LG LG H12S1D.NS1R / H12S1D.U12R air conditioner

Our verdict on the LG LG H12S1D.NS1R

LG Deluxe Pro is a long-awaited 2025 release and arguably the only series on the market where the manufacturer has dared to radically rethink the indoor unit’s design. Instead of the usual horizontal louver at the bottom of the front panel, there’s a narrow full-length “slot” grille — Soft Air. The idea is that in the comfort mode, airflow bypasses people rather than blowing straight down, gently spreading along the ceiling. The price for the 12-size model is around 99–100 thousand rubles.

Visually, the solution is impeccable: the slot, the long horizontal line, and the matte body read as the next generation of residential air conditioners. But a closer look reveals an important technical caveat: when Soft Air is enabled, the lower louver closes and air exits only through the slot — and the minimum temperature setpoint in this mode is locked at 24 °C. If the room is already cooler, the mode automatically drops into “passive”: the slot is closed, the louver works in the conventional way, and all that remains of the promised air-distribution design is the ad image. This “works only at ≥24 °C” condition is in the manual, but not in the marketing — and in a first test it becomes the main disappointment.

If you set aside expectations of a “revolution” and judge the unit as a premium 12-size LG, the picture changes. Wi‑Fi is factory-installed, and the LG ThinQ app works with servers in Russia. The app’s localization is patchy and sometimes reads like machine translation (instead of “cooling” — “prokholodnym”, instead of “turbo” — “strong wind”), but it doesn’t break control. There’s a manual power button on the body, and a fine filter is included — it mounts on a dedicated latch at the top, and replacing it will require a step ladder.

By today’s standards the remote is deliberately basic and has no backlight — LG is betting the primary interaction will be through the app. There are five true fan speeds with smooth transitions; at maximum speed the sound remains pleasant, with no rattling.

In terms of noise, at the standard first speed with the louver open the unit measured 33 dB — an average figure, but with a noticeable mechanical fan background. In Soft Air at ≥24 °C — 29,5 dB; under the conditions where the manufacturer allows this mode, the air conditioner really is very quiet. Lab variac stress test: LG runs both 150 V and 100 V input without compressor cutouts — electrically, it’s unambiguously premium.

The indoor heat exchanger is the main technical surprise. 8 mm copper (rare in residential units, typically 5–7 mm), a full two-row coil with no gaps, 14 return bends with a 68 cm loop length. By our measurement method, the copper surface area is 0,48 m². That’s twice our seasonal average, putting the engineering in the same league as expensive Japanese units. The fins are thin and densely packed; the design is literally “stuffed with copper.”

The outdoor unit follows the same philosophy. The compressor is LG’s own (LG doesn’t use GMCC like most Chinese makers) with index 128 for the 12-size model; an EEV is present; insulation is double-layer. The fan motor is also LG Electronics’ own with speed control. The copper surface area of the outdoor heat exchanger is 0,70 m². That’s a very high figure, especially given the unit runs on modern R32 refrigerant. A dual heat exchanger, no omissions, thick copper throughout.

In operation the outdoor unit is nearly inaudible — low motor RPM plus a well-fitted cabinet. Vibration is 0,13; for a 12-size model that’s above average.

Bottom line on LG Deluxe Pro: an engineering-forward flagship where the marketing message partially diverges from how the headline feature works in real life. Strengths: record copper area in both units (0,48 + 0,70 m²), in-house LG compressor and motor, EEV, built-in Wi‑Fi with the ThinQ app, R32 refrigerant, 20 m line length, stable operation at 100 V, low vibration, and an original indoor-unit design. Weak points: the key Soft Air feature works only at a set temperature of ≥24 °C (noted in the manual, omitted in marketing), a modest non-backlit remote, awkward app translation, fine-filter replacement only from a step ladder, and 33 dB noise in the standard mode (for a flagship, you’d want lower). Recommended as a full replacement for an older premium inverter for those willing to learn the modes and rely on app-based control.