LG's 42-inch C3 OLED has dropped below ?1000
Our top pick for gaming and films - and even works as a PC monitor.
After a bit of a long wait since their release a few months ago, we're finally experiencing some solid reductions on LG's latest line of OLEDs. Previously, they'd been limited to some of the larger offerings, but it's nice to see them extend into the compact (and dare we say 'desk-friendly') sets in the lineup. The 42-inch C3 OLED has dropped to under £1000 from Box at the moment, netting you a £400 discount on the TV's original retail price.
The C3 is more of a refinement than a reinvention over the C2, so it's not an essential pickup for C2 owners - but represents a big upgrade for those with older 2017-2020 LG OLEDs.
Compared to the C2, the C3 aims to provide some handy quality of life features to optimise your experience even further. With it being a new model, it comes with a new Alpha 9 Gen 6 processor that provides both a snappier user experience and is the root of all of these new internal smarts. It brings with it a new Object Enhancer, which enhances foreground characters and props in scenes. Then there's the inclusion of LG's AI Super Upscaling Pro, which upscales sub-4K footage while reducing any noise to make it sharper. The C3 also has a new feature called Quick Media Switching VRR, which prevents the momentary black screen you get when you switch inputs. All of these are small features, but handy ones.
Other than those improvements, it's much the same as last year's model. The 42-inch model C3 misses out on LG's Evo panel with its improved brightness, which was absent from the C2, too (it's only available on models 55 inches and up in size), but as an OLED, it provides true-to-life colours and unmatched contrast filled with the signature OLED inky blacks for a sublime image. We've had a C2 here at home for nearly a year now, and it's truly excellent for everything from films to TV series, and more.
This C3 also comes with a full complement of four HDMI 2.1 ports that are capable of 4K/120Hz output. This is especially handy for those of us with current gen games consoles, or even if you've got a living room PC, and you want to play games on the big screen. There is also a full selection of VRR support with HDMI Forum VRR, as well as both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync for PC users to ensure a tear and stutter-free gaming experience.
It's especially nice to see the pricing of LG's brand new OLEDs drop, and if you're in the market for a new, smaller TV that brings with it some sublime image quality and a responsove user experience, this is definitely a deal to consider.