Skip to main content

LG’s Mini LED TVs to release in the US starting in July

LG’s Mini LED TVs to release in the US starting in July

/

They use thousands of LEDs to create better contrast than typical LCD TVs

Share this story

LG’s Mini LED use an array of thousands of tiny LEDs as a backlight.
LG’s Mini LED use an array of thousands of tiny LEDs as a backlight.
Image: LG

LG’s new range of Mini LED TVs, which it’s branding “QNED,” are releasing worldwide starting next month, the company has announced. The lineup consists of three sets, the 8K QNED99 and QNED95, and the 4K QNED90, but only the 8K QNED99 and 4K QNED90 are releasing in the US. The TVs range in size from 65- to 86-inches, and will launch first in North America, with additional regions following “in the weeks ahead.”

Mini LED is a relatively new kind of display technology which uses an array of thousands of tiny LEDs as a screen’s backlight. Because there are so many (up to 30,000 in the case of the 86-inch QNED99), they can create a sharper contrast between light and dark areas of an image. LG says the technology, which has previously been used on some TVs from TCL as well as Apple’s latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro, allows for “10 times better contrast ratio” than normal LCD TVs. 

Not to be confused with MicroLED

LG is marketing Mini LED as a “giant leap forward in LCD TV picture quality,” but it’s not quite at the level of an OLED TV, where its the individual pixels themselves that are illuminating to create an image (with Mini LED, the LEDs are still shining through an LCD layer). Mini LED should not be confused with Samsung’s outrageously expensive MicroLED technology, which also uses an array of tiny LEDs but without the need for an LCD layer at all. 

In the US, neither of LG’s Mini LED TVs come cheap. The 4K QNED90 starts at $1,999 for the 65-inch model, rising to $2,999 for 75-inches, or $3,999 for 86-inches. Meanwhile the 8K version, the QNED99 starts at $3,499 for the 65-inch model, while the 75-inch version costs $4,799, and the 86-inch version costs $6,499.

Update June 30th, 11:24AM ET: Updated with LG’s confirmation of US pricing.