LG's 2021 OLED TVs are bigger, brighter, and built around AI

LG isn’t just counting on its Mini LED TVs to lead its 2021 big-screen offerings. The Korean tech giant has unveiled its OLED TV lineup for the new year, including the mainstream C1 and higher-end G1.

The centerpiece is the G1, which revolves around new OLED Evo tech that (according to LG) delivers improved luminosity — it’s brighter, punchier, and better-suited to brightly-lit rooms than past OLED sets. It comes in 55-, 65- and 77-inch variants. LG doesn’t give the C1 that luxury, but it’ll come in an extra-large 83-inch size (shown below) on top of 48-, 55-, and 65-inch versions. This might be your pick if you have a particularly large living room.

Regardless of whether you get the G1 or C1, LG is promising lots of processing power in its OLED TVs Like the QNED sets, these new screens will use an Alpha 9 Gen 4 AI chip that uses deep learning to optimize picture quality and reduce noise, including in a new Game Optimizer that can tune the picture for genres like first-person shooters and RPGs. AI Sound Pro, meanwhile, delivers virtual 5.1.2 surround sound from the TV’s built-in speakers.

An optional Gallery Stand lets you ‘float’ the TVs in your room if you don’t want to either sit them on a cabinet or mount them on your wall.

LG will give its 2021 OLED TVs HDMI 2.1 support on all four ports, which should help if you bought a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X and want to take advantage of the added display options and bandwidth. You can also expect familiar game-ready features like variable refresh rate, AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync.

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You won’t even have to download separate apps to start playing, in some cases. LG will offer a Google Stadia app for its TVs in the second half of 2021, and will bundle the Twitch app for those times you’d rather watch games than play them.

You’ll have to wait until around the spring to get prices and release dates for LG’s G1 and C1 TVs. If they’re too expensive, however, you will have a lower-cost alternative. The company is introducing an A1 series that will use an older Alpha 7 processor but still support modern features like Dolby Vision HDR and HDMI 2.1. If you want to save some money but don’t want to buy one of LG’s QNED TVs, you’ll still have a 2021 OLED that should fit in your budget.