LG's new QNED TV range comes to Australia as a cheaper alternative to OLED

LG QNED96 8K TV
(Image credit: LG)

LG leads the market when it comes to OLED televisions, but now the South Korean electronics giant is ready to give equal love to its Mini LED lineup, with the Australian launch of its 2021 QNED TV range.

Available for pre-order now at Australia's leading retailers, LG's QNED range marks the pinnacle of its LED/LCD offering. It combines the latest Mini LED, quantum dot and NanoCell display technologies to produce stunning colours and exceptional contrast in a package that's far more affordable than OLED.

Mini LED differs from OLED in that it trades self-lighting pixels for a more traditional LED backlighting system, albeit with LEDs that are roughly 40 times smaller. 

That means manufacturers are able to squeeze in more dimming zones to achieve greater lighting accuracy, leading to contrast that's a relatively close approximation to OLED at a more affordable price point.

Pricing and availability

LG's QNED Mini LED TV lineup is led by the flagship QNED99 8K TV, which is available in 65-inch (AU$5,759), 75-inch (AU$7,799) and 86-inch (AU$10,799) models, making it around AU$1,000 more affordable than Samsung's flagship Neo QLED telly in equivalent sizes.

Next up is LG's QNED96 8K TV, which starts at AU$4,799 for the 65-inch model, and tops out at AU$5,999 for the 75-inch model.

For those happy to stick with 4K, LG also offers the QNED91 4K TV. Curiously though, pricing for the QNED91's 65-inch (AU$4,679) and 75-inch (AU$5,999) models is nearly identical to that of the 8K QNED96, which makes us wonder why punters wouldn't choose the 8K version instead. The QNED91 4K option also offers an 86-inch model, priced at AU$8,399.

While we can only speculate what makes the QNED96 8K more affordable than the QNED99 8K, we do know that the QNED91 4K sports the slightly lower-end α7 (Alpha) Gen4 AI processor compared to the α9 (Alpha) Gen4 AI processor in the 8K models.

LG's QNED Mini LED TV range, which runs on LG's webOS 6.0 interface and comes paired with the 2021 Magic Remote, is available for pre-order now from Australia's major electronics retailers now.

Stephen Lambrechts
Senior Journalist, Phones and Entertainment

Stephen primarily covers phones and entertainment for TechRadar's Australian team, and has written professionally across the categories of tech, film, television and gaming in both print and online for over a decade. He's obsessed with smartphones, televisions, consoles and gaming PCs, and has a deep-seated desire to consume all forms of media at the highest quality possible. 

He's also likely to talk a person’s ear off at the mere mention of Android, cats, retro sneaker releases, travelling and physical media, such as vinyl and boutique Blu-ray releases. Right now, he's most excited about QD-OLED technology, The Batman and Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga.

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