LG 55-inch OLED TV launching in July, costs £10,000
LG's monster 55-inch OLED TV will hit Harrods in July, and set you back a whopping £10,000. Better break out the piggy bank.
I know we've heard about LG's 55-inch OLED TV set before, but it's so far failed to make it to shop shelves. Well now comes word it'll land here in the UK in July, exclusively for sale from Harrods. And the price? Glad you asked. It'll set you back a cool £10,000.
Recession? What recession?
We saw the LG OLED 55EM970V a while ago, and a limited number went up for pre-order last summer for £8,000. Converting the price from South Korean won, we were expecting to have to shell out £6,300 when it went on sale properly, so the £10,000 price tag is a bit of a kicker. Still, I'm sure you can find an extra four grand knocking around somewhere. Have you checked down the back of the sofa?
Us Brits will be second only to LG's native South Korea to be able to buy the set. Andrew Mackay, UK commercial director of home entertainment and home appliances, said in a statement: "Following the LG launch and supply to the Korean market earlier in the year, the UK is proud to be the next market to launch LG OLED TV, as this innovative and premium model launches first in Europe to UK consumers."
The set is certainly a looker. OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) TVs make for much truer black levels, because they don't have backlights. Each pixel makes its own light instead, meaning blacks look black, instead of grey, as on some sets. The TV is also ridiculously slim, at just 4mm. That's almost half the thickness of an iPhone 5, on a TV with a 55-inch screen. Madness.
The only catch is the price. OLED sets will come down eventually -- Sony's first effort was just 11-inches across, and was crazily expensive. If you do invest in LG's 55-incher, do us a favour and send us some snaps. Then we can all imagine what it must be like to have it in the lounge.
Would you want a 55-inch OLED set? How much would you pay for one? Let me know in the comments, or on Facebook.