LG Electronics said it will release a premium TV with 9 mm-class thickness in the first half of this year. Applying an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel, it is as thin as "a single pencil," while supporting 4K (3840×2160) resolution and 165 Hz refresh rate video. It can receive video wirelessly, which is seen as an advantage for keeping the area around the TV uncluttered. It has been nine years since LG Electronics last emphasized this "ultra-slim TV" concept.
LG Electronics unveiled its 2026 TV lineup at CES 2026, the world's largest IT and home appliance show, held in Las Vegas earlier this month. The flagship among them is clearly the wireless TV "LG OLED evo W6." W denotes the product's wallpaper concept, and the number 6 indicates the 2026 model year. Screen sizes are 77 inches and 83 inches.
At CES 2026, LG Electronics set up a private booth, "The Preview," for clients and key figures, placing this product at the entrance. At the entrance of the public exhibition hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), the main venue of CES 2026, the company also installed a sculpture suspending 38 units of this product from the ceiling.
This is not the first time LG Electronics has singled out a wallpaper TV defined by ultra-thinness as a "core" new product. In 2017, it showcased the "LG Signature OLED TV W," stressing its thin profile. Panel thickness was just 2.6 mm for 65 inches and 4.2 mm for 77 inches. Even including the wall-mount bracket, the total was only about 4–6 mm.
At the time of its debut, it drew much attention for a look "like hanging a painting on the wall," but LG Electronics did not release any "ultra-slim TV" concept models for the nine years that followed. A consumer electronics industry official said, "Based on the suggested retail price, the 65-inch was set very high at 14 million won and the 77-inch at 33 million won, so I understand sales volumes were not large." Despite the attention, results were limited. So why has LG Electronics brought back the wallpaper TV?
◇ "Shedding the 'black monster' stigma attached to TVs"
Baek Sun-pil, display CX lead (executive director) of the MS Business Headquarters at LG Electronics, met with reporters at The Preview booth at CES 2026 and, when asked why the company is reintroducing an ultra-slim TV after nine years, said, "Our development direction hasn't changed." Baek said, "As TV screens that occupy the center of the living room have grown, people began calling them a 'black monster,' and we concluded that a premium product should also consider such design elements," adding, "In the meantime, we have introduced rollable and transparent OLED TVs that remove the screen itself, and we have steadily advanced wireless transmission technology to eliminate messy connection cables around the TV." From the business perspective of LG Electronics, which aims to convey "the value of ultra-high picture quality," the OLED evo W6 "does not represent a gap."
Looking at the evolution of LG Electronics' OLED TVs, it is clear the company has tried various approaches to shed the "black monster" label. Starting with the ultra-slim W (wallpaper) in 2017, it launched the R (rollable) that can hide the screen itself in 2020, and unveiled the M (wireless) TV in 2023, which needs no peripheral connection cables. In 2024, it also introduced the "T" line combining wireless transmission technology with a transparent screen. The company said returning to W after nine years reflects the judgment that this form best captures the technical know-how accumulated through those diverse attempts.
In unveiling the W line TV this year, LG Electronics emphasized that the product's strengths are not limited to thickness alone. In fact, in terms of sheer thinness, the 2017 model is even thinner. But at that time, such thinness applied only to the "panel." Speakers and other peripherals had to be installed separately, and the TV transceiver had to be connected by cable, making it hard to achieve a clean interior look.
The new model this year includes all key components, including speakers, power, and the main board. The company also said the "Zero Connect Box," which eliminates the need to cable-connect peripherals such as set-top boxes, has been reduced by 35% in size compared with the previous version, improving its design completeness.
◇ Premium OLED with a lower price… can it rescue the loss-making TV business?
The key is price. No matter how advanced the technology, if the price point is high, it becomes harder to reach customers and deliver results. Asked about the price of the "OLED evo W6," which comes in 77- and 83-inch sizes, Baek said, "It won't be ultra-high priced."
LG Electronics broadly categorizes its OLED TVs as Signature, evo, and standard. The closer to Signature, the better the features and picture quality, but the higher the price. Previously, the W, R, M, and T products all launched as "Signature," but this year's W TV is classified as "evo." To avoid splitting premium customer demand, the company also made a strategic choice not to release Signature TV products at CES 2026. The move is seen as an effort to focus on the OLED evo W6 and generate results.
LG Electronics' TV business is not in great shape at the moment. The Media Entertainment Solution (MS) Business Headquarters, which oversees the TV business, posted an operating loss of 302.6 billion won in the third quarter of last year. Announcing its preliminary fourth-quarter results recently, LG Electronics noted, "For display product-based businesses, increased marketing expense due to weak demand and intensifying competition is expected to lead to a full-year loss."
LG Electronics is preliminarily estimated to have posted a 109.4 billion won deficit in the fourth quarter of last year. It is the first "quarterly loss" in nine years since the fourth quarter of 2016. The securities market estimates that the TV business institutional sector incurred a loss of around 291 billion won during the period.
This has occurred as LG Electronics' position in the global TV market has gradually weakened. According to Omdia, a market research firm, LG Electronics' global TV market share by shipments was 10.6%, ranking fourth. It trailed Samsung Electronics (17.9%) and China's TCL (14.3%) and Hisense (12.4%).
By revenue, LG Electronics held a 15.2% share, keeping second place behind Samsung Electronics (29.0%). That was thanks to ranking first in the OLED TV market in both shipments (49.7%) and revenue (45.4%). Having ceded leadership in the liquid crystal display (LCD) TV market to China and facing a business crisis, LG Electronics has lowered prices and is bringing out a premium OLED TV as a "turnaround card." The market is watching closely to see how much this new product can positively affect a rebound in results.