LG Electronics newest Signature OLED TV R should not come as a surprise to many as they have been teasing the concept of a rollable television since 2016. A prototype has also been shown at CES last year and now, LG is bringing it into the market as their flagship 4K OLED TV for 2019.
Consumers can look forward to buying it sometime in Spring — probably sometime in March, for an extremely premium price but that, again, should not be a surprise to anyone.
LG’s new TV R comes with a base station and has a 100-watt Dolby Atmos speaker for powerful inbuilt audio but its key feature is the fact that when you are done using the TV, you can simply roll it back down into the base station. No more big, black rectangles taking up space in your living room.
Over the years, TV manufacturers have realised that not everyone is too keen about having a television take up much-needed space in their living room, some do not even use a TV. So many have slowly adapted to the changing environment of TV wants and needs, and are designing products that better fit into the homes of their consumers.
Samsung has released The Frame, which passes off as a painting that displays pieces of art when not in use. They also have the Serif which resembles a piece of furniture with its built-in shelving unit on top. Despite all that, the TV is still very much there, sitting in the living room and taking up space. LG’s TV R solves that problem by allowing their TV to roll up and disappear altogether.
The TV R also comes with a mode which LG calls “Line Mode” — where the display drops till only about one-fourth of the screen is showing. Users will still have on-screen music controls and be able to control their smart home devices in this mode. LG will also be adding Alexa voice controls in addition to the existing Google Assistant that is already integrated into LG’s webOS software.
Even with the screen rolled up, users will still be able to use the Atmos speaker systems and the ports will all be located on the base station, and has a selection that is on par with other premium LG sets. LG is also making the move to HDMI 2.1 with the TV R, essentially future-proofing the premium TV set.
For those worried that LG might have sacrificed quality over aesthetics can rest easy with LG’s promise that no picture quality has been sacrificed in choosing to use a rollable display over a rigid one. They state that the TV R will feature the same second-generation Alpha 9 processing chip used in other 2019 TVs released by LG.
As mentioned, this premium rollable 4K TV will be sold at an equally premium price. With LG’s “Wallpaper” OLED TV being sold at a whopping US$8,000, we can expect the rollable TV to come in at a significantly higher price.
Guess it will be some time before a wallet-friendly rollable TV comes onto the market.
Germaine is a fun-sized introvert who loves nothing better than sleeping in on rainy days. She can be found reading fanfiction and manga while still waiting for her Hogwarts acceptance letter. It’ll come eventually.
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