LG has truly outdone itself with the new LG CX OLED – a TV that iterates on last year’s C9 and somehow makes it even better, for our pick as this year’s best 2020 OLED TV.
The LG CX OLED TV doesn’t look like a big step forward from last year’s acclaimed LG C9 model on paper, but LG has done an incredible job of focusing in on the niggles we had in the previous model, and rendering its flagship OLED TV for 2020 perfect in pretty much every way. The result is a mesmerisingly cinematic performance that will give movies and TV shows the loving treatment they deserve. Yes, the design and specifications seem similar to last year’s model, but at an initial $2,499 / £2,799 RRP – since dropped to just $1,899 / £1,799 – it’s substantially cheaper than previous 65-inch C Series OLEDs have been. Changes to the Alpha a9 Gen 3 Processor have cleared up any issues leftover from last year’s LG C9 OLED, too – as well as improving the way faces are displayed by the chip’s processing. It’s also, of course, a time of next-gen gaming machines, with the PS5 and Xbox Series X having launched. The CX is a sure-fire gaming TV, with sub-1ms input lag, VRR (variable refresh rate),4K/120fps support, and incredible OLED-assisted contrast alongside. LG has largely been kept afloat this year by OLED TV sales, and the trailblazing CX OLED has no doubt been a big part of that. With ongoing discounts in this year’s Black Friday TV deals, too, there’s never been a better time to purchase one for your home. If you have the budget for it, this is the 4K OLED TV to buy in 2020. The LG CX OLED comes in a mix of sizes, from a new-for-2020 48-inch size to a massive 77-inch screen. The 48-inch model retails at $1,499 / £1,499, with the largest 77-inch size now retailing for $3,499 / £3,499). You also have the option of buying the 55-inch model, which is selling for just $1,399 / £1,299 after a series of price cuts from its initial $1,799 / £1,799. It’s the 65-inch model we reviewed, which originally retailed for $2,499 / £2,799 (around AU$3,800) but has since dropped to just $1,899 / £1,799 – roughly the previous RRP of the 55-inch model. The OLED65CX is gorgeous. The star of the show, as usual with OLED TV technology, is how incredibly thin its screen is: for around two-thirds of its rear area it’s insanely skinny – just a couple of millimetres deep. Though of course, unless you’re fond of looking at the back of your TV rather than the front, you probably won’t notice this much once you’ve installed the set for the first time. The bottom third or so of the OLED65CX’s rear sticks out quite a bit more than the rest. But the design still wears this pretty well – and the set’s speakers, connections and processors do have to go somewhere. The screen attaches to one of the centrally mounted metallic sheet stands we’ve seen for a few C-series generations now. This is nicely finished and well built, but perhaps looks a touch chunky compared with the incredible slimness elsewhere. Connections on the OLED65CX are plentiful and well specified – especially when it comes to HDMIs. There are four, all capable of handling 4K at up to 120Hz in 10-bit HDR with 4:4:4 chroma sampling. Something which might become important with the next generation of games consoles. One of the HDMIs can also support ARC/eARC (audio return channel), so that the TV can output Dolby Atmos from streaming services or 4K Blu-rays to compatible soundbars or AV receivers. One last design point worth mentioning is the OLED65CX’s remote control. This is one of LG’s so-called Magic remotes, meaning you can point it at onscreen menu options rather than having to use cursor buttons to navigate all the menus. There’s also a spinning wheel in the remote’s center that lets you quickly cycle through vertical menu lists. The point and click approach can be a bit imprecise, and the stiffness of the scrolling wheel can cause you to accidentally press it (for select) rather than just spinning it. But it’s still overall a winning remote control design. Design TL;DR: The LG OLED65CX’s mind-bending slimness makes it a stunning addition to any living or home cinema room. Like the rest of LG’s OLED TV lineup, the LG OLED65CX inevitably deploys LG’s WebOS interface for its smarts. As usual, this is mostly a very good thing. The economical, no-nonsense home screen, with its row of icons connected to different content sources, is instantly accessible and easy to use and customize. Highlighting one of the main content apps usually brings up a second tier of icons containing direct access to shows or films from the app you’ve highlighted. Though this feature only works with apps that have worked with LG to enable it. I guess the sheer volume of content apps available these days could make WebOS’s long scrolling bar of apps a bit unwieldy for some content-hungry households. But this is a small negative against all the good stuff. It’s worth adding, too, that LG also leads the way when it comes to voice recognition, with the OLED65CX supporting LG’s own ThinQ AI platform, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Support for all these is built in, too, which means there’s no need for an external listening device. In terms of supported apps, you’ll find relative new additions to the streaming landscape such as Disney+ and Apple TV+, as well as all the usual suspects like Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime in the US. There’s an unexpected hitch for UK buyers, though: LG and Freeview Play haven’t done their usual deal for the Korean brand’s 2020 TVs, meaning there’s currently no sign of key UK terrestrial broadcast catch-up apps such as the BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and My5.
