Assistant essentially turns the newly announced LG TVs into Google Home units, providing users with the ability to interact with their smart home setups and take advantage of the Google Assistant‘s third-party app support by speaking directly to their remote controllers. LG’s Magic Remote doesn’t require you to wake up the AI service with the “Ok Google” trigger phrase as you can just hold the microphone button and immediately speak your command or query, the firm said.
The new LG E8 lineup boasts nearly identical capabilities to the company’s ultra-premium series and spans a 55-inch and 65-inch model. Consumers looking for a similar experience on a tighter budget will soon be able to purchase the LG C8 lineup which trades a 4.2-channel 60W surround setup with a 2.2-channel 40W one and encompasses 55, 65, and 77-inch models. Those who aren’t fans of the “blade slim design” will be able to opt for the more traditional looking LG B8 series that includes 55-inch and 65-inch TVs which are otherwise identical to their C8-branded counterparts All of LG’s latest offerings are powered by a new system-on-chip called α (Alpha) and will be available for purchase in the first half of the year. They will also be showcased at CES 2018 which is scheduled to start next Tuesday, January 9th.