LG has unveiled its 2013 LED and plasma TVs. The bezels have become basically non-existent and LG also adds a range of new Smart TV features, Cinema 3D and 4K picture quality (to 3 models). LG also mentions a new 55” OLED-TV and another OLED-TV but does not reveal the details.

LG's 2013 TVs
New Year’s Eve is almost here but LG has obviously felt the need to announce the new 2013 models before year-end. The new models will be available in spring 2013 and you can expect many new features and even slimmer designs. The flagship LED model will be called LA8600.

LG will also release three Ultra HD TVs with four times the pixels of Full HD TVs. We have already seen LG’s 84" variant, but at CES 2013 in Las Vegas LG will exhibit 65 and 55” versions. LG has also launched a range of new LED models and three new plasma TVs ranges, which is fewer than in 2012.


LG’s new LA8600 flagship LED Smart TV

New Smart TV functions
LG talks a lot about the latest Smart TV offerings. First of all, LG has included a new 120 % faster CPU and a new 300 % faster GPU (for TV apps graphics, not for picture processing) and the Smart TV experience is vastly improved, LG promises. You can control everything with the new Magic Remote that also has speech recognition built in.


LG’s Smart TV platform in 2013

LG has built in a range of new sharing functions that allow you to share content from PCs/Macs, smartphones and tablets. LG mentions WiDi and Miracast. Miracast enables Android owners with a smartphone or tablet running Android 4.0 or later to push pictures, music or video from the device over to the TV screen. Another new feature is the “Tag On” function that relies on NFC. This basically means that you can take your smartphone and hold it up in front of the TV to stream media files onto the big screen. The last addition is LG Cloud; a service that enables users to store media files on LG’s servers and stream the files to the Smart TV (or other internet-connected devices).

Design, design, design
LG continues to reduce the bezel width and this year the bezel is virtually gone, except for a small edge at the bottom. LG believes that slim bezels make TVs appear more elegant and less dominating but also helps immersive the viewer in the action on screen. 

A new so-called "Magic Stand" serves as a base. It has a swivel function built in and you can obviously also wallmount the TVs.

3D is still here
LG has not forgotten about 3D. Cinema 3D is integrated into pretty much all the new 2013 TVs (except the plasmas). Cinema 3D is LG’s variant of passive 3D that utilizes the inexpensive 3D glasses from movie theatres. The glasses require no batteries and are 100 % flicker-free.

The most promising aspect, however, is the fact that LG will also implement Cinema 3D into the Ultra HD models in 55, 65 and 84 inches, in order to improve the 3D experience and picture quality significantly. The Ultra HD TVs have not been detailed yet but are mentioned in LG’s material.

2013 models
LG will release several new LED models, including Google TV models. The new flagship LED model is called LA8600 and is edge LED lit. It also comes with Smart TV, Cinema 3D, dual-core processor, Magic Motion remote and a built-in HD camera for Skype. It will be available in 47 and 55 inch versions.


LG’s 2013 Google TV

In addition, LG will release new 7, 6, 5 and 4 series, and FlatpanelsHD will provide full details later in a big overview article. The LM9600 model from 2012 will continue to be available and no replacement has been announced.

In addition, LG plans to launch the three new plasma ranges called PH6700, PN6500 and PN4500. The PH6700 is the most expensive with a slim bezel, Smart TV and 3D. It will be available in 60 inches.

LG also plans to unveil two new OLED-TVs and two new Ultra HD TVs but we have no details yet. We will know more when CES 2013 opens its doors.