LG's just announced entry-level A1 OLED TV range has got tongues wagging as it looks set to offer the Korean tech giant's cheapest OLED TVs yet. Previously its most affordable OLED offering was represented by a 'B' OLED range, but the B1 for this year looks set to be undercut by an even cheaper LG OLED range.
The company has yet to fully detail the A1 TVs for 2021, but Forbes has uncovered a few juicy tidbits buried in LG's CES 2021 announcement.
Apparently, the A1 series will be available in 48in, 55in, 65in and 77-inch sizes and come with a 50Hz or 60Hz panel rather than a 120Hz one. LG is also said to have stripped out HDMI 2.1 features to keep prices extra keen.
That said, the A1 will retain some of the bells and whistles you'd expect from LG's pricier 2021 OLED TVs, namely support for Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, Filmmaker Mode, Apple AirPlay 2, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
LG's cheap OLED offering boasts HDMI eARC support for the seamless transfer of lossless audio formats, too, as well as the firm's webOS 6.0 smart TV platform, which provides access to a cornucopia of streaming services such as Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV and Disney+.
Clearly the A1 isn't a top-tier gaming TV – there's no support for 4K/120Hz so it can't show off the full potential of the PS5 and Xbox Series X – but it does get gamer-friendly ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), three HDMI 2.0 ports and a HGiG HDR gaming mode.
While LG's flagship models for 2021, such as the OLED Evo and QNED panels, feature the firm's new Alpha 9 Gen 4 processor, the cheap and cheerful A1 uses the lower-spec Alpha 7 Gen 4 processor.
LG hasn't revealed pricing of the A1 yet, but it's set to sit just below the newly-announced B1 OLED, which also does away with 120Hz and HDMI 2.1 sockets. As last year's 55-inch BX OLED launched at £1300 in 2020, could this be the year of a sub-£1000 set? With a bit of luck, the A1 OLED could prove cheaper than some LCD models and thus begin a new era of low-cost OLEDs for movie and TV aficionados.
Fingers crossed we get word of the LG A1's price and release date sooner rather than later.
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