- The ultra-thin “wallpaper TV” is coming back
- Zero Connect wireless technology as seen in the LG M5
- The latest-gen OLED tech is included
Way back in 2017, LG made a TV that was truly breathtaking – only to stop making it in 2020. But a new official image shows that it’s coming back, and it’s even better than before.
The new TV is the LG W5, and it’s the successor to the TV officially called the LG W7 Signature Series but known to everybody as the Wallpaper TV.
The W7 (pictured below) got its nickname because it was so thin you stuck it to the wall like wallpaper, albeit with magnets instead of wallpaper paste; all the electronics were in a separate soundbar. It wasn’t cheap – the biggest model was $19,996 (about £16,000 or AU$26,500) – but it was stunning. As we said in our LG Signature OLED W7 review, it was “thinner than we even thought possible”.
And now it’s back, and it’s even smarter thanks to LG’s wireless tech.
What we know about the LG W5 OLED TV
LG isn’t confirming or denying anything, but the new TV was entered for and won a CES Innovation Award this month – and as FlatpanelsHD spotted, there’s a whole page on the CES website about the W5. It says:
“The 4K 77-inch W5 is the culmination of many years of LG technical knowhow. Less than ½” thick, it blends into your wall without visible AV wires. This is achieved without compromise, as the TV offers LG’s best OLED picture quality, featuring a brighter more colorful OLED display capable of gaming (up to 144Hz with VRR). It includes LG’s most advanced α11 AI Processor inside a Zero Connect Box that wireless sends your AV connections to the TV, eliminating clutter and freeing TV placement. The W5 is the perfect TV, offering the best of what is possible in a TV.”
The big improvement over the previous model is that the new TV uses the same Zero Connect wireless box as the LG M5, making it even more like part of your home décor as well as making it very flexible: as we’ve previously said, the wireless box is suitable for gaming as well as home entertainment, and is more flexible than previous versions, because it can now be hidden in a cupboard without spoiling the wireless communication.
It’s hard to say why LG didn’t show the TV off at CES fully – perhaps there was a problem with its initial units, or perhaps the whole launch needs to be delayed. But I’m happy to see such an iconic design return, because this seems like the ideal use of LG’s wireless tech. No doubt it’ll be devastatingly expensive compared to the best OLED TVs – but it’ll probably be super-desirable anyway.