Want an LG OLED TV in 2019? Be prepared to drop at least $2,500

 LG has announced the US pricing and availability of its 2019 OLED TV series including the C9, E9 and W9 OLEDs. 

The first of these TVs, the 55-inch LG OLED55C9PUA, will be available in April for $2,500 before jutting up in June for the $12,999 77-inch OLED77W9PUA.

Here’s a full breakdown of the pricing structure:

• 55-inch C9 OLED (54.6 inches diagonal) - OLED55C9PUA - $2,499 (available in April) 
• 65-inch C9 OLED (64.5 inches diagonal) - OLED65C9PUA - $3,499 (available in April) 
• 77-inch C9 OLED (76.8 inches diagonal) - OLED77C9PUB - $6,999 (available in May) 
• 55-inch E9 OLED (54.6 inches diagonal) - OLED55E9PUA - $3,299 (available in June) 
• 65-inch E9 OLED (64.5 inches diagonal) - OLED65E9PUA - $4,299 (available in April) 
• 65-inch W9 OLED (64.5 inches diagonal) - OLED65W9PUA - $6,999 (available in June) 
• 77-inch W9 OLED (76.7 inches diagonal) - OLED77W9PUA - $12,999 (available in June)   

Missing from this lineup, you might’ve noticed, is the entry-level B9 OLED and higher-end Rollable OLED TV R - both of which are still in the works, but it seems LG won’t reveal their pricing and release date until later this year.  

Is this the year to buy an OLED?  

Let’s be honest, every year is a good year to buy an OLED if you can afford it. 

That said, this year’s crop of TVs mirror the pricing we saw last year. That probably means the new models will be relatively expensive if you buy one in April, May or June, but will come down in price toward Black Friday and next year’s Super Bowl. 

If you can hold out until then, or at least until the B9 OLED comes out sometime in June or July, you could stand to save yourself some money.

As far as the comparison between this year’s crop of OLEDs and last year’s goes, LG has been keen to hype the second-gen Alpha A9 processor that offers a multi-step upscaling process for noise reduction, as well as its support of both major personal assistants, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, on this year’s OLEDs. 

You’ll also find HDMI 2.1 instead of standard HDMI 2.0 ports, which allow you play 4K high frame rate content (4K HFR) with variable refresh rate (VRR) and uses enhanced audio return channel (eARC).

That said, if your only concern is picture performance, last year’s comparable LG C8 OLED remains one of the best TVs in 2019 and can now be had for under $1,800, so you can’t go wrong either way.

• Here's what you need to know about OLED TVs

March 16, 2019 at 03:49AM
Nick Pino