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LG-W

For decades, manufacturers have sold thinness equally a positive metric for measuring the advance of a product. When Apple launched the iPhone 4, it fabricated thinness (and Retina displays) cardinal to the device's supposed appeal. Apple has carved off feature after characteristic in the proper noun of thinness, slashing the MacBook Pro to the point that information technology requires multiple dongles to restore previous capabilities, treating the iPhone vii in the same fashion (courage!) and generally annoying people with the relentless button to make devices thinner as opposed to "more useful" or "easier to handle." Now LG has jumped on the bandwagon with a bluntly beautiful OLED television that ought to win some kind of honor for uselessness.

One could argue that LG has actually made the total space dedicated to one's display *thicker*, not thinner.

One could argue that LG has actually made the full space dedicated to i'southward brandish *thicker*, non thinner.

Start things get-go. The new LG West-series is a gorgeous screen according to all reports. It'south ridiculously thin at 2.6mm, yet the visitor claims this causes no issues with picture quality. It'southward impressive that LG managed to shove decent hardware into a frame that pocket-size, fifty-fifty if the sheer size of the panels (65-inch and 77-inch) means the company does withal have a fair fleck of real estate to play with. The fact that the 65-inch screen weighs in at simply 17 pounds (the 77-inch is 27 pounds) is impressive, no matter what.

I'g but oozing with excitement.

The downside is, these panels are and then sparse, you lot can't really fit any ports on them. Instead, the panel is connected to an LG speaker via proprietary connector. LG is actually referring to this as a 4K speaker based on the ridiculous idea that because the device can play 24-chip/96Hz audio, and because the bitrate on that sound works out to 4000Kbps, they could telephone call out the speaker as being "4K" as well. LG's spec sheet on the television set actually refers to the soundbar as offering "OLED Surround," every bit if the screen had some detail pixel configuration that necessitated an entirely different audio format. The new SJ9 is LGs first soundbar to support Dolby Atmos, and information technology offers an array of seven speakers with a wireless subwoofer. Ridiculous marketing aside, the SJ9 itself looks like a dainty slice of equipment.

Thinner doesn't equate to improve anymore

So why am I calling LG's new televisions stupidly thin? Simple — we've reached the indicate where removing thickness from hardware is actively compromising that hardware'southward performance and role. LG's new television receiver is so sparse, you can't mount it on a stand up. It connects to its speaker system via a proprietary cablevision and all of the ports and connectivity are accessed via that cable. Presumably the SJ9 soundbar tin still use standard HDMI to connect to unlike televisions, merely the proprietary connectedness to the LG W ways you lot'd best hope nix happens to that speaker once it's out of warranty.

Once upon a fourth dimension, being thinner did brand products more useful. LCD televisions can fit into spaces CRTs never could. This cuts downward on shipping costs, makes them easier to install, and easier to motility around. My parents actually had one of the last HD CRTs ever produced, and let me promise you this — carting effectually a 34-inch CRT that weighed in at 190 pounds was not my idea of a good time. But the cardinal argument for thinness as a useful metric hinges on it providing benefits.

Translation

Translation: Our proprietary cablevision isn't actually rated for this configuration, only we're hoping the people who detect information technology appealing are both rich and too stupid to read.

This LG OLED Idiot box can't be mounted to a stand up. It can't be mounted to a curved wall. It requires a proprietary cablevision and if something goes wrong with your soundbar, the Telly becomes a paperweight until you become another or get the starting time 1 RMA'd. LG'south production page states that the proprietary cable for the Television receiver – SJ9 pairup isn't rated for in-wall installation, and since the cabling doesn't seem to be particularly long, yous'll need to accept a tabular array underneath the TV to hold the soundbar. At that place are apparently people with the right type of homes and plenty of greenbacks to burn down who might be interested in this production, only I'd argue that in that location are other OLED TVs with equally gorgeous screens and far fewer restrictions to choose from.

Removing capabilities and limiting practical usefulness in the name of thinness is neither mettlesome nor helpful. It'south long by time we focus on other aspects of electronics, without sacrificing bones concepts of what makes a production useful.