The five most important LG TV innovations at CES 2026

Luca Fontana

9.1.2026

Translation: machine translated

The CES in Las Vegas is a place of exaggerations. This makes it all the more striking how calm LG 2026 appears. No single product dominates, but rather many small, clever adjustments. Five of them are particularly relevant.

When you think of CES, you think of superlatives. Bigger. Brighter. Thinner. And also technologies that won't be relevant for another three years - if at all.

LG will strike a different note in 2026. No big fanfare, no single product that outshines everything else. Instead, the presentation is almost unusually reflective. As if they had asked themselves: «What really annoys people about modern televisions?»

Here are the five most important findings from CES 2026.

1. the C-series suddenly becomes LG's most important weapon

Let's start with the model series that has long been regarded as a firm favourite: the C-series. For years, it was LG's safe bet: slightly lower than the mid-range TVs, but at a much more attractive price and therefore more suitable for the masses. In 2026, LG is changing this comfort zone noticeably for the first time.

The LG C6 will receive the «Alpha 11 Gen 3» processor across all sizes, i.e. exactly the same computing basis as both the G6 and the W6. This means better image processing, cleaner colour gradients thanks to the 12-bit pipeline and noticeable progress in upscaling. For gamers, there is also 4K with 165 Hz, including VRR, G-Sync and FreeSync.

But things get really interesting with the large diagonals. LG is effectively introducing a second C-Class with the C6H: The 77-inch and 83-inch models get the RGB tandem panel previously reserved for the G series, while smaller sizes stick with the classic W-OLED panel. However, this should not be misunderstood: it is very likely not the latest expansion stage that LG is installing in the G6 this year, but the RGB tandem panel of the last generation. In other words, the one that was in the G5.

Despite this: TV god Vincent Teoh, who has already seen the devices, speaks not without good reason of the «biggest C-series upgrade» in years. If you want 77 or 83 inches, you get almost G-series picture quality at a C-series price for the first time. And if you buy smaller, you won't benefit from the RGB tandem OLED panel, but you will at least get the latest TV processor. This may not appeal to everyone, but it is finally transparent.

2. the G6 doesn't just get brighter, but more suitable for the living room

Of course, LG will also be launching a new OLED flagship in 2026. According to the manufacturer, the LG G6 will be around 20 per cent brighter than its predecessor. However, LG does not say what this figure actually means. Which picture modes were compared with each other, whether it is about peak brightness in small HDR windows or the luminance of full-surface images - all this remains open. So for the time being, it is just that: a marketing figure. How much brighter the G6 really is in everyday use will only become clear when tested.

What LG has not done is also important: There were rumours beforehand that LG might do away with the white subpixel in its tandem OLED panel. This is not the case. LG is sticking with the familiar RGB tandem OLED principle from last year. Instead, the increase in brightness should come from improved processing, finer material adjustments and more efficient control of the panel.

This may not sound very spectacular on paper, but it is consistent. LG is simply getting more out of an already outstanding panel instead of creating new problems with a risky architectural change.

The really exciting innovation is not in the brightness anyway: with Reflection Free Premium, LG is introducing a new polarisation filter that significantly reduces reflections without relying on a matte display - like Samsung. Blacks should therefore remain deep and colours rich even during the day, while windows, lamps and bright walls no longer permanently intrude into the picture.

3. micro-RGB: the big LCD trend at CES 2026 with many unanswered questions

Parallel to this, LG is showing Micro-RGB evo, a technology that is deliberately not being presented as an OLED killer, but as its brightest counter-argument. One thing is particularly important here: Micro-RGB is part of a clear industry trend for LCD televisions that runs through the entire CES 2026 - from LG and Samsung to Hisense and TCL.

The basic principle is quickly explained, but crucial: classic mini-LEDs work with white or blue backlight LEDs, whose light is first split into red, green and blue using colour filters or quantum dots. This works, but is inefficient. RGB backlights reverse this principle: the LEDs shine directly in red, green and blue. Fewer filters and fewer detours are required. The result should be a significantly higher colour volume, i.e. rich colours even at very high brightness. This is precisely why practically all manufacturers are currently focussing on RGB backlights - sometimes as RGB Mini LEDs, sometimes as RGB Micro LEDs.

What is currently striking, and not only at LG: The manufacturers explain surprisingly little. Neither LG nor Samsung openly explain how big the practical difference between mini RGB and micro RGB really is. Caleb Denison also notes that the communication remains conspicuously vague. The difference seems - at least from what is known so far - to lie primarily in the size of the LEDs used: Micro-RGB uses smaller diodes than mini-RGB, but the principle behind it is identical.

The number of LEDs is not the only decisive factor. Yes, smaller diodes theoretically allow more of them per panel. What is more important, however, is how many of these LEDs can actually be individually controlled. And this is where factors come into play that can hardly be assessed at a trade fair: Local dimming, blooming control, processor performance. CES demos run almost exclusively with extremely bright material; dark scenes, subtitles or high-contrast transitions are barely visible.

The correct categorisation is therefore: micro and mini RGB are not a promise of quality, but a promise of potential. How well this potential is utilised, both technically and in terms of price, will not be decided in Las Vegas, but in the test. And ultimately on the sofa.

4th wallpaper and gallery TV: LG rediscovers design

The wallpaper TV was long a fascinating but absurdly expensive statement that disappeared from the scene years ago. It returns with the LG W6 and looks surprisingly down-to-earth for the first time: 9.9 millimetres thin, wall-flush mountable, RGB tandem OLED, zero-connect box for wireless picture and sound transmission and G6-level technology.

The decisive factor, however, is not so much the design, but the price: it is said to be only slightly higher than the G6. The wallpaper TV is therefore no longer just a prestige object, but a deliberate design option for people who don't want a black box on the wall.

With the Gallery TV, LG is finally entering a segment that has long been established: gallery TVs. The concept is logical and cleanly implemented: an anti-reflective, matt display, mini-LED instead of OLED and the clear claim not to look like a classic TV in the living room, but like a picture on the wall.

The real problem with the Gallery TV is not so much the what as the when. While Samsung has already further developed the Gallery concept with the Frame Pro, LG's entry looks more like a well-thought-out compulsory date than a bold statement. In the end, price and backlighting will be the deciding factors.

5. what LG doesn't show is also important

There is still a look at the deliberate gaps. LG confirms a B6 OLED, a budget OLED, so to speak, talks about the M9, i.e. a mini RGB TV with a zero-connect box as an intermediate stage, and pushes QNED further into extreme sizes. Details? Later.

At the same time, LG demonstratively dispenses with HDMI 2.2, Dolby Vision 2 and DTS. This may seem backward on paper, but it is simply pragmatic. Without content, new, expensive standards are of little use, says LG.

Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.

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