For years now, LG has been the king of OLED televisions, but fierce competition from Samsung, Sony, and others, coupled with new technology like MicroLED, means LG can’t afford to rest on its laurels. At CES this year, LG revisited the oversized OLED category by launching a massive new flagship TV.
The new Signature OLED M3 takes the same concept of the “gallery” TV that LG made mainstream with their G1 in 2020, but it pushes it to the max. Let’s start with the size, because this thing is gigantic. The range-leading M3 is 97 inches, but (77- and 83-inch units are are also available. The biggest is a touch over eight feet from corner to corner—Shaquille O’Neal could lay on top of this thing with some room to spare.
Sheer size isn’t even the biggest selling point. That honor goes to the new “Zero Connect” technology that lets you hook up all of your HMDI-compatible devices to the M3 wirelessly.
When you have a TV this large, it can be difficult finding a good place to mount, especially if you need to leave room for receivers, game consoles, streaming devices and more. So LG has solved that problem by removing the need to plug anything into the M3 at all. Instead, external devices are plugged into a Zero Connect box that can be placed virtually anywhere without looking unsightly.
LG claims that the Zero Connect system is capable of “real time” wireless transmission of all your audio and video devices, and it features smart technology to keep the signal strong and stable. Zero Connect’s newly developed algorithm instantly identifies the best transmission path to your television, and it can adjust on the fly to prevent interference from people and pets running through the living room.
It also supports the full HDMI 2.1 speed spec, meaning you get full 4K resolution at 120Hz and support for advanced audio formats like Dolby Atmos. The box also supports voice recognition, so you can use spoken commands for basic functions like power and input switching.
The only real catch is that the maximum range between your TV and Zero Connect box is about 30 feet, and it requires line of sight. Also, the TV itself still requires a power a cord (obviously), so this isn’t a truly wireless setup, but that just feels like nitpicking.
Exact pricing and release dates for the LG M3, but a representative told What Hi-Fi that it will be available in the second half of 2023 for up to $13,000 for the 97-inch version.
