I saw LG’s ultra-thin wallpaper TV at CES 2026, and it made my OLED feel old

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I saw LG's ultra-thin wallpaper TV at CES 2026, and it made my OLED feel old

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

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I love my LG C5 OLEDIt was heavily discounted last holiday season, offers pitch-black contrast and surprisingly bright imagery, and has enough performance features to keep things competitive when I occasionally pick up my Xbox controller,

But then I saw LG’s Wallpaper TV at CES 2026, and my life was never the same. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration – everything happens when you’re in Vegas, but the thinness alone, 9mm to be precise, is enough to attract any passerby and keep them there.

Also: CES 2026 live blog: Latest news on TVs, AI, phones, more

The Wallpaper TV is effectively a comeback story for the Korean electronics maker, whose origins began in 2017. Since then, manufacturers including LG have focused more on TV performance and visual fidelity and less on thinness and flush appearances.

lg wallpaper tv at ces 2026

A good zoom on the edge of the TV is required to capture its full thickness.

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

But there’s more to Wallpaper TV this year than just its design. For one, LG says the TV can achieve brightness levels nearly four times that of traditional OLED sets, thanks to a new Brightness Booster Ultra feature, which is expected to be on all of its flagship models in 2026.

The Wallpaper TV is also treated with a low-reflection coating that significantly reduces glare and reflections. Although the LG booth I watched the TV in wasn’t necessarily the brightest environment, I did notice some spotlights that effectively diffused a darker scene when appearing on the screen. I am in favor of making it normal.

Also: This wireless HDMI adapter from Belkin lets you link devices from across the room

I also don’t mind that the Wallpaper TV comes with zero connect boxes to manage all the inputs/outputs. This makes the TV easier to manage when mounted on a wall, and LG says you’ll still be able to broadcast lossless 4K video and audio at up to 10 meters away. After testing several Zero Connect Box models in our Louisville lab over the past two years, we can vouch for the technology.

Powering the system is the new A11 AI processor Gen 3. That’s a mouthful, but the main difference with this year’s chipset is better AI computing – think greater restoration of natural details and better sharpening, more responsive Voice ID detection, and support for both Gemini and Copilot assist. You can also choose a preference for which AI model you would like to use for chatting.

lg wallpaper tv at ces 2026

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

As far as gaming goes, the Wallpaper TV has a commendable 165Hz refresh rate at 4K resolution, a 0.1ms response time, and compatibility with both NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync Premium. It looks pretty similar to most flagship LG TVs these days, but it’s great to see that it’s more design-forward and shares those specs.

LG hasn’t shared any information regarding pricing and availability of the Wallpaper TV, but don’t be surprised if it costs thousands of dollars. The company has previously charged the same amount for its wireless TV sets, and I expect this TV to carry the same weight in its design.

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