LG’s latest range of TVs are on their way to a store (or online retailer) near you later this year, and it will continue the Korean brand’s pursuit of ensuring every home has an OLED TV (preferably from LG).
The G3 is set to be their top tier 4K OLED, but the G-series OLEDs are for a particular type of customer who prefers to wall-mount their TVs. The conundrum is that the G-series also tends to be LG’s best for picture quality, so there’s a compromise to be made.
If, however, you’re all in favour of LG’s wall-mounting OLED, the question is whether to wait and get the G3 when it launches or go for the existing G2 OLED. This guide will run through the differences between the two models.
It’s got a new OLED panel
LG aren’t one to rest on its laurels, especially since LG Display is the manufacturer of pretty much all the OLED panels that anyone outside of Samsung uses. They have the means to further the technology as they see fit.
And one of those advances is the OLED screen the G3 uses. It has a new Micro Lens Array panel (not to be confused with the similarly sounding Micro LED), and this new panel redirects light that would normally be reflected off the screen back towards the viewer, the benefits being a higher peak brightness and wider viewing angles. However, only the 55-, 65- and 77-inch feature the MLA panel. The technology doesn’t yet stretch to the 83- and 97-inch models.
LG has said the panel can offer a peak brightness up to 2100 nits without specifying the conditions/modes. That is quite a step up from the G2, which was around 1000 nits in its Standard picture mode.
Call it by a different name
LG had previously branded the G-series OLEDs as its Gallery range, the inference being this is a TV you would hang on a wall (like a painting). Unsurprisingly, customers didn’t quite understand it.
And so the Gallery terminology has been ditched in favour of Zero Gap to give prospective buyers a (slightly) better sense of what they’re getting into. Like the G2, the G3 is only packaged with a wall-mount. You can place it on furniture but you’ll have to purchase the stand separately.
WebOS has a new look
A couple of years after its first major revamp, webOS has been tweaked to be both simpler to use and offer more in-depth features.
It remains a full-screen interface but now makes use of what LG is referring to as ‘Quick Cards’. These are snippets for games, movies, music, sports etc that you can click on and it’ll lead you to a hub with more information and detail. It looks to be more economical in terms of the space it takes up on the screen, and may even lead to speedier, less laggy navigation with fewer items on the screen.
It’s got the WOW Synergy factor
Brands love synergy with their own products and with WOW Orchestra, LG is taking a leaf out of Samsung’s playbook.
WOW Orchestra is not unlike Samsung’s Q Symphony audio technology in that it allows a compatible LG soundbar to partner with the TV to create a bigger and more immersive soundscape. When connected, the interface between the TV and soundbar will offer better, tighter integration with each other.
With WOWCAST, you can add a dongle and have the TV wirelessly send lossless audio to the soundbar with no apparent lag. The G2 also supports WOWCAST.
Let’s hope no one confuses LG’s WOW with World of Warcraft.
The G3 OLED can pass-through DTS audio
LG disabled processing or pass-through of DTS audio to a sound system after the E9 OLED a few years ago.
But with DTS looking to beef up its presence within the streaming market, LG has brought it back, which should be handy as there’s news that Disney+ will be adding DTS audio to its service later in 2023 to fill out its IMAX Enhanced support.
Early Verdict
Should you stick and go for the G2, or twist and wait for the G3? It’s, of course, too early to say at this time, with the G3 OLED still several months away from release, but there are areas where it appears to be making a mark.
And the main area is being a home cinema powerhouse. A reportedly brighter panel, DTS audio support and WOW Orchestra compatibility sets the G3 OLED as a more versatile and potentially better performing OLED TV than the G2.
We’re also looking forward to seeing the new interface, considering webOS is already one of the slickest UIs in the TV world. It’s all pointing to a more complete TV package than before, but we’ll have to reserve a consensus for when we test the TVs later in the year.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
