LG’s highly-anticipated Signature R1 Rollable OLED TV will finally be available in Australia from July.
The R1 is the world’s only rollable television, and will set buyers back a cool $130,000 in Australia. The same TV is selling in the US for $111,000, some $19,000 cheaper.
Not available in retail stores, the televisions can only be pre-ordered online at LG Australia from July, and are custom built and delivered within six to eight weeks.
The ultra-thin flexible OLED screen rolls into a cabinet that doubles as a sound system, with the OLED technology creating a “vivid life-like image through millions of pixels that turn on and off to achieve perfect black and infinite contrast, delivering a realistic viewing experience without the restrictions of backlight technology.”
The screen can roll out to three different heights: Full View, Line View and Zero View. The television itself can be controlled with voice command, with built-in LG ThinQ, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
The Signature OLED R is built around a flexible OLED panel that LG describes as “the most innovative development in television technology in decades.”
Because of its flexible nature, it can retract partially or fully into its base, adapting to different aspect ratios or hiding the panel completely when not in use.
Unsurprisingly for such an ambitious product, the Signature OLED R has faced a difficult path to market.
LG Display first showed off a rollable TV prototype at CES 2018, and Bloomberg later reported that the display would make its way into a shipping product the next year. LG did indeed bring a commercial rollable TV to the next CES, with plans to release it in spring 2019, but it never actually went on sale.
Now, finally in 2021, it’s being made available in Australia.
