LG's 2023 OLED TVs: Smarter, lighter and brighter

After shelving it last year, LG is going all in again CES 2023, showing off its latest, and, according to the company, best lineup of OLED TVs yet. Most notable among LG’s CES announcements was its Brightness Booster Max feature for the G3 “Gallery” series, which boosts peak light output by 70 percent over conventional OLED models through a combination of hardware design and light-boosting algorithms.

Starting at the top, the new OLED lineup includes the flagship Z3 (8K) and G3 series, the mid-range C3 series, and the entry-level B3 series. (The A-Series, LG’s previous entry-level offering, has been dropped from the company’s 2023 OLED lineup.)

The Z3, G3 and C3 bundles will all come with OLED Dynamic Tone Mapping Pro, a new feature that intelligently distributes brightness and color mapping across 20 blocks. They’ll also have the new HDR Expression Enhancer, which offers object-based tone mapping as well as object-based sharpness enhancement. AI Super Upscaling with genre and scene detection will be found on all models spec’d for 100% DCI-P3 color volume coverage.

LG’s AI-based image improvement magic is the result of new processors found across the lineup, with the G3 and C3 groups getting the a9 AI processor 4K Gen6 (a9 AI processor 8K Gen6 on the Z3), and the B3 getting the a7 AI processor 4K Gen6 .

All new OLEDs for 2023 are fully gaming specs and feature 120Hz, VRR, FreeSync Premium, and Nvidia G-Sync. The top three series all feature four HDMI 2.1 ports, while the B2 series will feature two HDMI 2.1 ports. LG’s 2023 OLED is also the first TV to be certified for Quick Media Switching VRR (QMS-VRR), a feature that eliminates the “black screen” that occurs when switching between different HDMI-connected sources.

Z3 and G3 models will also feature an ATSC 3.0 tuner for over-the-air next-generation digital broadcast reception in the US.

LG’s G3 and C3 models will be lighter than their predecessors due to the composite fiber material used for the panel shell. The decor-friendly G3 models will also feature a new zero-gap design, which LG says will allow the TV to “harmonize seamlessly with the wall as one.”

The audio capabilities of LG’s 2023 OLED TVs have also been upgraded. The WOW Orchestra feature allows smooth integration between the LG soundbar and the TV’s built-in speakers, while the WOW Interface allows viewers to configure the soundbar audio settings on the TV screen. As we’ve predicted for LG’s next-gen OLED, these TVs will be able to establish a wireless lossless audio connection to the company’s soundbars, a feature LG calls WOW Cast.

LG’s C-series models will also get an optional bracket designed to mount the soundbar under the screen of the wall-mounted unit.

webOS: the next generation

The webOS smart TV interface will see many changes on LG TVs in 2023. LG’s Home Hub displays recommended content for profiles, which can now be customized with an avatar. Support for the Matter smart home standard is being added, and an optional LG Smart Camera accessory will be available for fitness and other lifestyle apps.

A built-in microphone for hands-free voice control is a new feature for the 2023 (Z, G and C series models), and LG’s multi-view feature is being enhanced to support input from multiple HDMI sources.

The new TV’s settings feature will include a personalized picture wizard that uses AI deep learning technology to learn your preferences. This will involve six steps, where you choose aspects of the different screen images, and the TV will analyze that information and apply it to the picture preset.