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‘Wallpaper Thin’ TV From LG Debuts At Consumer Electronics Show In Las Vegas [Video]

By Darien Cavanaugh
Published on: 12:49 PST, Jan 4, 2017

LG unveiled a “wallpaper thin” super-high-definition widescreen television at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Wednesday, according to a report from Phys.org.

You can watch a video of an earlier prototype of the TVs below.

It was one of just many big announcements for new products the South Korean electronics firm introduced at CES. Indeed, LG is kind of stealing the show at CES this year.

“As in years past, the South Korean consumer electronics giant staked out the opening slot in a day rich with back-to-back press briefings by industry titans on the eve of the official opening of the annual Consumer Electronics Show,” the Phys.org article reads.

“LG touched on hot themes at this year’s show—including robots, appliances equipped with artificial intelligence and self-driving car technology.”

The Signature OLED (organic light-emitting diode) wallpaper thin TV was a “surprise star” of LG’s opening presentation.

Boasting a 65-inch-wide screen, the TV is only 2.57 mm thick. To provide some scale, a quarter or a toothpick is about 2 mm thick and the Samsung Galaxy A8, Samsung’s thinnest phone to date, is about 6 mm thick.

The TV mounts to the wall with magnetic brackets. Even then, it protrudes less than 4 mm from the wall.

LG is dubbing the first TVs in the line the “W” series.

“Why the ‘W?'” LG Electronics USA marketing vice president David VanderWaal rhetorically asked when introducing the TV, according to Phys.org. “Wallpaper. Window. Wow.”

Engadget‘s Mat Smith noted that the TV’s will also be available in a 77-inch size, adding that he estimated the wallpaper thin TVs will cost over $5,000. He then joked that he “would be happy to be proven wrong, LG” in regards to the price.

LG did not bother with modesty in a press release announcing the new line of TVs.

“LG Electronics unveiled its new flagship LG SIGNATURE OLED TV W-series as the pinnacle of its new lineup of flat-panel TVs at CES 2017,” reads an official press release.

“Featuring Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos sound, the new lineup includes a total of ten different models, highlighted by the 2017 CES Best of Innovation Award winner, the 77-inch LG SIGNATURE OLED TV W, featuring an entirely new Pictureon-Wall design.”

In addition to the new super thin TVs, LG also introduced several other innovative electronic devices this year. Among some of the more impressive offerings were a “smart” refrigerator that features “Amazon’s Alexa AI assistant for delivering awkward jokes” and can place grocery orders through Amazon Pantry by voice command, Hub Robots that “behave like an Amazon Echo with a face” and an Airbot that can also control other appliances in your home and help you navigate through airports, according to Engadget.

“It can provide travel info on its large display, and even walk you through the terminal if you’re lost,” Engadget said of the Airbot.

“You’ll first see Airbot helping passengers at South Korea’s Incheon airport later this year, and we won’t be surprised if it spreads elsewhere.”

While LG may be offering the thinnest OLED TVs on the market, they no longer have a monopoly on OLED TV technology.

“You don’t have to opt for LG to get OLED anymore, now that Panasonic has announced the EZ1002,” Engadget‘s Richard Lawler wrote in a separate article published Wednesday.

“Its first OLED TV, the display is probably still the same one you’d get from LG, but Panasonic has tied this to its Studio Colour HCX2 processor, plus it has ISF calibration settings and is CALMAN compatible to help pros get the picture exactly right.”

Lawler is referring to the fact that many smartphone companies that offer phones with OLED screens purchase the screens from LG. It is safe to assume that this early in the game Panasonic is also purchasing OLED screens from LG while possibly developing its own line.

There is no word yet on when the new wallpaper thin TVs will be available, but it appears that LG plans to launch the TVs soon.

The new wallpaper thin TV will be on display starting on Thursday in seven Best Buy locations in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Houston, Dallas, Boca Raton, FL, and Paramus, NJ, according to the press release. Customers can also visit BestBuy.com starting on Thursday for more information on store locations and to sign up for notifications about the new TV.

[Featured Image by LG/Press Release]

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