14 DAY TRIAL // There was a time when display surface was everything for TVs and monitors, barring resolution of course, but now designers are paying a lot more attention to everything else worth paying attention to, like the display profile. LG is once again proving to be one of the two best at this.
As annoying and petty as the rivalry between Samsung and LG can sometimes come across as, what with mutual accusations of trade theft and even product theft, it can't be denied that the animosity has been fueling a pretty good development curve for both.
While Sony, Panasonic, Philips, and so many other companies continue to sell successful monitors and TVs, Samsung and LG always seem to be just a bit ahead.
Even with resolutions and color quality being about the same for every company, Samsung and LG have shown an uncanny ability to make their displays very thin compared to all others.
Case in point, the TVs that LG intends to release at next year's Consumer Electronics Show will be very thin indeed.
The LG Art Slim line of LCD TVs
LG will reportedly launch a collection of displays at CES 2015 which have a thickness of as little as 7.5 mm, or 0.29 inches.
There will be two models to start with, one with a diagonal of 55 inches and one of 65 inches. True, the latter won't be as thin as the former, but it will still manage to take up no more than 8.2 mm / 0.32 inches in thickness.
In that same order, they will weigh 10.4 kilos / 22.9 pounds and 16.2 kilos / 35.7 pounds, respectively. Which is a lot less than any other comparable LCD.
That puts these two LCD TVs on par with OLED-based screens in terms of thinness and lightweight design. Or very nearly.
It also means that even contemporary smartphones are liable to be thicker than these television sets, as astonishing as it sounds.
All that remains is for LG to introduce a curved member in this Art Slim LCD TV line and the picture would be complete, pardon the pun.
Availability and pricing
Like most of the specifications besides the sizes, we don't know when sales will begin for the LG Art Slim LCD TVs.
However, we do know, assuming reports are accurate, that the newcomers will use a new composite aluminum material and a back cover for the LCD module that doubles as the rear panel. Which is to say, an actual rear case panel doesn't exist. Fortunately, the material is rigid enough to protect the electronics.