LG TVs in Australia: Specs, features and pricing compared

It's that time of year again. LG is bringing a bagful of new 4K TVs to Australian living rooms over the next few months. As usual, the most straightforward way to unpack the hodge-podge of model numbers and buzzwords is to focus on the display technologies involved.

Like many modern TV brands, LG's latest offering consists of OLED TVs and QNED TVs. The latter is an evolution of LG's older NanoCell line, which was itself a spin on the traditional LCD-LED formula. LG's QNED TVs bolster the existing strengths of the brand's NanoCell TVs by adding a layer of Quantum Dots akin to what you can find in other TV brands like Samsung.

In any case, LG's 2024 lineup currently consists of four OLED TVs, four QNED TVs and a single budget-friendly UHD TV. Every model here is available in a range of sizes that go as large as 98 inches and as small as 43 inches. 

There's no hard and fast rule here, but if you do care more about size and less about picture quality then you're probably going to find more bang for your buck with a LG QNED TV than you might with an OLED one. While the latter possesses unique advantages, those perks do come at a premium.

LG's OLED TVs come in four varieties:

• The M series (currently M4)
• The G series (currently G4)
• The C series (currently C4)
• The B series (currently B4)

The one thing to note when it comes to LG's OLED TV is that more expensive models are billed as OLED Evo. These TVs feature a brighter EVO panel rather than the more standard implementation of OLED found elsewhere.

Otherwise, these letters provide a pretty easy shorthand.

The B series is budget-friendly. The C-series is a little more expensive but comes with additional features like a better processor and an Evo panel. The G series has an even better processor and a slimmer design while the ultra-exxy M series is an updated version of the wire-free TV that LG introduced in 2023.

The QNED line is a little harder to parse at a glance. As with LG's OLED line, there are four main models on offer:

• QNED91
• QNED89
• QNED86
• QNED81

The QNED 91 is the top dog here. It's the only model with a Mini-LED backlight. Stepping down to the QNED89 means losing that, but this model still has a more sophisticated backlight than LG's other QNED TVs do. Since the two share the same processor, backlighting is the main difference between the QNED86 and QNED and QNED 89. Dropping down to the QNED 81 means ditching that. The cheapest of LG's QNED TVs has an Alpha 5 processor instead.

Even if the transparent LG OLED seen at CES is nowhere to be seen, there are still plenty of options when it comes to LG TVs in 2024. For a snappy breakdown of how LG's 2024 TVs differ, check out the table below.

For a full breakdown of how LG has priced its 2024 QNED and OLED 4K TVs in Australia, check out the table below.

For a full breakdown of how LG has priced its new OLED 4K TVs, check out the table below.

If you're looking to tease out the differences between this year's LG TVs and their 2023 counterparts, there are two key things you'll want to focus on.

The first is the processors inside a given model. This year, the more expensive (and OLED-based) models come with LG's new Alpha 11 processor. This silicon promises a 30% increase in processing speed compared to the Alpha 9 processor. Less expensive (and QNED-based) models tend to feature older processors instead.

That downgrade isn't the be-all-end-all but it is something to keep in mind if you're looking to tease out the differences and find the model that best suits your budget and needs.

Another key consideration here is the backlighting.

If you pick up any of LG's OLED TVs, you'll reap the benefits of per-pixel dimming. However, if you opt for QNED instead, there's a variety of different of backlighting systems on offer.

These differ in both fidelity and sophistication, with the cream of the crop being the Mini LED-powered precision dimming found in the LG QNED 91. The "Local Dimming" and Dimming Pro" found in the QNED 81 and QNED 86 work more-or-less the same way, but offer less impressive results.

While these names aren't very intuitive, the fundamentals of TV backlighting haven't changed in 2024. The more dimming zones a TV has, the less likely you are to end up in a situation where brighter parts of the screen can bleed into darker areas.

Past those hardware changes, the main tweak that LG has made to the formula this time around isn't a matter of design or picture quality. It has to do with pricing.

This trend towards thriftiness isn't universal but it is welcome given the ongoing issues around inflation and the cost of living. Some models are as much as 25% cheaper than the launch pricing of their 2023 counterparts. For example, last year's LG 55-inch B3 OLED arrived with a $3,149 RRP. This year's B4 comes in at $2,499. 

LG's 2024 TVs run on the same WebOS operating system that powered previous models but incorporate a range of new sports-centric features, such as live alerts and scores for specific teams.

LG's 2024 TVs support the following streaming services:

• Netflix
• Disney Plus
• Stan
• Apple TV Plus
• Amazon Prime Video
• YouTube
• ABC iView
• SBS OnDemand
• Hayu
• Paramount Plus
• Tubi
• LG Channels
• Britbox
• Binge
• Foxtel Now
• Optus Sport
• Kayo
• 9Now
• 10Play
• 7Plus
• Funimation
• Crunchyroll

 LG is launching these new models alongside a promise of five years of software updates. If you need help with that or a hardware-related issue, you can hit LG's customer support team up via live chat, email, WhatsApp and telephone.

You can contact LG Australia's customer support line from 8 AM to 8 PM every day of the week using the following phone number:

• 1300 54 2273

When it comes to big brands like LG and consumer review platforms like ProductReview, TrustPilot and Consumer Affairs, negative experiences tend to rise to the top. That's very much the case when it comes to LG TVs, with low customer satisfaction indicators across the board. The numbers don't inspire much confidence, even if they aren't all that far off where rivals like Samsung sit.

As with Samsung, it probably doesn't help that, LG Australia plays in a lot of different consumer tech categories. This alone makes it tricky to tease out just how many of the negative customer support experiences online have to do with how it fares when it comes to TVs specifically. 

If you're looking to get a sense of what a bad customer experience with LG can look like, these sites will give you some sense of what to expect. However, I wouldn't necessarily use them as a barometer of how likely you are to end up in that situation.

On top of the usual rights offered under Australian consumer law, LG Australia includes a 12-month warranty as standard with any new OLED, QNED or LCD-LED TV. If invoked, this warranty will get you a free repair of a given LG TV if, in the manufacturer's opinion, "it needs repair because of a manufacturing or materials defect appearing and notified to LG" within the period covered by the warranty.

While that sounds pretty standard, there are a few details to keep in mind. If LG's support team decides to go forward with repairing your faulty TV, you'll have to cover the cost of getting it (and potentially from) one of LG's Authorized Service Centres. Those same service centres may also charge an additional fee if you require help outside of usual hours.

Even if you are still in that initial twelve months after purchase, LG's manufacturer's warranty also features several carve-outs and situations where your TV might not be covered. According to LG, the manufacturer's warranty does not cover:

Still have questions? You can read the full warranty for LG TVs on the LG Australia website.