LG — maker of some of the best OLED TVs on the market — has officially launched its newest OLED lineup for 2026. The LG C6 is the brand's mid-range model, and it comes with pedigree. The C Series has been a perennial best TV-contender for several years, and it's easy to see why. Like the C Series OLEDs that came before it, the C6 blends incredible performance with a relatively reasonable price tag — a blend that results in mass appeal.

The LG B6 is the brand's entry-level OLED. Like previous iterations of the B Series, the LG B6 offers a more modest performance profile in exchange for a much lower price than its C-Series sibling. I've spent a ton of time with both of these OLEDs, and as we do with all TVs we review, we've tested both extensively. Here's how their performance, features and price compare.

LG C6 vs LG B6: Specs compared

First, let's talk about size availability. The C6 is available in 42-, 48-, 55- and 65-inch options. There are also 77- and 83-inch versions, but these sizes are technically classified as an altogether different model: the LG C6H.

We haven't tested the C6H yet, but LG promises better performance on these sets than what you'll see on the smaller-sized C6 screens, since they arrive with LG Display's RGB Tandem OLED panel, which typically delivers better brightness and color volume than traditional WOLED panels.

For the B6, available size options are a complicated matter, too. It's readily available at retailers in just three sizes: 65, 77 and 83 inches. LG lists a 48-inch version of the B6 on its website, but you might have a difficult time tracking it down. I expect a 55-inch version of the B6 to be made available soon, but at the time of publishing, it's missing in action.

So, if you want a 77- or 83-inch C6, you'll technically have to buy the C6H. Alternatively, if you're considering a 48- or 55-inch B6, you'll have to wait for those sets to be made available.

In almost every other way that will matter to most people, the C6 and B6's spec sheets are the same. Both TVs offer the same selection of enhanced HDR formats (including Dolby Vision). Both arrive with the same version of LG's webOS streaming platform and support HDMI 2.1 across all four primary inputs.

Neither offers ATSC 3.0 support (which allows over-the-air broadcasts to be piped-in at native-4K resolution), and while it's not an easy feature to come by in 2026, its absence is nevertheless a bummer.

Each of these OLEDs can take advantage of the highest 4K spec available on current-gen consoles (4K/120Hz), but only the C6 is capable of pushing that to 4K/165Hz when VRR is enabled and a gaming rig is linked up. It's a close finish, but the C6 features a better spec sheet.

Winner: LG C6

LG C6 vs LG B6: Design

The C6 (seen above) follows the design approach of its predecessor (the LG C5), but that's good news for folks who dig sleek, sophisticated TV design. Its downward-slanting slab of a stand keeps the TV's screen relatively close to the surface beneath it. And, while it's rare to peek at the back of a TV, I appreciate the marble-like finish on the back of the C6's panel.

If you're planning to wall-mount the C6, take note: The TV's hardware is housed in a chassis that sticks out of the C6's midsection. This means that the TV's wafer-thin screen won't be flush against the wall.

The B6 (seen above) will also protrude from the wall a bit, should you decide to mount it. But, according to my measurements, the B6 is almost exactly as narrow as the C6 at the 65-inch size point, so you're dealing with a similarly sized chassis.

The B6 is also rocking a slate-like visual texture along the back of its panel, but you'll find that the look and feel of the C6's materials are marginally more premium-seeming than that of the B6.

Unlike the C6, the B6's stand consists of a pair of slim, angular feet that sit close to the corners of the screen. They're sturdy enough so as not to introduce much wobble, but the wide-set placement of the feet might be tough to accommodate if you've got a narrow credenza or media console — especially at larger size points.

Both TVs arrive with a similar version of of LG's remote control. It features the same motion-activated, Wii-like controls you'll find on older versions of the Magic Remote, but the updated design is slimmer and offers fewer buttons.

Despite its entry-level status, the B6 is a sleek customer. The C6's design is just a touch more put together.

Winner: LG C6

LG C6 vs LG B6: Performance

Before we dive into which of these TVs is the better performer, let's compare their test results. (Both TVs were in their respective Filmmaker picture mode when these tests were taken.)

Naturally, these TVs both deliver the key features that OLED TVs are known for: perfect black levels with pixel-level contrast control.

With OLED technology at work, both the C6 and B6 offer an deep, detail-rich image that looks fantastic across all content types and downright cinematic during 4K/HDR content. The key difference between their picture comes down to brightness and color.

The mid-range C6 taps LG's OLED evo technology, a mix of hardware- and software-related enhancements that allows for a brighter image (particularly in highlight detail), as well as richer color (especially during HDR-mastered movies and shows).

You'll notice the C6's added brightness most when viewing the glint of a sword, dapples of sunlight across the ocean's surface or whenever tiny pools of bright light take over a cluster of pixels. The pixel-level contrast control allows for realistic highlights on both OLEDs, but on the C6, these details are much more impactful in HDR.

The C6 is also a touch brighter than the B6 across the entire picture, but the difference in full-field brightness isn't as significant as the gap between these TVs' peak HDR highlight brightness.

Colors are well-saturated and accurately dialed-in on both of these TVs' most-accurate picture mode. However, the C6's added brightness allows it to saturate more color, and this is especially impactful during HDR-mastered content.

What we're left with is a pair of high-performance TVs, with the pricier of the two being the better option for people chasing as much brightness as possible before stepping up into the flagship-level class.

The B6 produces a phenomenal picture, but there's no denying that the C6's picture is often more cinematic, and better overall for bright-room viewing. It's up to you to determine whether that jump in quality warrants the added price.

Winner: LG C6

LG C6 vs B6: Smart platform and features

Both the C6 and the B6 come with the newest version of LG's webOS ready to go right out of the box. It's a similar experience to last-year's version of webOS, but LG has built in some new, AI-based features. My colleague Dylan Haas, who reviewed the C6, referred to these AI features as "meaningless" if you don't already incorporate AI into your daily life, and I'm inclined to agree.

As far as built-in smart platform software goes, webOS isn't one of my top picks. I find its layout to be visually confusing and navigation to be somewhat sluggish. However, it's easy enough to pick up and use that most folks will see no problem using it as their daily driver.

As far as gaming features go, the C6 and B6 are quite similar. Each offers HDMI 2.1-compatibility across all four inputs (which means you don't have to spend time thinking about which port any given device should use), but as mentioned, only the C6 supports 4K games above 120Hz.

Technically speaking, the C6 offers more in the way of features. But, for the vast majority of people, these sets are basically the same when it comes to the software experience and added features.

Winner: Draw

LG C6 vs B6: Verdict

Relative to one another, the C6 and B6 score similarly in the design and features category, with their overall user experience being remarkably similar. When we take a closer look at specs and picture quality, we start to get a better sense of how these sets diverge.

The C6 is a brighter, more-colorful TV that will showcase HDR content better than the B6. It'll also hold up slightly better during daytime viewing. This is especially true for the souped-up, 77- and 83-inch versions of the C6H.

At the time of publishing, the C6 is quite pricey. The 65-inch LG C6 is $2,699 at Best Buy, and while that number will almost certainly tumble as the year goes on, it's still relatively high for a mid-range TV.

Saving money on the B6 might be a good move if all you're looking for is a brand-new OLED TV. The 65-inch LG B6 is $1,899 at Best Buy right now, which is substantially cheaper than the C6. That said, if you're after a 55-inch screen, you'll have to wait. More sizes options for the B6 are presumably still on the way, but for now the selection is rather limited.

More from Tom's Guide

• LG C6 OLED TV review
• LG B6 OLED TV review
• The RAM crisis came for computers first and now it's coming for TVs — here's why I recommend upgrading while you still can

For the last few years, a 240Hz refresh rate has been the standard for the best gaming monitors that promise buttery smooth performance. However, with Computex 2026 kicking off in Taipei this week, monitor manufacturers are cranking the Hz to the limit.

Our friends at Tom's Hardware reported that Acer is boosting its Predator gaming monitor up to 1,000Hz. And Samsung is expected to reveal 32-inch QD-OLED that offers 360Hz at 4K and 680Hz at 1080p, per PCWorld.

But unless you're a professional FPS gamer, you may not need those super speeds. Recently, my colleague Tony Polanco got a chance to check out LG's "world's first" 1,000Hz gaming monitor.

"All the slides moved very smoothly at 240Hz and up. I’m sure a eagle-eyed esports player could tell the difference between 1,000Hz and 720Hz, but I sure couldn’t," Tony wrote of the experience.

Tony also recently went eyes-on with Samsung's new 6K gaming monitor saying it "can offer a truly rich viewing experience."

One nice thing about these new super monitors is that it makes slightly older, but still quality monitors a bit cheaper. I've picked out four that you can pick up right now for under $1,000 and under $500 that still over 240Hz refresh rates and optimal performance.

240Hz OLED gaming under $500

If you're looking to save some money, then the HP HyperX OMEN QD-OLED and Alienware's new AW2726DM are both newer monitors released this year the won't break the bank. Neither monitor will blow you away with design or the best specs but they perform mighty well at their price point and tick all the right boxes.

Just under $1,000

These next two monitors are both bigger than the sub-$500 ones we looked at but also more expensive. However, Samsung's 6k monitor is expected to launch around $1,600 and the LG 1,000Hz beast is expected to be well north of $1,000 when it releases.

At launch both the Lenovo Legion Pro 34WD-10 OLED and LG UltraGear 45GX90SA had equally sky-high prices. However, they're both about a year old now and between sales and a natural price drop have reached friendlier waters.

The Lenovo has seen the biggest drop as it launched closer to $1,200 but is now only $879 on Amazon.

"The Legion Pro 34WD-10 is an excellent performer. The exquisite QHD OLED panel has enhanced every aspect of my gameplay, from immersion to performance. And having the space of the ultra-wide aspect ratio has been incredibly useful for operating multiple windows when working," my colleague Peter Wolinski said in his hands-on testing.

Meanwhile, the LG UltraGear is so good that we described as both a good gaming monitor and an impressively feature OLED TV. this set can pull some true double duty if you need. Problem is it launched with a massive $1,700 price tag. Fortunately, it's nearly halff off now.

If you're in the market for a new gaming monitor don't wait for spec monsters that you don't actually need. Try out any of these suggested monitors and your eyes will be in for a treat and a super smooth performance.

More from Tom's Guide

• The 6 best curved monitors of 2026, tested and rated
• I ditched my dual-monitor setup for a single 40-inch ultrawide — and two screens aren’t better than one
• I added a portable monitor next to my main display and this inexpensive upgrade is a game changer

When I reviewed the LG C6 OLED back in April, one of my main gripes with it was that, while a brilliant TV in its own right, it was a very marginal improvement over the previous year’s C5 model. So marginal that I recommended waiting for a price drop, or even buying an LG C5 over a C6 to save some dough and get a very similar TV out of the deal.

LG’s most recent addition to their B Series OLEDs, the B6, does not have that same problem.The company’s latest mid-range OLED is a noticeable improvement over its predecessor, and it stacks up quite well against its more powerful (and expensive) sibling in the C6. In fact, it even performs better in one key category over the C6, which I’ll get to later.

The B6 isn’t the best TV of 2026 — it still bears some of the same issues I had with the C6, like an unimpressive speaker system and some AI features that don’t necessarily improve the experience. But at this price, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better-looking OLED with as many features as the LG B6 brings to the table.

LG B6 OLED TV review: Price and release date

The B6 is a mid-budget option from LG’s 2026 lineup of OLED TVs. It was released on March 18, 2026, and is currently available at participating retailers.

Below is a breakdown of the available sizes and pricing (we reviewed the 65-inch model):

• LG B6 OLED (65-inch): $1,999
• LG B6 OLED (77-inch): $2,799
• LG B6 OLED (83-inch): $4,499

If you want to upgrade from the B6, the next step up would be LG’s C6 OLED, which comes in at $2,699 for the 65-inch model and reaches up to $5,299 for the 83-inch C6H model. The B Series is definitely the most budget-friendly of the brand’s offerings, though. So if you’re looking for LG’s most accessible OLED option, you’ve found it.

LG B6 OLED TV review: Design

The LG B6 OLED shares a lot of the same DNA as the C6 in terms of design: It has the same thin,1.8-inch profile, as well as that faux-marble look that LG TVs have become synonymous with. The finish did feel a bit less sturdy than the C6’s — that TV had a back panel that was flat and felt more durable to the touch — but it looks really slick and will fit seamlessly into any living room, regardless of personal style.

One thing that the B6 unfortunately doesn’t share with the C6, though, is the brushed metal central pedestal stand that I loved on the C6. Instead, the B6 uses a dual-leg setup, which feels more flimsy and takes up a lot more room on a media console.

It’s not a dealbreaker, but I wish that this was something that carried over from the C Series. Of course, you can also mount the TV if the dual legs aren't for you.

LG B6 OLED TV review: Ports

The LG B6 comes stock with the same suite of ports as the C6: four HDMI 2.1 ports (one of them eARC-compatible), two USB-A ports, and an Ethernet connection in case you want to plug in for better internet speeds. There’s also an optical digital audio out port, 3.5mm headphone jack, serial port, and antenna/cable input, as well as support for Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.3.

Overall, it’s a nice variety of ports and should cover most, if not all of your needs. Next time around, though, I would love to see LG take notes from the Hisense UR9 RGB Mini-LED TV and include a USB-C DisplayPort. Hisense has officially spoiled me on that front, and I think it should become more standardized as more and more tech makes the switch to USB-C.

How we test TVs

We follow a standard testing protocol for every TV we review at Tom’s Guide. Our benchmarks include a series of technical and subjective tests designed to rate the set’s performance.

For our technical tests, we set the TV to Filmmaker Mode (usually the most accurate out of the box) and take measurements using a Jeti spectraval 1501-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K-SIX-G Metal pattern generator, and Portrait Displays’s Calman TV-calibration software. We also use a Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester for determining the TV’s gaming prowess.

Subjective tests vary based on the reviewer but usually include anecdotes from a diverse selection of movies, TV shows, and other content reflecting the types of things you may actually want to watch on the TV. For a more detailed look at what we do and how we do it, check out our “How we test TVs” page.

LG B6 OLED TV review: Performance

During my time with the LG B6 OLED, I watched a variety of films, TV shows, and YouTube videos to get an idea of how it would perform during daily use. I also played a few PS5 titles to judge its gaming performance and features.

Of course, my experience with the B6 was never going to be as eye-popping as the one I had with the C6. The C6 is much brighter (which I’ll talk about in the “test results” section below), especially in HDR mode, but that’s to be expected when comparing a TV to its upgrade pick. So with tempered expectations, I booted the TV up, and I was still very impressed with how great the B6 looked.

What the B6 doesn’t have in brightness, it makes up for in color. Watching “Send Help” was a delight on this TV, from the bright and multicolored sands of the beach, to the lush greens of the island’s flora, to the deep reds of fake movie blood. Both “Blade Runner 2049” and “The Boys” looked similarly great, although the lack of brightness was definitely felt in darker scenes. Still, those colors certainly popped.

I also watched an LG 4K demo video on YouTube, which made a big impression. The depth of color in person was stunning, and the deep blacks within each scene looked just as good as I remember them looking on the C6.

The TV has a variety of picture presets, like Vivid and Filmmaker modes. All of them have their uses, but my preferred mode, Filmmaker, looked the best to me. However, this mode definitely highlights the B6’s brightness struggles compared to the C6, and is best viewed in a dark room. For daytime viewing, I would stick to Standard or Vivid mode for the best balance of brightness and color.

Like the C6, the B6 really excels in the gaming department. The TV’s Game Optimizer mode levels up whatever you’re playing by cutting down on input lag and boosting FPS on both console (4K at 120Hz) and PC, and it works to great effect.

During my review period, I used the Game Optimizer to play Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and was able to achieve a consistent 120 frames per second, even in the game’s performance ray tracing mode. With VRR turned on, the game felt even better and had zero noticeable screen tearing or input lag. Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight also looked amazing, and ran at a smooth 60 frames throughout gameplay (there was no 120Hz mode available in this game). No matter what I was playing, the B6 was fast, responsive, and full of detail. LG, in my opinion, continues to be the standard-bearer for gaming TVs.

LG B6 OLED TV review: Test results

From our test results, you can see that the LG B6 performs better than the LG B5 and Samsung QN90F when it comes to SDR brightness at 253 nits. But, it’s outmatched when put against the C6 and its max brightness of 343 nits.

So yes, it’s not as bright as the C6, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. When you look at our Delta-E test results, which is how we measure a TV’s color accuracy (the lower the number, the better), the B6’s 10.58 actually beats the C6’s 11.74. So if you’re not a frequent watcher of 4K/HDR content, you’re going to have a slightly better experience with the B6 right out of the box than you would with the C6.

As expected, in the HDR brightness category, the B6’s max of 695 nits is easily beaten by both the C6 (1,251 nits) and Samsung QN90F (2,109 nits), but still outperforms its predecessor’s 606 nits. So be sure to consider what kinds of content you’ll watch the most on your TV — if you usually stick with SDR, you’re not giving up much by going with the B6 over the C6.

When it comes to gaming, the B6 performs just as good as the C6 in SDR, and has even less input latency (8.9ms) than the C6 (9.1ms) when boosted by the TV’s Game Optimizer mode.

LG B6 OLED TV review: Audio

The LG B6’s speaker setup is unfortunately one of the weakest aspects of the TV. Like most TVs, the B6’s speakers shoot straight back into the wall, which swallows up a lot of detail and volume. It wasn’t too different from the audio experience I had with the C6, but these speakers did sound a little bit more tinny than its counterpart.

Like I say in most of my TV reviews, I think that nine times out of ten, you’ll be better off hooking your TV up with one of the best soundbars to balance out your audio setup. Thank me later.

The B6 does have some AI-enhanced audio features, but I’m really torn on them. There’s a speech mode that does actually assist you in hearing line reads that are buried by poor sound mixing, but the tradeoff is that it makes the low and mid tones sound pretty bad, and washes out all the other noise in a given scene. Unless I seriously needed to hear a piece of dialogue that I was having trouble picking up on, I don’t think I would use this feature all that much.

LG B6 OLED TV review: Interface and apps

Like the LG C6, the B6 also uses webOS 26 as its smart platform, and it was an enjoyable experience throughout. If you’ve used webOS 25, you won’t find too many changes that aren’t AI-centric here, but I still think the layout of the TV’s menus and home screen are really nice. Overall performance of the OS is stellar, too, and I never ran into any bugs like I often do with Samsung’s Tizen OS. Paired with LG’s Magic Remote, the B6’s interface is smooth, fast, and intuitive.

Like I mentioned above, webOS 26 leans much harder into AI features than webOS 25 did, employing Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot to give you more personalized content recommendations. I didn’t really get to spend enough time with the TV to build an algorithm for myself and benefit from those personalized recommendations, but if it’s anything like the C6, they’ll work just fine. AI features aren’t something I personally engage with often, but if you make use of it in your daily life, you’ll probably get some good mileage out of this stuff over time.

LG B6 OLED TV review: Remote

LG’s updated Magic Remote impressed me during my time with the LG C6, and the experience was no different with the B6. In addition to regular buttons, the remote implements a motion-sensing point-and-click function that makes navigation way easier when there are a lot of on-screen options. It felt like I was using a Nintendo Wii controller, but in the best way. The scroll wheel in the center of the remote is also nice to have, and helps you parse through streaming app libraries much faster.

You’ll also find dedicated app buttons for a few popular streaming services, as well as buttons for tweaking settings and inputs. The Magic Remote also features a button that pulls up the TV’s AI functions like speech and picture enhancements. As with the C6, I really like the customizable heart button at the top of the remote that you can program to do whatever you want, from specific apps to actual TV functions. You can even assign the mute function to it, which you may have to because the remote doesn’t have a dedicated mute button. I personally don’t love that, but at least there’s a workaround.

LG B6 OLED TV review: Verdict

At this price, the LG B6 is one of the best OLED TVs you can find. It’s in great company with the C6, boasting even better color accuracy and gaming performance, even though it’s not as bright. Unlike the C6, though, the B6 is a much bigger improvement over its previous model, and not for nothing, it's $800 cheaper.

At the end of the day, whether you upgrade or not, you’re going to get a TV that looks beautiful both in terms of on-screen performance and physical design. And if you’re willing to be patient, you’ll most likely be able to score an even better deal on a B6 OLED later this year.

LG Sound Suite — a new blend of LG audio hardware and Dolby FlexConnect software — blew me away at CES when I saw it in early January. The technology, though still in its infancy, is going to change the way we think about surround sound as it allows you to place speakers anywhere in your room and get calibrated spatial audio sound tuned to wherever you want to sit.

Part and parcel of the technology is the LG Sound Suite H7 Soundbar. Technically, it’s possible to run the Sound Suite software through an LG C5, G5 OLED or one of LG’s new 2026 TVs, but this soundbar enables any TV with an eARC port to partake in FlexConnect’s … well, flexibility.

As the brains behind the brawn of LG’s new platform, the H7 has a lot to offer. Unfortunately, this best soundbar competitor itself isn’t quite as versatile as the technology driving it. Here’s why.

LG Sound Suite H7 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A Dolby Atmos soundbar that can connect wirelessly to up to four FlexConnect speakers and a subwoofer
• Who is it for? Anyone looking for an alternative to Sonos or Samsung’s all-in-one audio boxes
• What does it cost? $999 / £899
• What do we like? The FlexConnect integration enables you to set up surround speakers anywhere in your room
• What don’t we like? The aforementioned surround speakers don’t come in the box and will set you back an additional $249 apiece

LG Sound Suite H7 review: Price and release date

The LG Sound Suite H7 is one of those rare products that gets announced at CES in early January and then becomes available to buy shortly after the show ends; it went on sale in mid-January 2026 at a launch price of $999 at Best Buy and Amazon.

Of course, if you only buy the soundbar, you’re not really getting Sound Suite’s full functionality — you’ll at least need a few of the Sound Suite M5 or M7 Speakers to go with it. Those will set you back an additional $249 or $399, respectively. Finally, if you want to add a subwoofer to the mix, you’re looking at an additional $599 for the Sound Suite W7 sub.

If you went all-in on a full Sound Suite system, you’re looking at around $3,200 — much more than it would cost for a comparable Dolby Atmos system if you build it piecemeal.

This is similar, in some ways, to how a Sonos system works. You’d start by buying the Sonos Arc Ultra for close to $1,000, then you’d tack on a Sonos Sub Mini ($399), a pair of Sonos Era 300 ($379 apiece) or both. You’ll get a more robust sound that way, but you can see where LG got its Sound Suite pricing model from.

Your other option for a similar setup would be the Samsung HW-Q990F, an 11.1.4 system-in-a-box that includes a subwoofer and two satellite speakers for $1,800. This is the cheaper option, but will offer less flexibility in speaker placement than LG’s new Sound Suite system.

LG Sound Suite H7 review: Design and controls

LG designed the Sound Suite H7 as a 9.1.6-channel soundbar; it’s impressive that LG managed to cram 12 speakers and eight passive radiators into the soundbar’s 47.2 x 2.5 x 5.6 inch chassis. There’s not enough room between those speakers to truly feel like distinct channels — an issue I’ll cover more when we talk about its performance — but it certainly packs a punch.

Spin it around to the backside and you’ll see the port…er, ports, technically because there are two of them. Only two of them. There’s the HDMI-In port that you’ll connect via a cable to the TV and a USB 3.0 port that can be used to host local media.

There are no other ports here. No optical audio (likely omitted because Dolby Atmos requires an eARC connection) or HDMI passthrough ports. The latter is unfortunate, as it means you’re going to lose a port on your TV without any form of recompense and it’s something we see often on rival soundbars.

For better and worse, every connection besides the TV is wireless. The satellite speakers and subwoofer connect cable-free, and music playback comes courtesy of AirPlay 2 and Google Chromecast. There's even Bluetooth for more old-school wireless connections. Unfortunately, wireless connectivity on board the H7 isn't always the most stable, which creates issues.

LG Sound Suite H7 review: Features

The reason you’d buy an LG Sound Suite speaker instead of, say, something from Sonos or Samsung, is for its Dolby FlexConnect features. The ability to place speakers anywhere in the room and have them play perfectly attuned spatial audio never fails to impress me.

Of course, even better than simply having a room that’s set up for spatial audio is having a central “sweet spot” where you get the best sound possible. LG has enabled this through a technology it’s calling Sound Follow, and it’s like having a calibrator on-call 24/7. Sitting in the sweet spot had audible advantages to sitting on the periphery of the system, and became a spot everyone in the house would race towards when we sat down to watch a movie.

When it comes to wireless playback, the H7 supports Bluetooth connectivity alongside Apple AirPlay2 and Google Cast. If you want to get really fancy, there’s also Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect supported right out of the box as well.

Of course, LG’s ThinQ app is the bridge between you and the soundbar. This is the place you’ll go to get the speakers connected to your Wi-Fi network and, eventually, paired together. There’s not a lot of functionality in the app, but it’s here you’ll find the all-important Sound Follow feature. If you ever need to change the Wi-Fi settings, you’ll come back to the app to do that, but otherwise I didn’t find myself using it all that often.

LG Sound Suite H7 review: Sound quality

As a standalone soundbar, I wasn’t wildly impressed with the H7 — it’s loud but not well-rounded. But pairing it up with the M7 speakers was a totally different experience.

My biggest issue with multi-channel performance — and this applied whether I was watching a movie or listening to music — is that the speakers would sometimes drop the connection. Each speaker requires its own internet connection, and that can lead to just one of them dropping out. They’d usually re-connect within a few seconds, but it wasn’t the best user experience.

Movies

To see how it fared with movies, I loaded up the Dolby Atmos-enabled “Inside Out 2” on Disney Plus. This film is not only a visual treat — and absolutely heartwarming — but it’s got a great audio track that’s perfect for speaker testing.

I noticed right away that, on its own, the H7 couldn’t convey convincing Dolby Atmos. That’s not uncommon on unibody soundbars, but it was slightly more painful given the price. Dialogue was mixed, with some scenes having extremely easy to hear conversations, while other scenes required me to turn up the volume to hear what was being said.

Without a subwoofer, I didn’t get a lot of low-end extension, but again, this isn’t uncommon for a unibody soundbar. Still, musical swells in the movie’s main theme and certain action sequences (pretty much anytime there was hockey involved) all sounded great.

Music

As with movie soundtracks, bass frequencies can get lost while listening to standard two-channel albums — but thankfully, the soundstage is fairly wide thanks to those 12 speakers and eight passive radiators. Placing instruments in their exact locations was a struggle, but live albums like David Gilmour’s “Live at Pompeii” felt truly immersive. This is the first time I’ve heard a live album on a soundbar system and walked away impressed.

Studio albums like The Format’s new “Boycott Heaven” also leaned into the soundbar’s strengths — Nate Ruess’ impressive vocal range sounded excellent across the board.

Overall, the H7’s performance is a lot like Ruess’ former band — exciting and dynamic, but just missing that special something that we’ve seen in the Sonos Arc Ultra.

LG Sound Suite H7 review: Verdict

The LG Sound Suite H7 is the start of something big. I’m still genuinely amazed by Dolby Atmos FlexConnect and LG’s implementation of the technology, despite the connectivity issues I faced. This is the first time I’ve ever wanted to use a soundbar for a live album instead of my stereo speakers. That’s a massive achievement.

Problematically, however, the soundbar is a bit rich. At a lower price or in a total package that includes all the speakers and a subwoofer for under $1,800, the H7 and its Sound Suite stablemates would be an easier recommendation. But the fact that you can get a whole surround system in the form of the Samsung HW-Q990F for a fraction of the cost makes it a lukewarm deal in a hotbed of competition.

Once it drops down in price, I’ll be more forgiving of its shortcomings and I’m very much looking forward to seeing FlexConnect blossom in the next few years.

LG’s OLED TVs are some of the most popular and best TVs on the market. However, while many of us would love to have the flagship LG G6 or W6 Wallpaper OLED on our walls, their starting prices of $3,299 and $5,499 make them more of a pipe dream.

That’s why I often recommend the LG C6 and its more affordable little brother, the LG B6 OLED. The latter starts at just $1,999 for a 65-inch screen and, according to our recently conducted test results, is better than its stablemates in one key area.

Here’s what we found out when we ran the set through our test lab.

LG B6 vs C6 OLED test results

*Results measured in a 10% window in Standard mode.

Where the B6 is better than the C6 OLED

Let’s get the obvious facts out of the way first — the LG C6 OLED is brighter, more colorful and, when it comes to 4K/HDR content, a lot more color accurate than the B6 OLED.

But if you’re someone who doesn’t watch a lot of 4K/HDR content and spend most of your time watching cable TV that’s still transmitted in HD/SDR, the B6 OLED is going to offer a slightly better color accuracy right out of the box.

Color accuracy is denoted by that Delta-E score up above and the lower the score is, the more accurate the colors are. In Standard mode, we measured the LG C6 OLED’s Delta-E at a relatively high 11.7387; the LG B6 we tested came in at a noticeably lower 10.5796.

If you really care about color accuracy, however, you’ll probably want to put these TVs into their respective Filmmaker modes to better match what the director intended when they finished color grading. In this mode, the LG B6 also squeaks out a win (1.0362 vs 1.617 on the C6), but it’s worth noting that any difference in a Delta-E under 3 is nearly impossible to distinguish with the naked eye.

If I lost you along the way, the main takeaway from our testing is that the B6 is — surprisingly — more accurate with colors in HD/SDR shows and movies.

HDR, on the other hand, is a different story…

Here’s why you still might want to buy a C6 OLED instead

Of course, as you can see from the chart above, the B6 isn’t better than the C6 in every category — in fact, in most categories the C6 is still the better overall TV.

As our tests prove out, the C6 has a wider color gamut and it’s brighter across the board.

That’s going to matter for folks who don’t have a perfectly light-controlled dark room. The added brightness will also make specular highlights (like bursts of gunfire or explosions) pop a lot more compared to the dimmer B6 model.

I’d hazard a guess and say that the C6 is going to do a better job upscaling video from HD to 4K and dealing with color banding, too, thanks to its higher-end processor.

Last but not least, the 65-inch LG C6 OLED is currently on sale for the same price as the 65-inch B6 OLED. That's reason enough to go for the more advanced C6 model.

Give it a few months and the LG B6 OLED will settle into a lower price (usually that's around Black Friday and Cyber Monday).

If 65 inches is too much screen, keep an eye out for the inevitable 55-inch B6 that will likely go on sale later this year and, if last year's B5 OLED is any indication, an even-smaller, Best Buy exclusive 48-inch model . In previous years, these OLED TVs were on sale for under $700, so they're an incredible value.

More from Tom's Guide

• Matte vs glossy OLED TV screens: What should you buy in 2026?
• In the market for an OLED? Here’s my expert guide on shopping for an LG TV in 2026
• We just went hands on with the LG Wallpaper OLED TV — and it's amazingly thin, wireless and actually affordable

The C6 OLED is LG's newest, mid-range OLED for 2026. It's the latest in a long line of popular, award-winning OLEDs that offer incredible picture quality and an array of extra features for less than the cost of a higher-end OLED TV.

The Hisense UR9 is the brand's first flagship-level RGB LED TV. It leverages an all-new type of TV technology known as RGB LED, the advantages of which are high brightness and better color volume than run-of-the-mill Mini-LED TVs.

One of them offers mid-range-level OLED performance while the other — Hisense's top-shelf TV for 2026 — promises bright, eye-popping color. Now's an especially interesting time to be deciding between these two TVs, as the Hisense UR9 was just heavily discounted almost immediately after making its debut. Here's how the C6 and UR9 compare — from performance to features and price.

LG C6 vs Hisense UR9: specs compared

First, let's chat about the C6's size availability. In addition to the sizes listed above, the C6 is also available in 77- and 83-inch versions. However, these sizes are classified as an altogether different model: the LG C6H. This means if you're considering a 77- or 83-inch C6, you'll technically have to spring for the C6H OLED.

While haven't tested the C6H in our labs yet, LG promises better performance on these sets as they're equipped with LG Display's newest, fanciest RGB Tandem OLED. The 42- to 65-inch versions of the C6, on the other hand, leverage a standard WOLED display. It's still a fantastic set of hardware, but it's worth knowing the difference between the two panel types.

The UR9, meanwhile, is currently only available in 65-, 75- and 85-inch sizes. There's a gigantic, 100-inch version of the TV on its way soon, but at the time of publishing, this version isn't available to purchase yet.

Although all of the main ports on both the C6 and UR9 are of the high-bandwidth, HDMI 2.1 variety, the UR9 is limited to three HDMI inputs while the C6 carries the standard set of four. The UR9 makes up for this somewhat with an added USB-C port, but keep this in mind if you own several HDMI-compatible devices.

Both TVs support Dolby Vision, but like most Hisense TVs, the UR9 also supports the royalty-free format, HDR10+. Of the two, Dolby Vision is more widely available among streaming platforms and physical media.

Like all LG OLEDs, the C6 does not support ATSC 3.0 support. The UR9, on the other hand, does include this feature. It allows over-the-air broadcasts to be received in their native 4K resolution. Such ultra-high definition broadcasts are still relatively rare, but it's nevertheless a nice feature to have for future-proofing purposes.

Both TVs bring a lot to the table in terms of specs, so let's call this one a tie.

Winner: Tie

LG C6 vs Hisense UR9: design

The C6 (seen above) features a similar design to its predecessor, the LG C5, but given its elegant look, that's not necessarily a bad thing. I especially dig the marble-like finish on the back of the TV.

The C6's downward-slanting, wedge-shaped stand attaches itself to the back of the panel in a sturdy fashion. Here's something important to keep in mind: The stand's shape keeps the C6's screen relatively close to whatever surface it's sitting on, so people with exceptionally tall soundbars should make sure in advance that it won't obstruct the screen.

Like many of LG's C Series OLED TVs that came before it, the C6's panel is among the thinnest you'll find on shelves. The TV's chassis widens out around the middle of the screen, but even with the added bulk, the TV is narrower than many of the slimmest Mini-LED TVs.

If the light, sleek-looking C6 practically floats into your home, the UR9 (seen above) may as well drop an anchor. It's not an overly thick TV, to be clear, but it has a heavier exterior. It's as though the UR9 is working overtime to contain the power within its panel.

It, too, sits atop a centered, pedestal-style stand, but the plate at its base is much more accommodating for soundbar placement than the C6's configuration. That convenience is the best thing I can highlight about the UR9's overall design, as I do find it to be utilitarian to a fault.

Winner: LG C6

LG C6 vs Hisense UR9: performance

Before we dive into which of these TVs is the better performer, let's compare their test results. (Both TVs were in their respective Filmmaker picture modes when these tests were taken.)

The standout detail here is the gulf between the brightness of both sets. Even in garden-variety, non-HDR content (like cable TV or most streaming shows), the UR9 is wildly bright. For HDR content, this serves as a feather in the UR9's cap. For SDR content, you might its 2,000+ nits of brightness to be too much. Nevertheless, this makes the UR9 a more viable option for people with a sun-drenched living space.

The UR9 put up some of the best color volume-related test results I've ever seen. It covers around 93% of the BT.2020 color space, which is higher than even most quantum dot-enhanced OLED TVs.

This is an impressive figure, no doubt, but according to my colleague Dylan Haas (who recently reviewed the UR9), the punchy palette doesn't always quite translate to real-world content. With color volume being the bread and butter of an RGB LED TV, some might find this disappointing.

The C6 is significantly dimmer than the UR9, but it's got a serious trick up its sleeve: OLED display technology. OLEDs are capable of perfect black levels and pixel-level dimming, which has a hugely positive impact on picture quality. Its ability to produce perfect black levels means its contrast is through the roof.

Since specular highlights can be controlled with surgical precision, HDR highlights on the C6 tend to stand out more. 1,400 nits of highlight brightness is way less than the UR9's 3,400-nit benchmark, but the C6's perceptible contrast carries its picture further. This allows for a deeper, more-detail-rich presentation, too.

The C6's picture is better tuned out of the box, too. In Filmmaker mode, the Hisense UR9 manages to put up a Delta-E of below 3 (widely considered the threshold for color error perceptibility), but the C6 is incredibly accurate in LG's Filmmaker mode — more so than the UR9. That, combined with its top-notch contrast control, leads to a more refined presentation.

In a side-by-side comparison, you'll almost certainly clock the UR9's bolder, more-voluminous color. It will surely be the brighter of the two pictures, too. But contrast is the first thing our eyes notice when assessing an image, and Hisense's RGB LED TV still falls short of the C6 in the contrast department.

The C6, therefore, is the safer pick for A/V enthusiasts, home theater-builders and all-around picture purists. If you're looking for the brightest possible experience, however, it's hard to deny the UR9's sheer horsepower.

Winner: LG C6

LG C6 vs Hisense UR9: smart platform and features

The C6 comes with the newest version of LG's webOS built right in. It's similar to last year's version of the software (webOS 25), but LG has tossed in some new, AI-based features on webOS 26. Unfortunately, my colleague Dylan Haas referred to them as "meaningless" if you don't already use AI-related features around the house, and I'm inclined to agree with Dylan.

Although webOS isn't my favorite (I find its interface to be cluttered and sluggish at times), I suspect that casual users won't mind bumping up against it from time to time. If you want to silo your streaming experience into a separate streaming device, you'll get no complaints from me; I recently decided to replace webOS with Roku and haven't looked back.

Good news for dedicated gamers: The C6 arrives with almost every gaming-related feature under the sun, including support for 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 165Hz), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and AMD FreeSync Premium. Support for these features runs across all four of the C6's HDMI 2.1-compatible inputs, so you won't have to juggle devices depending on your needs.

One of the C6's best gaming-related features is LG's Game Optimizer mode. This quick-menu puts all of your most-important settings in one place and automatically launches when you access the settings menu during gameplay.

The UR9 is built around the Google TV smart platform. All told, I prefer Google TV over LG's webOS, as its interface is easier to navigate and tends to be snappier. Along with Roku, Google TV is one of my top picks for streaming software.

As mentioned, the UR9 is limited to just three HDMI ports. They're all HDMI 2.1 compatible, thankfully, but people with several devices (more than one console, a streaming device and soundbar, for instance) might end up feeling restricted by the lack of a fourth.

Across those HDMI inputs, the UR9 supports 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 180Hz with a gaming PC linked up), as well as VRR and FreeSync Premium Pro. Hisense does offer a dedicated gaming settings menu like LG's Game Optimizer mode, but I don't find its contents to be quite as useful as what LG is cooking with.

Winner: LG C6

LG C6 vs Hisense UR9: outlook

What we're left with is a better-designed TV in the C6 that offers a more refined picture with sensational, OLED-driven performance, more size options to choose from and an additional HDMI input.

The UR9 has a leg up on the C6 when it comes to overall brightness, which makes it more viable for bright-room viewing. That said, the C6 doesn't exactly wilt in a sunny room, so your living space would have to be pretty dang bright for me to recommend the C6 (and its OLED display) over the Hisense UR9.

But there's another critical factor to consider: price. Right now, you can spring for a 65-inch C6 for $2,699 on Amazon. The 55-inch LG C6 can be had for $1,999. These prices are certain to steadily drop throughout the year, but for now, it's tough to find the C6 on sale.

The UR9, on the other hand, just saw a massive price cut a mere week and a half after its initial launch. The 65-inch Hisense UR9 is just $1,999 at Best Buy right now after making its debut at $3,499. The 75-inch UR9 is $2,999 at Best Buy, but when it first hit shelves, it was priced all the way at $4,999.

The UR9 is a bright, capable TV, but Hisense's RGB Mini-LED technology can't quite eclipse the self-lit pixels of an OLED display. At the very least, its current sale price puts the UR9 further in line with its performance profile.

More from Tom's Guide

• LG C6 OLED review: The best OLED TV you shouldn’t buy (yet)
• OLED is safe: I tested the Hisense UR9 RGB Mini-LED TV, and it's very good but falls short
• The RAM crisis came for computers first and now it's coming for TVs — here's why I recommend upgrading while you still can

I’m no stranger to the concept of a good ol’ fashioned street price. In the TV business, new models often launch at a set price only to see some small- to medium-sized discounts shortly thereafter. In many cases, the original MSRP remains on the page, and for folks clicking around on Best Buy, Amazon or a brand’s online store, the red-colored savings indicator can be enticing.

Hisense isn’t a stranger to this, either — I’d wager that the majority of Hisense TV launches I’ve covered over the last decade have dabbled in the art (perhaps science?) of the street price. But I’ve never seen anything like what’s happening with the Hisense UR9, the brand’s highly-touted, first-ever RGB LED TV.

After just a week and a half on shelves with an MSRP of $3,499, the 65-inch Hisense UR9 is already on sale for just $1,999 at Best Buy. The $1,500 discount is bigger than any street price-related reset I’ve ever seen. Here’s what this situation tells us about the state of the RGB LED TV market.

The UR9 faces fierce competition

While keeping in mind that I'm not working off inside information, here's my read on the Hisense UR9's sudden, steep drop in price: No one's going to undercut Hisense.

Since their surge in the North American TV market about a decade ago, Hisense has been a TV brand associated with value. Hisense representatives will be the first to tell you this, too; I've heard them proudly reference their reputation for over-delivering on reported performance specs, very often at lower price points than their competitors.

But with the biggest names in the TV industry launching their own cutting-edge RGB LED TVs in 2026, this narrative was about to shift.

As you can see in the chart below, the 65-inch UR9 was sitting on shelves next to a 65-inch Micro RGB TV from Samsung with a heftier price tag — $300 worth of additional heft, to be precise. As the only two TV-makers currently offering 65-inch RGB LED TVs, Samsung was poised to be the value-conscious pick at this popular size point.

Additionally, at the 75-inch size point, the UR9 was a whole $500 more than the Samsung R95H. That doesn't seem much like the Hisense that I know, the brand that over-delivers at a lower price point than its rivals.

With these new sale prices in effect, the 65-inch UR9 is now $1,200 less than the 65-inch R95H. The 75-inch version is $1,500 to $2,000 less than the 75-inch R95H and the 75-inch LG MRGB95. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be? If you're Hisense, maybe.

Bear in mind that we're almost sure to see some sale pricing for LG and Samsung Micro RGB TVs in the coming months. TCL — whose sole RGB Mini-LED TV is only confirmed to exist in three sizes at 85 inches and above — will likely drop in price throughout the year, too.

And then there are the step-down RGB LED-based models from Hisense and Samsung: the UR8 and R85H. We've yet to test these sets, but I'm interested to see how they stack up against their flagship-level counterparts. It seems logical that the steep sale pricing on the UR9 could potentially have ripple effects on the UR8, too.

Should you buy the Hisense UR9?

If you're looking for bright, sizzling performance, a ton of features and the satisfaction that comes with getting in on the ground floor of a brand-new display technology, the Hisense UR9 is officially the most affordable way to do so. If you were on the fence about splashing out on this TV a week ago, this newly minted street price is bound to be tantalizing.

However, if you need some excuse — anything at all — to persuade you away from buying a flashy new TV right now, I can certainly help with that.

Are RGB LED TVs worth it? Well, having spent some time with a few of them, I can say that their performance ranges from "pretty good (if not a little disappointing)" to "excellent." And, for what it's worth, that level of "excellent" is closer to being on par with some of the best quantum dot-equipped Mini-LED TVs I've ever seen, so your mileage may vary on whether you think that justifies these prices.

In our full Hisense UR9 review, my colleague Dylan Haas remarked that, while the UR9 fared well in our tests, its color performance during real-world use didn't seem to meet the impressive nature of the numbers. In other words, a classic case of looks good on paper.

Its 3.5-star review isn't indicative of a bad TV, though, and the UR9's bright performance sounds best suited for bright-room viewing. Maybe, with its new sale price attached, the UR9 can find a groove as the most-affordable flagship RGB LED TV rather than a potentially tough sell.

More from Tom's Guide

• OLED is safe: I tested the Hisense UR9 RGB Mini-LED TV, and it's very good but falls short
• Samsung just made its 2026 Mini-LED TV lineup official, but one popular TV won’t be returning this year
• Samsung's new Micro RGB TV is finally here — but I'd rather buy this OLED instead

The C6 OLED is LG's newest, mid-range OLED for 2026. It's the latest in a long line of massively popular, award-winning OLEDs that sit in the sweet spot between value-forward pricing and incredible performance.

The TCL QM8L is also a brand-new TV, but it leverages a new type of Mini-LED display that TCL is calling Super Quantum Dot (SQD). It recently launched for a relatively high price tag, but you can already find it on sale for a lower price than the LG C6.

If you're looking to upgrade your TV this year and you've got an eye for premium performance, there's a good chance you'll be choosing between these two sets. Here's how the C6 and QM8L compare — from performance to features and price.

LG C6 vs TCL QM8L: specs compared

Let's start with size availability between the C6 and QM8L. The QM8L is available in all of the most-popular sizes for an LED TV except 55 inches. We've tested the 75-inch version of the QM8L, and the smallest size in the series is 65 inches.

The C6 is also available in 77- and 83-inch versions, but these sizes are classified as an altogether different model: the LG C6H. If you want a 77- or 83-inch C6, you're technically buying the C6H OLED.

We should point out here that, while haven't tested the C6H in our labs yet, LG promises better performance on these sets as they're equipped with LG Display's newest RGB Tandem OLED. The 42- to 65-inch versions of the C6, on the other hand, leverage a standard WOLED display. That's not such a bad thing, as the numbers below will prove to you, but it's worth knowing what you're paying for.

Both TVs support Dolby Vision, but the QM8L also supports the royalty-free version of Dolby Vision, HDR10+. Of the two, Dolby Vision remains the most popular among streaming platforms and physical media.

Like all LG OLEDs, the C6 does not support ATSC 3.0 support. The QM8L does. This feature allows over-the-air broadcasts to be piped-in at native 4K resolution via antenna. 4K, over-the-air broadcasts are still few and far between, but for folks who watch TV via antenna, ATSC 3.0 is a very nice feature to have.

Both sets serve up four HDMI 2.1-compatible inputs and support 4K gaming at 120Hz. With a gaming PC linked up, 4K games can be pushed up to 165Hz on the C6 and 144Hz on the QM8L.

Winner: LG C6

LG C6 vs TCL QM8L: design

The C6 (seen above) follows the design approach of its predecessor, the LG C5. Its wedge-shaped stand attaches itself to the TV's chassis, and the stand's shape keeps the C6's screen relatively close to its surface. It's an elegant look, but you folks with tall soundbars should make sure that there's enough clearance. (I also appreciate the marble-like finish on the back of the panel even though it's less likely to be seen.)

Thanks to the nifty, narrow nature of OLED displays, the C6's panel is super-thin across most of its form. Its chassis bulges out around the panel's midsection, but even with this compartment, the C6 is a slim customer.

The C6 arrives with the newest version of LG's Magic Remote, which can be used to point and click at the screen. The remote also comes with a directional pad and scrolling wheel if you decide to forgo its Wiimote-like functionality.

While the C6 is a wafer-thin screen with a modest chassis attached to it, the QM8L (seen above) is more along the lines of a heavy, thick slab. TCL's latest take on a Mini-LED display leads to a beefier panel than what we typically see on QLED TVs.

I wouldn't call the QM8L's look distracting, but for folks after a TV that quietly blends in with its surroundings will almost certainly appreciate the look and feel of the C6 more. Though, for what it's worth, I find the crosshatched etching on the back of the QM8L to be a nice touch.

Unlike the C6's motion-activated remote, the QM8L arrives with a slim, standard remote with a sensible selection of buttons on its face. I prefer the QM8L's backlit buttons over the C6's motion controls, but your mileage may vary.

Both sets feature thoughtful designs. But as much as I appreciate a backlit remote control, the LG C6 strikes a better pose.

Winner: LG C6

LG C6 vs TCL QM8L: performance

Before we dive into which of these TVs is the better performer, let's compare their test results. (Both TVs were in their respective Filmmaker picture modes when these tests were taken.)

There's a lot to unpack here. The first thing that ought to jump out at you is brightness. Despite offering slightly brighter highlights during SDR content, the C6 is nowhere near as bright as the QM8L. In fact, during regular, everyday content, the QM8L's average picture brightness (that is, the luminance of the entire picture) is much higher than that of the C6.

During HDR content, the QM8L delivers intense, room-filling brightness, too. Specular highlights (like a glint of sunlight reflecting off a sword) are nearly three times brighter on the QM8L than the C6.

The advantages associated with added brightness carry over into the QM8L's color performance. Thanks to TCL's SQD technology (a new spin on quantum-dot color), the QM8L covers a whopping 90% of the BT.2020 color space. Were you to view the C6 and the QM8L side by side, there's a good chance you'd notice the latter's punchier color first.

This all points in one direction: From a purely performance-related standpoint, the QM8L is an all-around better choice for people with sun-soaked living spaces, or for folks who just want their next TV to provide a bright and bold cinematic picture.

But there's a very good argument to be made that the C6 is the better-performing TV. Its OLED-driven picture results in perfect black levels and pixel-level dimming. Despite its lower brightness ceiling and relatively limited color palette compared to the QM8L, the advantages of OLED display technology are massive.

Since specular highlights can be controlled with razor-like precision, HDR highlights on the C6 tend to stand out more. This allows for a deeper, detail-rich picture — a presentation that, at times, looks more realistic.

In addition, in its most-accurate picture mode, the C6 is much more dialed-in in its out-of-the-box state. You can see this in our test results, as the C6's Delta-E (a figure that describes color error) is lower than the QM8L's.

The ever-important performance category is a draw. The QM8L is a brighter, more-colorful TV that will stand up better during daytime viewing, but the C6 is a much better option for A/V enthusiasts who value reference accuracy.

Winner: Draw

LG C6 vs TCL QM8L: smart platform and features

The C6 arrives with the newest version of LG's webOS right out of the box. It's a similar experience to last year's version of webOS, but LG has also added some new, AI-based features this year. Unfortunately, my colleague Dylan Haas referred to them as "meaningless" if you don't already incorporate AI into your daily life (and I'm inclined to agree).

As far as smart platform software goes, LG's webOS isn't my first choice. I find its interface to be cluttered and navigation to slow down occasionally. That said, most users will see no problem using it as their daily driver, should they decide to forgo a dedicated streaming device.

You're getting a full spread of HDMI 2.1-compatible inputs on both TVs, which is good news for dedicated gamers. On LG's side, the C6 arrives with almost every gaming-related feature under the sun, including support for 4K gaming at 120Hz (and up to 165Hz), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and AMD FreeSync Premium.

One of its best gaming-related features is the inclusion of LG's Game Optimizer mode. This dedicated gaming menu puts all of your most-important settings all in one place, and it automatically appears when accessing the primary settings menu during gameplay.

The TCL QM8L is built around the Google TV smart platform. Pound for pound, I prefer Google TV over LG's webOS software suite, as its interface is easier to navigate. Along with Roku, Google TV is one of my top picks for built-in streaming.

For gaming, the QM8L is loaded with upside, though it's not quite as complete an experience as the C6. It, too, arrives with VRR, FreeSync Premium Pro and support for 4K gaming at 120Hz, but while the C6 stretches all the way up to 165Hz during PC gaming, the QM8L tops out at 144Hz. Fortunately, this will only be relevant for a small slice of shoppers.

Having used it for a while, I can say that LG's Game Optimizer mode is quite nice to have in one's back pocket. The C6 has the edge here, but if you're not a gamer, there's a higher likelihood that the QM8L's inclusion of Google TV will be better for you in the long run than the C6's reliance on webOS.

Winner: LG C6

LG C6 vs TCL QM8L: outlook

Setting aside price, the C6 is an all-around better choice for home theater enthusiasts, picture purists and gamers. It's not as bright as the QM8L (nor as colorful), but if your goal is to splash out on an impressive, accurate picture, the C6 is the superior pick. (And, while we've yet to test this, I suspect that the above is especially true for the 77- and 83-inch versions of the C6H, which purportedly offers better brightness and color.)

The QM8L is a safer pick for people who watch a ton of TV during the day, or for folks who just want a bright, visually arresting picture when the lights are off. As a Mini-LED TV, its ability to control contrast isn't nearly as impressive as the C6, though it is packed with nearly the same set of gaming features.

If you still can't choose between the two, perhaps you'll be swayed by their respective price tags. Today, you can spring for a 65-inch C6 for $2,699 on Amazon. The 55-inch LG C6 can be had for $1,999.

The QM8L just launched at $2,499 for a 65-inch version, but it didn't take long to go on sale. Right now, you can get the 65-inch TCL QM8L for $1,799 at Best Buy. The 75-inch QM8L is just $1,999 at Best Buy at the time of publishing — the same price as the 55-inch C6.

In the coming months, both TVs will likely drop in price. For a brighter, more-affordable experience, the QM8L will remain the better option. For a more precise picture with better gaming features, the C6 will continue to be the way to go.

More from Tom's Guide

• LG C6 OLED review
• TCL QM8L TV review: SQD-Mini LED delivers big color, high brightness
• The RAM crisis came for computers first and now it's coming for TVs — here's why I recommend upgrading while you still can

When new TVs are released, old TVs go on sale. At the time of publishing, the brands behind some of the best OLED TVs are launching all-new OLEDs to replace last year's models. This means that you can get last year's stuff at a huge discount, and in many cases, those year-old sets are almost as good as their replacement models.

The C6 OLED is LG's newest, mid-range OLED for 2026. The S90F OLED is Samsung's mid-range model from 2025. They're direct competitors — at least, they would be if there wasn't a year separating them.

Nevertheless, they occupy the same shelf space right now, which means you've got a choice between the two. Here's how these OLEDs stack up and what you should know before shopping.

LG C6 vs Samsung S90F: specs compared

Let's start with the available size options. The C6 is available in 77- and 83-inch versions just as the S90F is, but these sizes are classified as an altogether different model: the LG C6H. If you want a 77- or 83-inch C6, you'll technically have to buy the C6H.

We haven't tested the C6H yet, but LG promises better performance on these sets as they're equipped with LG Display's newest RGB Tandem OLED. The 42- to 65-inch versions of the C6, on the other hand, leverage a standard WOLED display.

One of the biggest differences between these sets lies in HDR support. Like all LG OLEDs, the C6 supports Dolby Vision, a proprietary version of enhanced HDR. No Samsung TV currently supports Dolby Vision.

Instead, Samsung offers HDR10+ across all of its HDR-enabled TVs. HDR10+ is a royalty-free version of Dolby Vision that similarly leverages metadata to adjust the picture on a frame-by-frame basis.

You'll still be able to watch Dolby Vision-mastered content on the S90F, but the picture will fall back to standard HDR10. It'll certainly look great, but technically speaking, the S90F won't be taking advantage of Dolby Vision's efforts to replicate the creator's intent. (To learn more about Dolby Vision, check out our guide to whether or not you need Dolby Vision at all.)

Neither offers ATSC 3.0 support, which allows over-the-air broadcasts to be piped-in at native 4K resolution. These sorts of broadcasts are still few and far between, but for folks who really lean on the terrestrial airwaves, ATSC 3.0's absence is a disappointment.

The good news is that both sets serve up four HDMI 2.1-compatible inputs and support 4K gaming at 120Hz. With a PC linked up to either OLED, 4K games can be pushed up to 165Hz on the C6 and 144Hz on the S90F.

LG C6 vs Samsung S90F: design

The C6 (seen above) follows the design approach of its predecessor, the LG C5. Its downward-slanting, wedge-shaped stand attaches itself to the TV's chassis, and the shape of the stand keeps the C6's screen relatively close to its surface. All told, it's a sleek look. And, while you'll almost never see this design flourish, I appreciate the marble-like finish on the back of the panel.

The C6 arrives with the newest version of LG's Magic Remote. Like its motion-activated forerunners, this clicker can be used to point and click at the screen (though it also comes with a traditional directional pad, too).

Like the C6, the S90F (pictured above) also uses a pedestal-style stand, but the S90F lifts the panel further up from its surface. The clearance might be nice if you own a particularly bulky soundbar.

As is the case with LG's OLED, most of the S90F's internal hardware is relegated to a rectangular-shaped chassis that bulges out from the bottom half of the panel. Your mileage may vary, but I find the overall look of the C6's panel to be a bit more posh.

But perhaps the S90F's best feature is the included Samsung Solar Cell remote. It's a slim, narrow clicker with a minimal amount of buttons. Frustratingly, it doesn't include a dedicated input button. Refreshingly, it's powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which powers itself up with natural and artificial light.

While the C6 features a more thoughtful-looking design, the S90F offers better soundbar clearance and a rechargeable remote. This one's too close to call.

Winner: Draw

LG C6 vs Samsung S90F: performance

Before we dive into which of these TVs is the better performer, let's compare their test results. (Both TVs were in their respective Filmmaker picture mode when these tests were taken.)

Both of these sets are capable of delivering the key features that OLED TVs are known for: perfect black levels with pixel-level contrast control. Thanks to the rich, high-contrast quality of OLED, pretty much everything looks fantastic on the C6 and S90F, especially 4K, HDR content.

That said, their presentations differ slightly, and to understand why, you've got to look under the hood. The C6 leverages LG Display's standard WOLED display, while the S90F taps Samsung Display's quantum dot-enhanced OLED display.

By and large, QD-OLEDs tend to offer brighter, purer color than garden-variety WOLED panels, and we can see that in our test results. The S90F covers 89% of the BT.2020 (Rec.2020) color gamut, while the C6 tops out at around 76%. You'd likely notice these color-based advantages during content, too.

According to our tests, the S90F doesn't quite match the C6's white highlight brightness in HDR, but its average picture brightness (that is, the luminance of the entire screen) is brighter than the C6 during average, run-of-the-mill SDR content. In other words, if you watch a lot of cable TV, YouTube or over-the-air broadcasts, the S90F provides a punchier presentation overall.

But the C6 isn't a slouch. As mentioned, its HDR highlight brightness is, pound for pound, higher than highlights on the S90F (though it's not a significant difference). Colors are well-saturated, too, even if the C6 can't cover as much of the expanded color gamut.

Most importantly, color is accurately dialed-in on both of these TVs when using their most-accurate picture mode (Filmmaker). And, from what I've seen, both the C6 and S90F are quite good at upscaling sub-4K content without introducing a pesky amount of artifacting.

They're remarkably close in performance, but the S90F's added color and higher average picture brightness during SDR content gives it a bit of an edge. I'm happy to see the C6's standard WOLED panel pumping out close to 1,400 nits in HDR, but the reality is that most people would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between highlight brightness on the C6 compared to the S90F.

Winner: Samsung S90F

LG C6 vs Samsung S90F: smart platform and features

Since both of these OLEDs deliver similarly impressive picture quality, perhaps the software experience and supported features will be the deciding factor for certain shoppers.

The C6 arrives with the newest version of LG's webOS. It's a similar experience to last-year's iteration, but LG has also added some new, AI-based features. Unfortunately, my colleague Dylan Haas referred to them as "meaningless" if you don't already incorporate AI into your daily life, and I'm inclined to agree.

As far as smart platform software goes, LG's webOS isn't one of my first choices. I find its interface to be visually confusing and navigation to be sluggish at times. However, it's easy enough to pick up and use, and I suspect that a majority of users will see no problem using it as their daily driver.

The S90F is built around the 2025 version of Samsung's Smart Hub (powered by Tizen), which isn't my preferred choice, either. That said, if you'd rather not splurge on a dedicated streaming device, Smart Hub will get the job done just as well as webOS.

I find Smart Hub's layout to be visually cluttered. It's often frustrating, too, how basic navigational tasks are three or four steps too long. (Please, Samsung, just put a dedicated input button on your remote.)

As far as gaming features go, the C6 and S90F are almost identical. As mentioned, ach offers HDMI 2.1-compatibility across all four inputs, which means you don't have to spend time thinking about which port any given device should be plugged into.

The C6 and S90F can make the most out of 4K titles on current-generation consoles, as they each support 4K gaming at 120Hz. Both OLEDs also arrive with Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and a version of AMD FreeSync Premium for smooth, tear-free gameplay.

There's no way around it, though: Not having Dolby Vision support on the S90F will be a deal-breaker for a certain type of home theater enthusiast.

Winner: LG C6

LG C6 vs Samsung S90F: outlook

Regardless of which set you settle on, you're setting yourself up for a sensational viewing experience. So, let's go through a short list of what could be deciding factors.

If you want Dolby Vision HDR support, the answer is simple: Buy the C6. If you're looking for a brighter, more colorful presentation, I recommend the S90F, but they're close enough in performance that I'm hesitant to overemphasize the S90F's slight edge here.

This leads us to the most important remaining factor: price. The S90F is cheaper than the C6 right now, simply because it's been available to buy for a year. Today, you can spring for a 65-inch C6 for $2,699 on Amazon. The 55-inch LG C6 can be had for $1,999.

Samsung's mid-range OLED, meanwhile, is massively on sale. Right now, you can get the 65-inch Samsung S90F for just $1,399 at Best Buy. The 55-inch S90F is $1,197 at Amazon.

The LG C6 will follow a similar trajectory, seeing slow-but-steady discounts throughout the year. For the time being, though, it's nearly twice as pricey as the S90F — and in no way is it twice as good.

More from Tom's Guide

• LG C6 OLED review
• Samsung S90F OLED review
• The RAM crisis came for computers first and now it's coming for TVs — here's why I recommend upgrading while you still can

LG has announced the pricing and release date of its top OLED of 2026, the W6 “Wallpaper” OLED. We saw the TV back at CES 2026, and it was clear from the start that it could be one of the best TVs of 2026.

That being said, at $5,499 for the 77-inch version, it’s not exactly cheap by any stretch of the imagination. But for a premium OLED TV that — 10 years ago — started at $7,999 for a 65-inch model and cost $20,000 for the 77-incher, the W6’s updated pricing is a major step in the right direction. Here’s what nearly six grand of full-throttle OLED technology looks like.

Slim, but powerful

Despite being slightly thicker than its namesake at 9mm deep, the Wallpaper W6 is still unbelievably slim — even for an OLED.

To make it this thin, LG uses a wireless Zero Connect Box that can transmit incoming HDMI signals to the TV from up to 32 feet away. This box can process both HD/SDR and 4K/HDR signals without any added delay.

Under the hood, the W6 runs the Alpha 11 AI Processor Gen3 that enables Hyper Radiant Color Technology with Brightness Booster Ultra. It's worth reading our full breakdown, but in short, Hyper Radiant Color is LG's "secret sauce" that combines LG Display’s newest Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 OLED panel with a hyper-customized algorithm for up to 3.9 times the brightness compared to older OLED models.

Beyond the slimmer size, wireless connectivity and Hyper Radiant Color technology, the W6 will also be one of the first TVs to offer the latest version of LG's webOS 26 smart TV software. The latter can also be found on the LG C6 OLED, however, so don't feel like you need to shell out a small fortune just to get the latest and greatest software.

So is the W6 worth buying?

That's the $5,500 question, obviously. Having seen it twice now — once at CES and a second time at LG's North American headquarters in March — I've genuinely been blown away by the company's Hyper Radiant Color technology that's available on the W6.

That said however, as much as I like the TV's design and wireless Zero Connect Box, I'd have a hard time shelling out this much for a 77-inch TV — let alone $7,499 for the 83-inch version of the W6.

The good news there is that you don't have to pay such a steep premium just for Hyper Radiant Color technology: It's also available on the much-cheaper 77-inch LG C6H (pictured above) that's $3,699 or the 55-inch LG G6 that is available to pre-order for $2,499. Both have a similar version of the technology with a different design. (The C6H is also available to buy today at LG's web store, so no waiting required.)

As for the W6, for anyone with the cash to throw at it, it's available to pre-order on LG's website starting today with a full rollout in the near future.

In the meantime, I'll be here counting my pennies until I have $5,500 saved up.

More from Tom's Guide

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• I tested TCL’s $8,000 SQD Mini-LED TV — here's my verdict
• TCL and Sony are joining forces to sell more TVs — but is that bad news for shoppers?

Every year, TV-makers heap new features and enhancements onto their latest models, but confusingly, many of the previously integrated features stick around. That’s been the case with LG TVs as long as I’ve been covering the industry.

To wit: Just when you think you’ve got a handle on the difference between LG OLED evo and non-evo OLED, the company introduces Hyper Radiant Color technology.

As with most newfangled TV terms, Hyper Radiant Color technology is both important to consider and not as important as its marketing might make it seem. But if you’re shopping for an LG TV this year — specifically, an LG OLED — you ought to familiarize yourself with this new specification.

LG Hyper Radiant Color technology explained

While a ton of TV features describe actual hardware and their related functions (quantum dots, Mini-LEDs and glare-free screens come to mind), the vast majority of the bells, whistles and enhancements slapped on the side of a TV box describe software-based features. Some of these terms describe a process that combines both hardware and software.

That last one is what we’re dealing with when we talk about Hyper Radiant Color technology. It describes a blend of hardware-based advancements, software-based processes and certifications available on select LG OLED TVs. Think of it as a special sauce — some LG TVs come with the sauce and others don’t.

At the heart of Hyper Radiant Color technology is LG Display’s newest Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 OLED panel, which is capable of higher brightness and more voluminous color than the OLED-maker’s standard WOLED display. The flashy hardware is managed by a processor designed to make the most of it. You’re left with several performance-based certifications that LG enjoys hanging its hat on, all of which get folded into a concept it calls Hyper Radiant Color technology.

Part innovation, part marketing hype

Some of the elements that make up Hyper Radiant Color technology are less important to the average consumer.

For instance, it’s well known that OLEDs offer perfect black levels and exceptional color. Does it matter to most people if an LG OLED TV has been “verified by UL Solutions, a global leader in applied safety science, for Perfect Reproduction technology under lighting conditions of up to 500 lux?” Probably not.

Here’s how to think of it instead: Hyper Radiant Color technology is LG’s special sauce that allows for some performance-related benefits on select OLED TVs.

The OLED TVs that offer Hyper Radiant Color technology are brighter and more colorful than those that don’t. They’re also among the most-premium OLEDs in LG’s catalogue.

Which LG OLEDs offer Hyper Radiant Color technology?

In 2026, Hyper Radiant Technology is available on three LG OLED TVs:

• The LG G6 (except for the 97-inch version)
• The LG W6 (a.k.a. The LG Wallpaper TV)
• The LG C6H (the C6 in 77- and 83-inch sizes)

Regarding the LG C6 OLED, it's important to note that the 42-, 48-, 55- and 65-inch versions of the C6 don't offer Hyper Radiant Color Technology. However, if you opt for a 77- or 83-inch version, you'll technically be buying the LG C6H, which does come with Hyper Radiant Color. This is because the two largest sizes of the C6 leverage LG Display's Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 OLED panel. The smaller sizes in the series tap LG Display's newest WOLED panel type.

Is Hyper Radiant Color technology worth buying?

If you're in the market for an LG-branded OLED TV and you're looking for the best possible picture, then yes, you should want to buy an LG OLED that comes with Hyper Radiant Color technology.

The reason for this is simple: The LG OLEDs that offer this feature are built around the best OLED panel currently available from LG Display. As such, they represent the best performance you can get right now from an LG OLED TV.

While we're still in the process of testing new releases like the G6 and C6H, we have a pretty good idea of the sort of performance we can expect to see based on last-year's LG G5, which was built around an earlier version of LG Display's Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel.

Although its release predates the term Hyper Radiant Color, the G5 remains one of the brightest OLED TVs we've ever measured. It also offers better color volume than any non-quantum dot-enhanced OLED TV we've tested to date. I expect similar (if not better) brightness and color from newer LG OLEDs that come with Hyper Radiant Color technology.

If the G6, W6 and C6H are too pricey for your budget, a good strategy would be to save money on the year-old LG G5. While you technically wouldn't be getting Hyper Radiant Color technology, you'd still be netting high-level OLED performance at a deeply discounted rate.

Right now, the 55-inch LG G5 is just $1,799 at Amazon. This is down significantly from its original price of $2,499. It's also significantly cheaper than the 55-inch LG G6, which is launching at $2,499.

More from Tom's Guide

• In the market for an OLED? Here’s my expert guide on shopping for an LG TV in 2026
• I upgraded to an OLED TV and I wasn't prepared for the jump in picture quality
• LG C6 vs LG G5: Which OLED TV is the better buy?

A few years back LG, a company well known for making weird and wacky mobile devices, made waves by revealing its rollable phone concept. The idea behind this phone was to offer a standard smartphone experience, but expand the screen with the push of a button — without hinges or folding mechanisms.

That phone was never released because LG's mobile division shut down. But more than five years after that unceremonious cancellation, the LG rollable has made its way out into the world, and into the hands of YouTuber Marques Brownlee — A.K.A MKBHD. Naturally, this means he's just published a video detailing all the rollable secrets we never got to hear about when LG was actively teasing the phone.

Even though this is an older phone now, the smoothness of expanding that 6.7-inch phone screen can expand to a larger, more square-ish 7.3-inch tablet-like display is a sight to behold.

This is triggered by a three-finger swiping gesture across the screen, and initiates the scrolling mechanism and a little jingle to cover up the sound of the motors. That jingle can be changed, but if you prefer to hear the sound of machinery, the option to switch it off is available.

Interestingly, the extra screen doesn't live inside the phone and unscroll when needed. It actually wraps around the outside of the phone — offering a secondary display that offers some additional features like widgets or a camera viewfinder.

That last one is particularly important because there doesn't seem to be a hole-punch camera in the main display. If you want to take selfies, you're going to have to use the pair of rear-mounted camera lenses instead. Though, considering the hardware difference between rear and front cameras, that isn't the end of the world.

The screen itself isn't entirely crease-free, since there are areas where the display comes under pressure, and Brownlee notes that there is some noticeable signs along the edges. However, he makes it clear that there is a lot less warping than you'd find with a traditional foldable phone.

However, the rollable mechanism does come with some design drawbacks. There are the obvious curved edges on either side of the display, which were all the rage back in 2021. While I happen to despise this particular design choice on regular phones, it's likely out of necessity here. The wrap-around display wouldn't happen without a curve, and the extra curve was likely included for symmetry.

Brownlee notes that the motors that control the rolling mechanism are rather strong, and showed the phone pushing a 16-inch MacBook Pro (4.7 lbs) across a table. He also found that squeezing the phone too hard when it's unrolled will trigger the motors and retract the screen, with an accompanying error message warning you not to do this.

The actual design of the mechanisms is pretty insane, with JerryrigEverything tearing down the rollable to find two separate motors and rails, accompanied by spring-loaded arms. Clearly, LG had no intention of letting this break accidentally.

The phone is also fairly thick, to accommodate all the extra mechanical parts, and that means there's zero chance this phone is water or dust-resistant. Though since it's an unreleased prototype, there's no telling what extra protection would have been included on a hypothetical final model.

The design doesn't lend itself to physical buttons either. Volume buttons are replaced with touch-sensitive areas on the left side of the phone, while the power button has been mounted on the back beneath the cameras. Like many phones, this power button doubles as a fingerprint sensor, and Brownlee comments that it's surprisingly reachable. That's no huge surprise to me, since the old physical fingerprint scanners were considerably easier to reach than their modern, in-display counterparts.

While we don't know what LG was planning on calling this phone, or even how much it would cost (my guess is a lot), this prototype does feature a 4,500 mAh battery and 12GB of RAM. So LG wasn't planning on letting the screen make up for hampered performance.

Overall, I feel that there was potential in a phone like this, and it's just a shame LG shut down its mobile division before we could actually get our hands on one. But, considering all the rumors surrounding rollable phones and the concepts we've seen at shows like CES, I imagine it's only a matter of time before we actually get the chance to buy one of these ourselves.

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It's a tale as old as the TV industry: New models come out, older models drop in price. That's what's happening right now, as LG — makers of some of the best OLED TVs you can buy — is rolling out its 2026 TV lineup.

Recently, the all-new, mid-range LG C6 OLED made its debut. This year, the C6 sits below LG's flagship OLED, the G6. However, the brand's last flagship OLED, the LG G5, is seeing some steep discounts as new models appear on shelves.

As a result, anyone in the market for an LG OLED in 2026 will have to choose between a new, updated model (like the C6), or an older, on-sale model (like the G5). This raises a crucial question: Is the newer, mid-range OLED worth buying over the year-old flagship?

LG C6 vs LG G5: specs compared

First, let's talk about size availability. In a sense, the C6 is available in 77- and 83-inch versions, but these sizes are technically classified as an altogether different model: the LG C6H. We haven't tested the C6H yet, but LG promises better performance on these sets than what you'll see on the smaller-sized C6 screens.

If you want a 77- or 83-inch C6, you'll technically have to buy the C6H. The smallest-sized G5 is 55 inches, so if you want something smaller, the G5 won't get you there.

Everything else is more or less a wash. Dolby Vision support is available on both of these TVs, though not HDR10+. Neither offers ATSC 3.0 support — which allows over-the-air broadcasts to be piped-in at native 4K resolution — and the absence is a bit of a bummer.

With a PC linked up to either OLED, 4K games can be pushed up to 165Hz. They're each running LG's proprietary smart platform, webOS, but the C6 is rocking a newer version of it (at least until the G5 receives a major software update).

LG C6 vs LG G5: design

Let's discuss one of the biggest differences between the C6 and the G5: stand availability. In previous years, LG included a stand with 55- and 65-inch versions of its G Series OLED. The G5, however, doesn't come with a stand at any size point.

LG assumes that most people shopping the G Series plan on taking advantage of the TV's gap-free, wall-mounted design. If you're not one of these people, you'll have to buy its stand separately.

You can check out the G5's separately sold stand in the photo above. It's a heavy, pedestal-style stand that screws into the back of the G5's panel snugly.

When the G5 is mounted on a wall, few TVs look better. When it's sitting on its stand, the G5 is still elegant looking, but much of the TV's intended appeal is dampened. (The LG G Series was originally designed to resemble a framed portrait, after all.)

The C6 (seen above) follows the design approach of its predecessor, but as the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Its downward-slanting slab of a stand keeps the C6's screen relatively close to whatever surface is underneath it. And, while most people will rarely see it, I appreciate the marble-like finish on the back of the panel.

If you're hoping to wall-mount the C6, take note: The TV's internals are housed in a boxy chassis that sticks out of the C6's midsection. This means that its smartphone-thin screen won't be flush against the wall.

The fact that you have to shell out for the G5's separately sold stand is unquestionably a pain point. That said, it plays the role of a wall-mounted TV better than the C6, so I'm comfortable calling this category a draw.

Winner: Draw

LG C6 vs LG G5: performance

Before we dive into which of these TVs is the better performer, let's compare their test results. (Both TVs were in their respective Filmmaker picture mode when these tests were taken.)

Both of these sets are capable of delivering the key features that OLED TVs are known for: perfect black levels with pixel-level contrast control.

As a result of these advantages, pretty much everything looks superb on the C6 and G5, especially cinematic, HDR content. Pound for pound, the G5 is the better-looking TV, though, and it all comes down to brightness.

Thanks to its 4th-generation OLED panel from LG Display, the G5 is one of the brightest OLEDs we've ever tested. Its full-screen brightness is only marginally higher than that of the C6, but it soars above the C6 when it comes to highlight brightness.

Small, intense pools of light are much, much brighter on the G5, and that added shimmer imbues the G5's picture with an even greater sense of depth.

Make no mistake: The C6 isn't a slouch. It's one of the best-looking TVs of the year, despite its mid-range status. With highlight brightness well above 1,000 nits, HDR content pops in a mightily impressive way thanks to the C6's perfect black levels.

Colors are well-saturated and accurately dialed-in on both of these TVs' most-accurate picture mode. That said, the G5's higher-end OLED panel delivers better HDR color than the C6 (though you'd be hard-pressed to notice unless the sets were sitting side by side).

Both of these TVs offer an eye-poppingly good picture, but the G5's added brightness is the difference-maker. If you're after the best possible performance, the answer is obvious.

Winner: LG G5

LG C6 vs LG G5: smart platform and features

The C6 arrives with the newest version of LG's webOS right out of the box. It's a similar experience to last-year's version of webOS, but LG has also folded in some new, AI-based features that my colleague Dylan Haas referred to as "meaningless" if you don't already incorporate AI into your daily life.

As far as built-in smart platform software goes, webOS isn't one of my top picks. I find its layout to be visually confusing and navigation to be somewhat sluggish. However, it's easy enough to pick up and use that most folks will see no problem using it as their daily driver.

As far as gaming features go, the C6 and G5 are almost identical. Each offers HDMI 2.1-compatibility across all four inputs, which means you don't have to spend time thinking about which port any given device should use.

The C6 and G6 can make the most out of 4K titles on current-generation consoles, as they each support 4K gaming at 120Hz. Both OLEDs also arrive with Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and AMD FreeSync Premium for smooth, tear-free gameplay. With VRR enabled and a gaming PC hooked up, both sets can push 4K games up to 165Hz.

For the vast majority of people, these sets are basically the same when it comes to features. This is especially true of their gaming-related enhancements.

Winner: Draw

LG C6 vs LG G5: outlook

The way I see it, there are two reasons why someone might prefer the C6 over the G5 right now. The first reason is that they appreciate the C6's design with its included stand. The second reason is that they'd rather spend on a newer model.

In every other way, the G5 is the better pick. It leverages a higher-end panel for some of the brightest images I've ever seen on an OLED TV. It comes with just about every feature under the sun, and nearly every feature you'll get on the newer C6.

Best of all, the G5 is cheaper than the C6 right now, simply because it's been available to buy for a year. Today, you can spring for a 65-inch C6 for $2,699 directly from LG, or you could buy a 65-inch G5 for $2,499 at Best Buy.

At the 55-inch size point, the LG C6 is hitting shelves at $1,999. Alternatively, the 55-inch LG G5 is $1,896 at Amazon.

Trust me: I understand the appeal of getting the newest version of something, especially when it's a big-time purchase like a TV. If you truly have your heart set on a 2026 model but the C6's current price is too high for your taste, I suggest waiting a few months. The C6 will go on sale eventually.

More from Tom's Guide

• LG C6 OLED review
• LG G5 OLED TV review
• The RAM crisis came for computers first and now it's coming for TVs — here's why I recommend upgrading while you still can

When I started reviewing TVs over 12 years ago, OLED TVs were incredibly expensive and arrived with some considerable caveats relating to brightness and longevity. These days, many of the best OLED TVs are relatively affordable, and the technology is lightyears ahead of what I saw at the start of my career.

As a result, it gets tougher each year to narrow down my most-anticipated OLED TVs. With spring upon us, many of the best OLED TV-makers are in the process of releasing their latest lineups, including sets that are destined to wind up on our year-end list of the best TVs money can buy.

It wasn't easy, but I've whittled my list of the most-exciting OLEDs of the year down to just three picks. They're the sets I'm most eager to get my hands on, and the very OLED TVs I expect to win over the most hearts and minds in 2026.

LG G6

LG's latest flagship-level OLED is a wonderous sight to behold. It's the newest, upgraded version of the LG G5, one of the best TVs I've ever seen, so to say I have high expectations for it is an understatement.

First, let's get one thing out of the way: The G6 will hit shelves as one of the priciest TVs on the market. Yes, that's a massive bummer, but if it follows the same price trajectory of its predecessor, you can expect to see huge discounts on the G6 deep into the year.

In fact, right now, an argument can be made that the year-old, heavily discounted LG G5 is one of the better deals you can get after you factor in its price-to-performance ratio.

The G6 leverages the newest version of LG Display's RGB Tandem OLED display. Last year, the first iteration of this panel proved hugely successful, as the G5 remains one of the brightest OLEDs we've ever tested.

The RGB Tandem 2.0 display is equipped with a feature LG has dubbed Hyper Radiant Color Technology. From what I've seen from a couple of hands-on demonstrations, it's brighter and more colorful than its predecessor — something I genuinely have a hard time wrapping my head around.

But the biggest improvement involves color banding, otherwise known as posterization. You've probably seen this visual artifact before, even if you don't recognize it by name. It happens where a display struggles to blend soft, subtle transitions in color or brightness, resulting in what looks like a series of stripes where a gradient ought to be.

Based on a demo I received at LG headquarters, it would appear as though LG's engineers have cleaned up the G Series' occasional color banding significantly year over year. With this issue ironed out, rival OLED-makers might have lost a step compared to the G6.

Samsung S95H

The Samsung S95H is the newest flagship OLED from Samsung and a direct follow-up to the Samsung S95F, one of the best TVs we tested in 2025. Like its predecessor, the S95H is built around quantum dot-OLED technology, which typically allows for brighter, purer color than what we usually see on OLED TVs that leverage standard OLED panels.

The S95H and its upgraded QD-OLED panel will go head to head with the LG G6 this year. From what I've seen, this showdown will be a close one.

I recently spent an entire afternoon with the S95H and I couldn't stop watching "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker." (It's a testament to how good the S95H looks that I was able to stomach more than ten minutes of that dreadful movie.)

We haven't formally tested the S95H, but I can confirm that it's brighter than last-year's S95F, particularly when it comes to HDR highlight brightness. I anticipate that the S95H's QD-OLED panel will edge out the G6 when it comes to overall color volume, but in terms of sheer brightness, it's anyone's game.

During my visit to Samsung headquarters, the S95H was wall-mounted in order to draw attention to its newest feature: a brushed-metal frame that surrounds the screen. The display itself sits above the frame, which helped the picture pop in a well-lit setting.

The S95H is the third Samsung flagship OLED in a row to feature the brand's glare-free screen. Its matte-style finish all but eliminates direct glare, but in dim or well-lit rooms, it could have the added effect of raising the TV's perceived black levels. (In other words, the matte versus glossy screen debate will continue in 2026.)

Unsurprisingly, the S95H won't come cheap. It starts at $2,499 for a 55-inch model, and if trends continue this year, I don't see it dropping in price quite as steeply as LG's models the closer we get to the holiday shopping season.

LG W6 Wallpaper TV

The LG W6 (also known as the LG Wallpaper TV) is, without a doubt, the best-looking lifestyle TV I've ever seen. So-called lifestyle TVs are a relatively new class of TV that are built to harmonize with the viewer’s life and living space, both aesthetically and functionally. The majority of lifestyle TVs resemble framed, wall-mounted portraits, and when it comes to picture quality, most of them aren't quite as impressive as high-end TVs.

The LG W6 flips the script. It taps one of LG Display's top OLED panels (RGB Tandem 2.0) and places it within an ultra-thin, wall-mounted design that sits perfectly flush against the wall. This means you're getting a brilliant combination of cutting-edge design and all of the power of an LG-engineered, OLED-driven picture.

LG claims that the W6 can get up to 3.9 times brighter than "conventional OLEDs." Considering the high-water mark set by last-year's LG G5 (which used an older version of LG's RGB Tandem display), I'm willing to bet that it'll be one of the brightest OLEDs money can buy in 2026.

The W6 is also wireless, so you can enjoy its elegant design without having to see your pesky cables peeking out from behind the panel. It comes with LG's Zero Connect Box, which transmits the signal of your connected devices from up to 10 meters away.

Having seen this TV in action, I'm convinced that it will be wildly popular among a certain crowd that yearns for a top-shelf picture with a posh touch. It won't come cheap, but it'll certainly turn heads in any room.

More from Tom's Guide

• Matte vs glossy OLED TV screens: What should you buy in 2026?
• In the market for an OLED? Here’s my expert guide on shopping for an LG TV in 2026
• We just went hands on with the LG Wallpaper OLED TV — and it's amazingly thin, wireless and actually affordable

By all accounts, the LG C6 OLED is as near-flawless as last year’s C5 OLED, which was the best TV of 2025. In fact, it’s technically better than the C5 in just about every way. That means if you’re upgrading to an OLED for the first time, it’s going to feel like a massive step up from the TV you’re coming from.

However, if you’re coming from last year’s LG C5 — or even 2024’s LG C4 OLED — the C6 isn’t a huge leap, prioritizing performance improvements that are actually detectable to the eye for a smattering of AI features that don’t really move the needle one way or the other.

There’s no doubt the C6 is an improvement over its predecessor, no matter how small. You’re no worse off buying last year’s C5 at a deep discount, or waiting until the back half of the year when the C6 inevitably drops its price to make way for LG’s next addition to the OLED lineup, but if you don’t mind paying the premium the C6 OLED is still the TV we’d recommend for most folks.

LG C6 OLED review: Price and release date

The C6 is part of LG’s 2026 OLED lineup. It launched in March 2026, starting at $1,399 for the 42-inch version and $2,699 for the 65-inch. We reviewed the 65-inch model, but you’ll be able to choose from four different sizes:

• LG C6 OLED (42-inch): $1,399.99
• LG C6 OLED (48-inch): $1,599.99
• LG C6 OLED (55-inch): $1,999.99
• LG C6 OLED (65-inch): $2,699.99

These prices are in line with the ones that launched alongside the C5, and you can expect to see similar, if not identical, performance no matter which size you get. It’s also important to note that the baseline C6 foregoes the 77-inch and 83-inch options that the C5 OLED released with. This time, LG has taken a different approach to the C6’s larger counterpart by categorizing it as a completely different model called the C6H.

The LG C6H OLED includes those 77- and 83-inch options, and throws in a newer, brighter RGB Tandem OLED panel in place of the C6’s standard WOLED panel. Of course, that upgrade brings a major price hike with it — $3,699 for the 77-inch model, and a whopping $5,299 for the 83-inch.

LG C6 OLED review: Design

The LG C6 OLED is a beautiful-looking TV. It’s got a decently thin profile at just 1.8 inches in depth, but it still feels well-constructed when moving it around. The perfect balance between sleek and sturdy.

It’s got a really nice, durable central pedestal with a brushed metal finish rather than dual legs, which I prefer, though your mileage may vary depending on the type of media console you have. Or, you can always just mount it on your wall.

I also like the faux-marble finish that LG installed on the back of the TV (which was also present in the C5), but after you set it up, you’re probably not going to be seeing the back all that much. Either way, the TV is minimalistic enough to fit into any living room, so you can rest assured that it won’t cramp your style.

LG C6 OLED review: Ports

The LG C6 comes with a suite of ports that is identical to the C5: You’ll get four HDMI 2.1 ports (a big selling point for gamers), one of them being eARC-compatible for those who want to pair the TV with one of the best soundbars, which we recommend doing.

You’ll get two USB-A ports as well, plus an Ethernet connection for improved internet performance. An optical digital audio out port, 3.5mm jack, serial port, and antenna/cable input are also present, as well as support for WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.3 for remote speaker and audio connections.

LG C6 OLED review: Performance

While testing out the LG C6 OLED, I watched a variety of TV shows and films to get an idea of just how good the follow-up to the LG C5 OLED was.

I started putting the C6 through its paces by using it in the way that most people will: Streaming. I watched a few scenes from 2025’sWeapons, and I was super pleased with the depth of color that came through. Not to be morbid, but I’ve never seen fake blood look so good. I also streamed an episode of Hulu’s Paradise, and the show’s cool blue tones really popped on the C6, which only added to the show’s atmospheric pilot.

Video streaming on YouTube looked similarly fantastic, from immersive 8K walking tours of Shinjuku to retro clips from Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans. I was never not happy with what I was seeing on the screen, which speaks to just how great of a TV the C6 is.

The TV has a nice selection of different picture modes that can really level-up your viewing experience. Standard, Eco, Filmmaker, and Vivid modes are just some of the presets you’ll be able to play around with, all of them bringing worthwhile enhancements to the table. Filmmaker Mode should still be your default, however, as it makes everything look warmer and more cinematic, especially when viewing in a dark room. Support for Dolby Vision over HDR10+ is a welcome bonus here, too.

As a gamer, though, the biggest highlight of the LG C6 is its Game Optimizer mode, which cuts down on input lag and boosts FPS on both console (4K at 120Hz) and PC (up to 4K at 165Hz, a step up from the C5’s 144Hz max). While playing Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 with the game mode turned on, I was able to reach a consistent 120 frames per second without any noticeable tradeoffs in texture quality or ray-traced surfaces.

Switching on the variable refresh rate mode to remove screen tearing only made things better, and the reduced input lag had every button press feeling instantaneous. This mode is essential for anyone who plans to game on the C6.

The C6’s other AI enhancements, aside from the Game Optimizer, aren’t as impressive, but may vary depending on what content you consume the most. The AI HDR Remastering feature is supposed to detect SDR content and convert it to appear like HDR, but I didn’t think it worked all that well — it felt like it placed an unnatural-looking filter over what I was watching, and I just wasn’t a fan. There’s also an AI brightness control feature that senses the ambient light in the room and adjusts the screen’s brightness accordingly. I thought this worked fine, but I prefer having full control over on-the-fly brightness tweaks.

How we test TVs

We follow a standard testing protocol for every TV we review at Tom’s Guide. Our benchmarks include a series of technical and subject tests designed to rate the set’s performance.

For our technical tests, we use a Jeti spectraval 1501-HiRes spectroradiometer, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, a Murideo 8K-SIX-G Metal pattern generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman TV-calibration software to take measurements. We also use a Leo Bodnar 4K Input Lag Tester for determining the TV’s gaming prowess.

Subjective tests vary based on the reviewer, but usually feature anecdotes from a diverse selection of movies, TV shows, and other content reflecting the types of things you may actually want to watch on the TV.

LG C6 OLED review: Test results

Similarly-priced TVs

From our test results, you can see that the C6, like its predecessor, really excels when it comes to brightness. At 355 nits of SDR brightness, the C6 pulls out ahead of its similarly-priced competitors like the Samsung S90F OLED (255 nits) and the Sony Bravia 8 II (103 nits). When it comes to HDR brightness, it’s on par with both of those TVs at 1,355 nits (the S90F and Bravia 8 II reaching 1,231 nits and 1,584 nits, respectively).

In the Delta-E department, which is how we measure a TV’s color accuracy, the LG C6 OLED is also a high performer compared to its competition. When it comes to Delta-E, the lower the number we get as a result, the better, and in the case of the C6, we got a Delta-E of 1.53. The LG C5 got a better Delta-E result at 1.25 funnily enough, and both still get slightly outperformed by the Samsung S90F’s Delta-E of 1.12. You probably wouldn’t notice this when watching with the naked eye, though — all three have great color accuracy.

When it comes to gaming, the C6 is an absolute powerhouse with only 9.1ms of input latency in gaming mode, the same as the C5 and the Samsung S90F. When paired with the C6’s impressive brightness and color accuracy, you end up getting a very balanced experience that is a joy to behold.

LG C6 OLED review: Audio

If you’re like me and typically don’t like stock TV speakers, the LG C6 OLED most likely won’t change your mind. The C6’s speakers aren’t terrible by any means — they don’t crackle or buzz even at high volumes — but like most TVs, the sound is mostly swallowed up by the wall behind it.

The C6 does include some AI enhancements for audio, but none of them made much of an impact on me during my test period. In fact, I really did not enjoy the AI-enhanced dialogue clarity mode, which raised speaking volumes to an almost irritating degree and completely washed out all other audio in any given scene. Unless you want it to sound like the actors are speaking directly into your ears, I don’t think you’ll get too much use out of this feature.

If you want your LG C6 setup to sound its best, I recommend getting one of the best soundbars.

LG C6 OLED review: Interface and apps

The C6’s webOS 26 is really easy to use, but most of its improvements from webOS 25 are AI-centric, so if that’s not your cup of tea, there’s not much to be excited about here. Still, I think the layout of the home screen, menu navigation, and OS performance are all great.

I didn’t run into any noticeable bugs or lagtime like I did with Tizen OS on the Samsung S85F OLED — webOS 26 ran smooth as butter, especially in conjunction with the new Magic Remote.

WebOS 26 leans much harder into AI features than webOS 25 did, which introduces Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot integration for more personalized recommendations and AI-powered search results. These worked fine for me in practice, but it’s not a feature I would personally use much, if at all. If you make use of AI in your daily life, you may like these additions, but if you don’t, they’ll probably be meaningless to you.

LG C6 OLED review: Remote

I quite like the 2026 version of LG’s Magic Remote. In practice, the remote functions essentially like a Nintendo Switch Joy-Con. It pairs your usual buttons with a motion-sensing point-and-click function that’s super easy to switch between on the fly, which makes menu navigation and typing less time-consuming. The center scroll wheel is nice to have, too, and it’ll get you to the end of your Netflix algorithm much faster than button-pressing your way there.

Beyond that, the remote features dedicated app buttons for Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+, as well as buttons for settings, inputs, and the home screen. There’s also an AI button that allows you to choose from the TV’s AI-enhancing features, and voice control support. My favorite addition to the remote is the replacement of the 2025 version’s accessibility button — now, there’s a completely customizable heart button that you can program to do whatever you want, whether it’s your favorite streaming app or a specific TV function.

The only quirk I don’t love about the remote is that there’s no dedicated mute button. To mute the TV, you have to hold the “volume down” button for a second, which is slightly annoying at worst. But you can assign the mute function to that aforementioned programmable button, so there is a workaround if it bothers you as much as it did me.

LG C6 OLED review: Verdict

The LG C6 OLED, like the C5 when it launched in 2025, is one of the best OLED TVs you’ll find this year. It’s a brilliant-looking TV, both in physical design and on-screen performance. You’ll get top-tier brightness and color, best-in-class gaming features, and an easy-to-use OS that significantly cuts the fat out of the navigation experience.

As I said earlier, however, this TV is only an incremental improvement over the C5, and most won’t even pick up on those improvements during use. Not only that, but you can buy the nearly just-as-good C5 for over $1,000 less.

If your mind is made up on buying the LG C6 OLED, you won’t be disappointed. This is LG’s best-yet mid-range OLED TV, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t at least mention the similar-performing C5 — or, if you’re looking to go with a competitor, the Samsung S90F and S95F OLED. You’re almost equally as likely to be as happy with those, and you’ll save a good amount of cash in the process.

The C6 OLED is a strong contestant for the title of best TV of 2026. Now the ball is in Samsung and Sony’s court to show us if they can produce something better.

After three long months of waiting since its announcement at CES 2026, we finally have an LG C6 OLED here at our labs in New York.

We spent some time earlier in the week putting the TV through its paces and we’ve collected our first bit of data on how LG’s mid-range OLED — and one of the best-selling TVs in the world — performs.

The results are… well, less exciting than we hoped compared to last year’s LG C5 OLED, but if you plan on upgrading from an older C1, C2 or C3 OLED, then we’ve got great news.

LG C6 OLED metrics at a glance

Before we compare it against some older models, let’s walk through our test results together so you know what each score represents.

SDR Brightness: As much as I wish every piece of content was mastered for high-dynamic range playback (HDR), we have around eight-plus decades of content that was shot in standard dynamic range (SDR). This brightness number tells us how bright the content will be in a 10% window. In full screen, we're looking at around 616 nits.

Delta-E: Delta, if you remember back to math class, just means "the difference between". Delta-E, in this case, measures the difference between the colors shown on screen and the colors we put out on a test pattern. The lower this number is, the more accurate a TV's colors are.

Rec.709, UHDA-P3, Rec2020 Color Gamut: We'll knock all three of these out next. Each of these tests measures color volume in increasingly larger areas of the visible color spectrum. The easiest one to cover is Rec709; UHDA-P3 is the standard color space for HDR; and Rec2020 is the widest color gamut we currently test for. Very few TVs reach 90% or higher.

HDR Brightness: Like SDR brightness but, you know, for HDR content. We report on HDR brightness in a 10% window to keep everything kosher, but in a 100% window the C6 OLED reaches 236 nits.

LG C6 Series vs C5 vs C4 vs C3

In isolation, the LG C6's numbers tell a pretty great story — it's bright in SDR, brighter in HDR, and genuinely covers the bases in terms of color.

That's the good news.

The bad news is when you stack it against its previous two iterations, the LG C5 and LG C4 OLED. The C6 certainly has the edge in almost every category, but a 200- to 300-nit difference in brightness and a couple of percentage points in color really aren't going to tip the scales that much in the LG C6's favor.

In fact, if that were all the differences between the models, it'd be very easy to say that you should skip the C6 and buy a C5 or C4 OLED at a discount.

But t's never quite that easy when it comes to TVs. There are a number of tough-to-quantify variables like improvements to navigational speed, upscaling, motion handling and color banding that you can't discern by simply looking at a test result table. For those bits, you'll have to wait for a full review written by one of Tom's Guide's knowledgeable reviewers.

What I can say is that there is a wide enough gap between the LG C6 and the C3 OLED to warrant an upgrade if that's the TV you're still using. Realistically, 200 nits of brightness isn't anything to get excited about, but 500 nits? Well, that's a significant bump up. Rec2020 color coverage going from the low 70s to the mid 70s should also create a pretty obvious difference in real-world performance.

My advice? Wait for our full C6 OLED review

So what should you do if you're on the fence? What if you've got, say, the LG C4 OLED or a Samsung OLED, and you're not sure about upgrading just yet?

My advice is to wait for the full Tom's Guide C6 OLED review.

Our full reviews are where the rubber meets the road. We can contextualize these numbers a lot better when we have real movies and TV shows playing, and not test patterns.

If you can hold off another week before buying (I know it's tough!) then we'll have a full breakdown of all the pros and cons of the C6 sometime next week.

More from Tom's Guide

• LG C6 vs LG C5: Is the newest OLED TV worth it in 2026?
• Which Samsung TV should you buy in 2026? Here’s my expert guide to Samsung’s newest OLEDs, Micro RGB TVs and more
• For OLED TVs, burn-in fears are overblown — here's what you need to know

On Apple’s 50th anniversary, I can’t help but ponder the paths not taken. In recent years, the company almost brought a large, wireless charging mat to market called AirPower. At one point in time, Apple was reportedly developing an electric vehicle.

But of all the Apple products that never were, none have piqued my interest as much as the oft-rumored, Apple-branded smart TV. There have been Apple smart TV rumors as recently as late 2024, and while the company doesn’t seem to be focused on developing its own TV at the moment, I’d wager that we haven’t heard the last of these rumors.

Look, I’m not an Apple aficionado. I use an iPhone and AirPods, sure, but I’m nothing close to an Apple acolyte. That said, the thought of Apple going toe-to-toe with Samsung, LG and Sony — makers of some of the best TVs on the market — excites me. The company’s way into the market could be by way of the industry’s best display technology: OLED.

OLEDs blend excellent performance with elegant design — just like most Apple products

LG, Samsung and Sony, three of the biggest OLED TV-makers in the game, have mastered the art of building high-performance OLED TVs whose designs look as premium as the picture.

The best OLED TVs deliver excellent picture quality and eye-catching design elements, in large part because the technology allows for it. Because OLED TVs don't rely on a backlight, they offer benefits you won't find on even the best LED TVs, like perfect black levels, pixel-level dimming and ultra-wide viewing angles.

And, because there's no backlight packed into the panel, plenty of OLED TVs are mind-bogglingly thin. Some even offer a uniform profile so that they can be wall-mounted without a gap between the panel and the wall.

It's not hard to imagine Apple — a brand known for its sleek, minimalistic design approach — tapping OLED technology for its first foray into the TV market. Apple already leverages OLED displays for many of its products (including select iPhones and iPads), and the design flexibility associated with the display technology is seemingly aligned with Apple's philosophy of engineering thin, modern-looking products.

The relative ease with which OLED displays can be polished down into thin forms with clean lines also lends itself well to Apple's penchant for eliminating every-day, design-related pain points. If anyone can build a TV with a built-in, cable-management system that I'll consider using, it's probably Apple.

Perhaps there would, in fact, be an option for it to hang on the wall with a gap-free wall-mount, just as there is for LG's G Series OLED. A rechargeable, click wheel-equipped remote control with backlit buttons certainly seems like something Apple would pair with a smart TV of its own making.

But perhaps the biggest benefit of blending Apple design philosophy with a high-end smart TV has nothing to do with hardware at all — it's all about the software potential.

A TV that harmonizes with your iPhone, iPad and AirPods

Apple isn't unimpeachable when it comes to how it designs its software (Liquid Glass, anyone?). But for the most part, people have come to appreciate the brand's design language and how easy it is to navigate the software.

For instance, I appreciate how quickly my AirPods connect to my iPhone. I love how few hoops I have to jump through to securely rent or buy something from Apple TV+.

An Apple-made TV would likely be built around the brand’s tvOS software, which is what powers the Apple TV streaming box. I find the tvOS user interface to be just as snappy and easy to navigate as iOS, and a TV with the software suite built right in would likely eliminate my desire for a dedicated streaming device.

Apple wouldn't be the first brand to let people to control their smart TV with a smartphone, but it could be the best to do it.

There could be iOS app integration, for instance. Pulling up an iMessage group chat on my TV screen while my friends and I watch a new episode of "Severance" wouldn't exactly be my cup of tea, but I could imagine others getting a kick out of it. Accepting a FaceTime call on your TV? Sure, why not?

Bluetooth-enabled TVs are nothing new, but what if you could instantly swap from your Apple TV's on-board speakers to your AirPods? I mean, this already exists on Apple TV streaming devices.

The Apple ecosystem is more streamlined than Samsung's or Google's. Yes, this has plenty to do with its walled-off nature, but in a world of bloated operating systems stuffed with half-baked AI features, Apple is better poised to cultivate a useful smart TV experience that integrates an entire household of gadgets.

How much would an Apple OLED TV cost?

Let's not kid ourselves: An Apple OLED TV wouldn't come cheap. For one thing, the brand isn't exactly known for budget-friendly, first-generation products. Then you've got to factor in the going rate for a high-end OLED TV.

Upon release, flagships OLEDs from Samsung, LG and Sony cost multiple thousands of dollars in sizes 65 inches and above. These prices steadily drop throughout the year, but they never fall far enough that one can truly call them "cheap."

That's just the reality of buying a high-end OLED TV in 2026. And, while there are a handful of entry-level and mid-range options that offer the OLED experience at lower costs, I can't imagine Apple finally throwing its hat into this ring for anything less than a high-end TV to compete with flagships from Samsung and LG.

Unfortunately, there hasn't been anything in the rumor mill of late to suggest that Apple is actually considering entering the TV market, nor do I have any insider information on the matter. An Apple-branded OLED TV remains a dream — a highly realistic, downright-tangible dream.

But what about you? Would you spend what it would likely take to get your hands on an Apple OLED TV?

More from Tom's Guide

• LG C6 vs LG C5: Is the newest OLED TV worth it in 2026?
• Which Samsung TV should you buy in 2026? Here’s my expert guide to Samsung’s newest OLEDs, Micro RGB TVs and more
• For OLED TVs, burn-in fears are overblown — here's what you need to know

Of all the TVs in LG’s portfolio, OLED TVs represent the best LG TVs you can buy. Not only that, but LG OLEDs consistently rank among the best TVs you can buy, period.

But shopping for an LG OLED can be confusing. At any given time, there’s a mix of last-year’s models and the latest OLEDs side by side on the same shelves. To make matters trickier, the list of supported features changes from one box to the next.

For instance, right now, you can buy a handful of LG OLEDs that claim to support something called OLED evo technology — or you can choose one that doesn’t. To understand the difference between an evo-enabled LG OLED versus a non-evo OLED, you have to start with a top-down view of the LG OLED lineup.

Which LG TVs are OLED evo?

In recent years, LG's OLED lineup has settled into a familiar hierarchy. At the bottom is the affordable, entry-level B Series. The C Series OLED occupies the mid-range tier, and is one of the most popular TVs on the market year after year.

At the top sits LG's G Series, which typically taps a higher-end OLED display and an altogether different design compared to the B and C Series models. LG sometimes offers a separate flagship-level OLED alongside the G Series, like this year's W6 Wallpaper OLED.

While you might assume that these top-tier TVs are the only LG OLEDs to feature OLED evo technology, the C Series OLED TVs — like the five-star LG C5 — also arrive with OLED evo technology in tow. This has been the case for several years now.

This means that, currently, the LG B4 and LG B5 are the only widely available LG OLEDs that don't fall into the OLED evo family. In the case of the LG C5 (our pick for the all-around best TV you can buy), the inclusion of LG's OLED evo technology is appreciated. This is because OLED evo technology offers a handful of performance-related benefits that you ought to know about. Moreover, it's important to understand what OLED evo isn't.

What is LG OLED evo?

OLED evo is the name of a collection of hardware- and software-related technologies all working together to enhance the performance of an LG OLED TV. However, OLED evo is not an altogether different OLED panel technology, even though some OLED evo TVs (like the LG G6) do leverage a more premium type of display.

LG's OLED evo TVs are engineered with different materials than garden-variety OLEDs. According to LG, OLED evo panels use deuterium-based compounds, which can safely get brighter than hydrogen-based OLED panels.

There's more to OLED evo than their materials. LG's top OLEDs also leverage some of the brand's most-powerful processing chips. Since these TVs are engineered to achieve higher levels of brightness than non-evo OLEDs (often for longer periods of time), OLED evo TVs process the picture differently, too.

Is OLED evo worth it?

If you're shopping for an LG OLED in 2026, you have your pick of last-year's sets and the latest models. Depending on your budget and your viewing habits, an OLED evo TV might be worth the added cost.

At the entry-level tier, the B5 and B6 OLEDs represent the most affordable options. The aforementioned C5 will share shelf space with the LG C6, while the LG G5 will linger on shelves until it's replaced by the G6.

Of these TVs, only the B5 and B6 are standard, non-evo OLED TVs. Their panels might be equipped with deuterium-based compounds, but LG's suite of OLED evo technologies isn't fully represented on these sets.

Unsurprisingly, the LG B5 isn't as bright (or quite as colorful) as the LG C5, and it's nowhere near as impressive-looking as the LG G5, which also has the benefit being built around LG Display's Primary RGB Tandem OLED panel.

We clocked the B5's HDR highlight brightness at around 650 nits. Meanwhile, the mid-range C5 scraped 1,200 nits and the flagship G5 pumped out a whopping 2,300 nits.

Even if we set aside the G5 and it's cutting-edge panel type, there's a marked difference in performance between the B5 and the C5, both of which leverage a standard WOLED panel from LG Display. I suspect the story will be similar when sizing up the B6 and C6 this year.

If you're in the market specifically for an LG-branded OLED and you've got a relatively bright living space, I recommend taking a good, hard look at an OLED evo model, even if it's just a matter of choosing the C Series over the B Series.

Yes, you will pay more for the addition of OLED evo. But, if you're shopping with sale pricing involved, the difference in cost isn't that steep. A 55-inch LG C5 is $1,096 at Amazon right now, while a 55-inch LG B5 is $896 at Amazon.

That extra $200 buys you the added brightness and a more energy-efficient (and potentially longer-lasting) panel. The punchier picture will make a significant difference, especially during daytime viewing.

More from Tom's Guide

• It’s been nearly 5 years since I bought an LG OLED TV — will these 3 gripes stop me from buying another?
• I just went hands-on with the LG C6 OLED — here's why I'm torn about it
• Micro RGB TVs vs OLED TVs — here's the TV I'd buy in 2026

LG Display has announced that it's the "world's first" producer of LCD panels for laptops featuring the company's "Oxide 1hz" technology. If the company's claims hold up, these displays could be a massive improvement in power efficiency for your next computer, possibly making the best laptops for battery life even better.

Oxide 1Hz is a feature that detects the "usage environment" and adjusts the refresh rate, down to 1Hz and up to 120Hz. For example, if you're reading emails or documents, the display will operate at a lower refresh rate. However, if you're gaming or watching movies, it can ratchet up to 120Hz.

If you're unfamiliar, the refresh rate of your display refers to how often the screen is redrawn per second. The higher the number, the less your screen flickers, making for smoother visuals.

Here's a more in-depth explanation from Intel, if you're curious. It also affects your TVs, though the rates there can go much higher.

However, the drawback of running your display with a higher refresh rate means that it also hits your battery harder.

LG Display claims that the new Oxide 1Hz panel dramatically improves battery efficiency; "48% more use on a single-charge." The company also promises that an OLED version of Oxide 1Hz will launch in 2027.

Try it on a Dell first

During CES 2026, Dell announced the return of its XPS line with new 14 and 16-inch versions of its premium laptop. There are two display variants: an OLED one or a 2K LCD display.

We reviewed the Dell XPS 14 OLED version, which lasted for an impressive 12 hours and 23 minutes in our lab tests. However, Dell promises a whopping 27 hours of battery life in the 2K variant.

For comparison, last year's Dell 14 Premium lasted only 8 hours and 16 minutes in our testing.

For this year's model, it is a cumulative effect. Between LG's new panel and the upgraded 900ED battery, you're getting massive improvements in power efficiency.

For now, it appears the Oxide 1Hz will only be available on the Dell XPS lineup. We reached out to LG for clarity on whether the panel will arrive on other laptops, including LG's own PCs like the recently revealed LG Gram Pro 17.

More from Tom's Guide

• The LG C6 and G6 OLED TVs are coming this month — here are the prices for every screen size
• It’s been nearly 5 years since I bought an LG OLED TV — will these 3 gripes stop me from buying another?
• I just went hands-on with the lightest 17-inch RTX laptop — this could be a game-changer

We’re mere weeks away from getting our hands on what very well could be some of the best TVs of the year. LG’s latest lineup is hitting shelves soon, and as someone who’s seen nearly all of them, I can confirm that they look good.

If you’re shopping for a TV in 2026 and you’ve got your heart set on an LG-branded model, you’ll have plenty of options at your fingertips. From entry-level OLEDs to flagship stunners, LG’s 2026 TV lineup is chock-full of quality candidates.

While we wait for their impending release, it’s worth taking a bird’s-eye view of the brand’s release strategy. I’ve already spent time with many of these TVs, and now that certain pricing information has come to light, I can help you narrow down your options before they ship.

2026 LG OLED TVs

At the heart of LG’s lineup is a technology on everyone’s mind: OLED. For years, LG has been the worldwide leader in OLED TV sales, and if you’re familiar with some of these sets, it’s easy to see why.

The entry-level B Series, mid-range C Series and top-shelf G Series are a television triumvirate. These popular models have been welcoming viewers into the OLED lifestyle for several years running, and while none are what I’d call affordable, they nonetheless give people different price and performance tiers to choose from.

This year, the entry-level LG B6 replaces the LG B5 as the brand’s lowest-priced OLED TV. The B5 was one of my favorite TVs of 2025, because even though it doesn’t get as bright or colorful as higher-end OLEDs, it’s still an OLED TV that’s stacked with features.

Like its predecessor, the LG B6 is set to launch in 55-, 65-, 77- and 83-inch models. I also expect to see a 48-inch B6, as it was a popular size option for the B Series last year. (If you’ve got your radar up for a slam-dunk OLED TV deal in 2026, it’s worth remembering that the LG B5 routinely finds its way to a $599 sale price, and I expect the B6 to do the same.)

Unsurprisingly, the C6 is replacing the LG C5 this year. The C5 was our favorite TV of 2025, so to say that we’re excited for this one is an understatement. Like the award-winning C5, the all-new C6 blends excellent picture quality and a laundry list of features, all attached to a highly competitive price tag.

C6 shoppers should take note: One of the biggest upgrades to LG’s lineup this year involves the 77- and 83-inch versions of the C6. These sets carry the special designation of C6H, and both come equipped with LG's Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 OLED panel, complete with Hyper Radiant Color technology. This tech is otherwise reserved for LG's G Series OLED, so people shopping at the 77- and 83-inch size point are poised to get a little more out of the C6.

Speaking of the LG G Series, I’m pleased to report that the latest model, the LG G6, looks better than ever. While we don’t know much about the room-dominating, 98-inch version of the G6, we do know that the 55-, 65-, 77- and 83-inch versions of the G6 are sporting LG’s latest Primary RGB Tandem panel and Hyper Radiant Color.

LG says the G6 is even brighter than its predecessor — a claim I’m inclined to believe, after having seen it in action. It also appears as though LG’s engineers have made massive improvements to the G6’s picture processing, as posterization (otherwise known as banding) is at an all-time low.

LG W6 Wallpaper OLED and LX7 lifestyle TVs

In a class all its own, the W6 is an all-new lifestyle TV that’s sure to be a hit with interior design enthusiasts. The so-called Wallpaper OLED is the thinnest LG has ever made, and its uniform profile is built for wall-mounting — hence the name.

The W6 taps the same RGB Tandem display as the G6, but the artful OLED has a trick up its sleeve: wireless connectivity. LG’s Zero Connect Box — which houses all of the TV’s inputs — can be stashed up to 10 meters away for maximum minimalism.

If you're in the market for a portrait-style lifestyle TV that doesn't arrive with a flagship OLED-level price tag, LG's gearing up to launch the LX7, a TV with a focus on design that competes with the likes of Samsung's The Frame. LG's Gallery TV offers a basic LED display with customizable frames, and like the W6, it displays thousands of artworks when not in use.

2026 LG Micro RGB evo TV

Like most major TV brands, LG is launching a brand-new, RGB LED TV in 2026. The model name is LG MRGB95, and so far, it’s only confirmed in 75, 85 and 100 inches.

It’s set to compete with the likes of the Samsung R95H Micro RGB TV and the Hisense UR9, both of which tap a similar type of display technology. Rather than rely on white Mini-LEDs, these sets use teeny-tiny red-, green- and blue-colored LEDs for eye-popping color volume.

There are rumblings of additional, more-affordably priced Micro RGB evo TVs on deck for 2026, but so far, LG hasn’t approached me with information about these models.

Which LG TV should you buy in 2026?

As we move closer to the official launch of these TVs in the coming weeks and months, their pricing is beginning to come to light. Not all of it is currently known, however.

The LG C6 and G6 prices have already been confirmed, and to my pleasant surprise, everything was in line with the C5 and G5 launch prices. In other words, the “RAMmageddon” price hike many of us feared hasn’t come through. This indicates that the LG B6 will likely carry the same pricing as last-year’s B5, which means that the 48-inch B6 might eventually drop as low as $599.

The W6 Wallpaper OLED pricing hasn’t been made official, either, but there’s good news on that front, too: A representative from LG informed Global Editor-in-Chief Mark Spoonauer that the W6 won't be much more than the G6 at launch. Folks who yearn for its elegant, artful design needn't brace themselves for sticker shock.

The real wild card in LG’s catalog is the Micro RGB evo TV, whose unknown price could ultimately land anywhere between “ouch” and “you’ve got to be kidding me” on the reaction scale. If you’re interested in the latest evolution of LED-based technology, LG’s flagship model is currently only confirmed for 75-, 85- and 100-inch models. This could put LG at a disadvantage compared to Samsung and Hisense, both of which have promised 55- and 65-inch versions of their RGB LED TVs.

Of course, LG will almost certainly be unveiling more budget-friendly models this year, too. We’re still waiting for information about LG’s full QNED lineup, which are traditional Mini-LED TVs that typically clock in at lower price points than LG OLEDs.

More from Tom's Guide

• It’s been nearly 5 years since I bought an LG OLED TV — will these 3 gripes stop me from buying another?
• I just went hands-on with the LG C6 OLED — here's why I'm torn about it
• Micro RGB TVs vs OLED TVs — here's the TV I'd buy in 2026

The LG C6 OLED is a seriously tempting TV. It’s the successor to the LG C5 OLED, the only TV from 2025 to achieve a perfect score in our methodical testing protocol and the best OLED TV from last year.

This year’s C6 will come in two forms — the base LG C6 and the more advanced LG C6H that uses the brand’s new Hyper Radiant Technology. I saw both on a recent trip to LG's North American HQ, and I found the latter incredibly impressive with better overall color performance.

LG just announced the pricing for the series: A 65-inch C6 will set you back $2,699 at launch, while the more advanced 77-inch C6H will cost an eye-watering $3,699. As excited as I am about these TVs, you might want to hold off buying them on launch day at their full retail price — but if launch day isn’t the best time to buy it, when is?

The two secret sweet spots for buying a new TV

Everyone knows that Black Friday is a great time to buy a new TV. With sales that often reach or surpass 50% off the launch price, November is the absolute best time to buy.

That said, it’s not the only time.

Your first real opportunity to buy a new TV at a significant discount happens in July. Last year around this time, the 65-inch LG C5 OLED dropped to $1,700, according to CamelCamelCamel. Compared to the launch price of $2,700, this was a huge drop and sparked a lot of interest from our readers.

If you want to beat the Black Friday rush, the second time to score a TV on sale comes in September after the back-to-school sales end. In 2025, the C5 OLED dropped to $1,500 around this time. It’s still $250 more than the C5 OLED’s lowest price during Black Friday — $1,246 — but that’s not a bad deal overall.

In the meantime...

So what's someone to do if they want a new OLED and don't want to pay for the C6? Well, the good news is that the LG C5 OLED is still exceptional and, thanks to its latest price drop, incredibly cheap.

It's currently back to $1,346 on Amazon for the 65-inch version, so only around $100 more than its all-time-lowest price.

Not sure which model is right for you? You can read about all the differences in our LG C5 vs C6 face-off.

More from Tom's Guide

• I just went hands-on with the LG C6 OLED — here's why I'm torn about it
• It’s been nearly 5 years since I bought an LG OLED TV — will these 3 gripes stop me from buying another?
• I ditched LG's webOS smart platform for Roku and I'll never go back

There are high-end TVs, and then there are extremely high-end TVs. Right now, folks who are looking to splurge on a mind-blowingly good TV have their pick of both.

In one corner is the LG G5, which is not only one of the best OLED TVs you can buy, it’s easily one of the best LG TVs ever made, period. If you’ve been considering a high-performance OLED TV, the G5 is likely near the top of your list of options.

In the other corner is the all-new TCL X11L. While the G5 iterates on traditional OLED technology, the X11L is a complete refresh on a quantum dot-enhanced Mini-LED TV. Thanks in part to TCL’s new Super Quantum Dot (SQD) display tech, the X11L is currently over twice as expensive as the G5. The question, then, is this: If you’ve got the money to spend on either option, which should you choose?

TCL X11L vs LG G5: specs compared

These are similarly spec'd TVs, but let's talk about a few noteworthy differences. The G5 supports 4K gaming at 165Hz, but the X11L is capped at 144Hz. You don't need to worry about this unless you're planning on using one of these TVs with a gaming PC, because current-generation consoles top out at 120Hz for 4K games.

Dolby Vision support is in represented on both of these TVs, though HDR10+ is absent on the LG G5. This isn't that big of a deal, however, as Dolby Vision is the more popular format across various streaming platforms today, but credit where credit is due: The X11L supports every major HDR version including HDR10+.

It's also worth calling out the X11L's ATSC 3.0 support. This allows over-the-air broadcasts to be piped-in at native 4K resolution when available. 4K broadcasts aren't particularly common, but this feature is nevertheless nice to have, especially given the X11L's price tag.

The most important thing to consider when looking at this chart is screen size availability. The TCL X11L is only available in three sizes and the smallest option is 75 inches. The G5, meanwhile, has a much more accommodating slate of size options.

TCL X11L vs LG G5: design

Last year, LG included a stand with 55- and 65-inch versions of its G Series OLED. The G5, on the other hand, doesn't come with a stand at any size point. LG believes that most people shopping the G Series plan on taking advantage of the TV's gap-free, wall-mounted design.

You can check out the G5's separately sold stand in the photo above. It's a relatively heavy, pedestal-style stand that screws into the back of the panel, and I've never had any issues with it.

When the G5 is wall-mounted, few TVs come close to topping its striking, elegant design. When it's sitting on a credenza with its pedestal-style stand, the G5 is still a fancy-looking customer, but much of the design's visual appeal is lost.

The X11L (seen above) includes a pair of svelte, minimalistic feet that straddle the screen close to the bottom edges of the panel. This makes the X11L a more accommodating, out-of-the-box choice than the G5 for folks who don't intend on wall-mounting their next TV, but I find the G5's design better looking than the X11L whether it's on or off a wall.

My reasoning for this comes down to the sheer bulk of the X11L's panel. It's a hefty customer, and visually speaking, it carries a similar weight. I appreciate that the X11L's chassis is mostly uniform in size, but it's quite slab-like in its overall vibe.

Still, the fact that you have to shell out for the G5's separately sold stand is a pretty significant ding against its design. This one is a draw.

Winner: Draw

TCL X11L vs LG G5: performance

Before we dive into which of these TVs is the better performer, let's compare their test results. (Both TVs were in their respective Filmmaker picture mode when these tests were taken.)

First, let's talk about brightness. Along with its showstopping color, brightness is the X11L's bread and butter. We measured a sizzling 2,679 nits of HDR highlight brightness on the X11L, but it's worth noting that this set is capable of getting much, much brighter with its backlight completely cranked up.

This is especially true when measuring even smaller highlights on the X11L than the 10% window reported above. Indeed, the X11L is capable of brightness levels well above 6,000 nits.

So, how does that stack up to the G5? Thanks to the 4th-generation OLED panel from LG Display, the G5 is one of the brightest OLEDs we've ever tested, rivaling quantum dot-enhanced OLEDs from Sony and Samsung.

And, although the G5's HDR highlight brightness in Filmmaker mode is comparable to what you'll see on the X11L while the latter's backlight is kept at or around its default setting, its ceiling is nowhere near as high as the X11L's.

The X11L's added brightness is especially noticeable if you measure the luminance of the entire picture during everyday content. For people with brightly lit homes, the X11L is a much safer bet.

That said, like all OLED TVs, the G5 is capable of perfect black levels and pixel-level dimming. When you factor-in this ability, the G5's contrast-related advantages really come into focus. The X11L does a remarkably good job at minimizing haloing and light bloom (especially given its brightness), but it can't quite replicate the depth and clarity of a searingly bright OLED panel. For this reason, I find the G5's contrast to be far more appealing.

Contrast isn't the whole story. The X11L and its unique, souped-up quantum-dot panel are engineered to squeeze as much color out of a Mini-LED-backed picture than ever before.

TCL's top-of-the-line TV for 2026 covers more of the Rec. 2020 color gamut than any Mini-LED TV we've measured to date. It even surpasses some QD-OLED TVs in this category, too.

Were you to place these TVs side by side, you would almost certainly notice brighter, bolder colors on the X11L. However, without a reference, viewers' jaws will still be on the floor for the G5's bright, well-calibrated color palette, too.

Both of these TVs deliver an incredible picture worthy of a flagship-level price tag. If you're looking for the brightest possible presentation — bright enough that colors are downright psychedelic — the X11L has a considerable edge.

For my money, though, there's no better mix than the pure, true black levels of an OLED display capable of cracking 2,000 nits. For as remarkable as TCL's SQD panel truly is, the G5 has all of the built-in benefits of an OLED panel, and that seals the deal.

Winner: LG G5

TCL X11L vs LG G5: smart platform and features

The X11L is built around the Google TV software suite, and it's a great smart platform to hang your hat on if you intend to do most of your streaming on your TV rather than an external streaming device.

I love how zippy Google TV is, and the user interface is relatively straightforward, which I suspect most people will appreciate if they don't want to fumble their way through various tabs and submenus.

The G5, on the other hand, is built around webOS 25, the newest version of LG's proprietary smart platform. It's fussier than Google TV and offers a less-streamlined experience, but you can get away with using it as a daily driver.

As far as gaming features go, these are similar sets. Each offers HDMI 2.1-compatibility across all four inputs, which frees you up from thinking about which port any given device should use. Both TVs also arrive with Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and some variation of AMD FreeSync Premium for smooth, artifact-free gameplay.

Sure, the G5 supports 4K gaming at 165Hz and the X11L tops out at 144Hz. I just can't bring myself to invest too much in this difference, though, as it won't matter to the vast majority of shoppers — even the folks shopping in this price range.

For the vast majority of viewers, these sets are basically the same when it comes to features. They both offer a top-shelf gaming experience and come with a thorough slate of A/V-related enhancements. The X11L's Google TV experience is my preferred choice between the two (and TCL includes HDR10+ support), but that's not enough for it to take this category.

Winner: Draw

TCL X11L vs LG G5: outlook

Upon tallying up their report card points, it's plainly obvious that these are close competitors that perform at the highest possible level. For most people, the rubber meets the road when peeking at their respective price tags.

The TCL X11L is a brand-new TV just making its way to shelves. This is merely one reason why it's priced higher than the LG G5, which was released last year.

The primary reason why the TCL X11L is priced higher than the G5 is — to put it simply — because it's just really, really expensive. Right now, you can order the 75-inch TCL X11L for $6,999 at Amazon. Meanwhile, the 85-inch X11L is $7,999 at Best Buy.

For comparison's sake, the 77-inch G5 was $4,399 at launch. As a year-old model, it's even cheaper today. You can grab the 77-inch LG G5 for $3,499 at Best Buy right now — half the price of the 75-inch X11L.

The G5 is also available in 55- and 65-inch models, which is something you can't say for the X11L. For people in the market for a smaller-sized, high-performance TV, the 55-inch G5 being available for $1,449 at Amazon will make this decision an open-shut case.

Still, there's no denying that the TCL X11L is one of the year's best TVs. It's also proof that there are still ways to eke more performance gains out of Mini-LED display tech. Given its high price, I suspect it will be a tough sell for most people until it goes on sale.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tested TCL’s $8,000 SQD Mini-LED TV — here's my verdict
• LG G5 OLED TV review
• The RAM crisis came for computers first and now it's coming for TVs — here's why I recommend upgrading while you still can

If you’re shopping for a high-performance TV and your priority is a Samsung-branded model, you’ve got several quality options. Among those are the Samsung QN90F — the brand’s top-performing, 4K Mini-LED TV — and the Samsung S90F, a mid-range OLED TV with a similar set of features.

These TVs are close in price but quite different in performance. Both offer sensational picture quality, but how they achieve it is completely different. Here’s everything you need to know about how Samsung’s top Neo QLED TV compares to its mid-range OLED.

Samsung QN90F vs Samsung S95F: specs compared

This pair of Samsung TVs has a number of specs in common. Neither set supports ATSC 3.0, so 4K over-the-air broadcasts via an indoor antenna are out of the question.

Like all Samsung TVs available today, neither of these TVs supports Dolby Vision, a proprietary version of enhanced HDR. Instead, Samsung offers HDR10+ across all of its HDR-enabled TVs. HDR10+ is a royalty-free version of the format that, like Dolby Vision, leverages metadata to adjust the picture on a frame-by-frame basis.

You'll still be able to watch Dolby Vision-mastered streaming titles and Blu-rays on both sets, but the picture will fall back to standard HDR10. In other words, these TVs won't be taking full advantage of Dolby Vision's efforts to replicate the creator's intent.

(To learn more about Dolby Vision, check out our guide to whether or not you need Dolby Vision at all.)

When it comes to specs, the QN90F has two key advantages, but they're relatively modest advantages. First, the QN90F supports 4K content up to 165Hz, while the S90F OLED tops out at 144Hz. This will only really affect people who intend to hook one of these TVs up to a PC, however, as current-gen consoles are limited to 4K/120Hz.

In addition, the QN90F is available in two more sizes than the S90F. Crucially, these are 98- and 115-inch models, two niche size points that most people won't be shopping.

The QN90F takes this category because of these technicalities. That said, for most people, these two TVs offer a comparable set of specs.

Winner: Samsung QN90F

Samsung QN90F vs Samsung S95F: design

The back of the Samsung QN90F is pictured above. As you can see, the TV makes use of a pedestal-style stand that connects to a heavy, flat plate. At just a hair over an inch thick, the QN90F's panel is one of the narrowest we've seen for a Mini-LED TV in recent years. All of its internal hardware is spread across the chassis to allow for this uniform profile.

The QN90F's stand lifts the panel several inches above its surface, which is good news for anyone with a dedicated soundbar. There's enough room for most soundbars to sit in front of the QN90F without obstructing one's view.

The S90F (pictured above) also uses a pedestal-style stand, but its panel is engineered with a different design approach. Most of the TV's internal hardware is relegated to a rectangular-shaped compartment that bulges outward from the bottom half of the panel's backside. As a result, the S90F's profile isn't uniform.

Nevertheless, the S90F is a posh customer. Like many OLED TVs, the rest of the S90F's panel is wafer-thin and quite impressive-looking when viewed from the side. It might lack the QN90F's edge-to-edge uniformity, but I prefer the signature, ultra-thin look of an OLED TV.

Another key difference between these two TVs lies in their anti-reflective coating. The QN90F features a matte finish, which diffuses glare from direct light sources very effectively. The S90F makes use of a more glossy screen.

As a result, the S90F doesn't handle direct glare as well as the QN90F, but by neglecting the matte finish, it maintains the inky-black presentation that OLEDs are known for.

Both sets arrive with the same remote control: the Samsung Solar Cell remote. It's a sleek little number with a minimal amount of buttons, but its best feature is its rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which taps natural and artificial light for battery life.

I prefer the S90F's design slightly more than the QN90F, but there's no denying the latter's excellent design. It's a close category.

Winner: Samsung S90F

Samsung QN90F vs Samsung S95F: performance

Before we dive into which of these TVs delivers better overall performance, let's take a look at how their test results stack up in a side-by-side comparison. (Both TVs were in Samsung's Filmmaker picture mode when these tests were taken.)

When comparing these sets, two things ought to jump out at you: brightness and color. As a top-of-the-line, quantum dot-enhanced Mini-LED TV, it's no surprise that the QN90F delivers much better brightness than a mid-range OLED TV. This is one of the ways Samsung Neo QLEDs set themselves apart from OLED TVs.

With that much horsepower under the hood, the QN90F is capable of sizzling specular highlights during HDR content. In other words, small, concentrated bits of brightness practically leap off the screen, giving the picture depth.

However, while the S90F's OLED display tops out at just over half of the QN90F's HDR brightness, its ability to render perfect black levels and to control its brightness on a pixel-by-pixel basis has a tremendously positive impact on picture quality.

Having spent considerable time with both TVs, I find the S90F's picture to be much more cinematic. As good as the QN90F is at showcasing movies and shows with bright, eye-catching highlights, the S90F's overall contrast is much more impressive.

In addition, the 55-, 65-, and 77-inch versions of the S90F make use of Samsung Display's quantum dot-enhanced OLED panels, which offer brighter, purer color than standard WOLED panels. As you can see from our test results, the S90F's QD-OLED panel also delivers better color volume than the QN90F.

The rest is mostly a wash. Both TVs arrive with incredible out-of-the-box accuracy in Filmmaker mode, and both are super-responsive with input latency measurements that fall below 10ms.

If you're planning on putting your next TV in a sun-soaked room, the QN90F will almost certainly be a more reliable pick. For almost everyone else, the S90F's pixel-level dimming and superior color volume will be the winning choice.

Winner: Samsung S90F

Samsung QN90F vs Samsung S95F: smart platform and features

Samsung's latest version of Smart Hub (powered by Tizen) isn't my preferred choice. That said, if you'd rather not splurge on one of the best streaming devices for your living room, Smart Hub will get the job done.

It's the same version of Smart Hub on both TVs, and in my experience, the navigational experience is nearly identical. The software moves along at a mostly zippy clip, but I find its layout to be visually cluttered. It also takes multiple steps to arrive at various menus, when it feels like the route should be shorter.

Fortunately, when it comes to gaming features, the QN90F and the S90F are among the strongest gaming machines you can buy. Each TV offers four HDMI 2.1 inputs, and both support Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), G-Sync compatibility and AMD's FreeSync Premium Pro.

As mentioned, neither of these TVs supports Dolby Vision or ATSC 3.0. This means they're similar in what they offer and similar in what they don't offer.

Winner: Draw

Samsung QN90F vs Samsung S95F: outlook

These are two impressive TVs that offer excellent performance and a wide array of features, but the S90F comes with slightly better picture quality due to the many benefits of its quantum dot-enhanced OLED display. That said, the QN90F is among the best Mini-LED TVs money can buy, and for some people, it might be a better pick.

If you're planning on placing your next TV in a room that gets a lot of sun or artificial light, you might find the QN90F's brighter picture to be a safer bet. Not only does it offer brighter specular highlights, but it also offers a brighter picture overall.

Most of the comparable sizes in the QN90F and the S90F series are similarly priced. Currently, the 55-inch QN90F is $1,299 at Best Buy, while the 55-inch S90F is $1,199 at Best Buy. Whichever you land on, you can rest easy knowing that you're getting a fantastic, feature-rich TV.

More from Tom's Guide

• Samsung QN90F Mini-LED TV review
• Samsung S90F OLED TV review
• Samsung TV lineup 2026: new OLEDs, Micro RGB TVs and Neo QLEDs announced at CES

If you’ve noticed that Dolby Vision content on your LG C5 OLED or LG G5 OLED suddenly looks brighter than it did a week ago — you’re not imagining things.

Something definitely changed: This week, LG deployed software update 33.30.92 for its 2025 OLED TV models that brings with it, among other things, enhanced brightness for Dolby Vision HDR content.

OLED owners on Reddit noticed the change immediately and were quick to post the surprising before and after photos:

Before vs After Results : LG G5 Dolby Vision brightness update (33.30.92) from r/LG_UserHub

The future is bright

What’s interesting is the timing of the update — we’re only about a month and a half away from the launch of LG’s new 2026 models, the LG C6 and G6 OLED.

Is it possible that engineers were able to take some of the learnings from the new TVs and roll them back to the 2025 models? Absolutely, but there’s no way for us to know for sure.

What we can say is that, in our own lab testing, we measured the G5’s peak brightness at 2,295 nits in a 10% window. It's always had the physical capability to go brighter with Dolby Vision content, but there was something in the encoding that prevented it. The same is true, to a lesser extent, for the LG C5 OLED that put out 1,165 nits under the same conditions.

Unfortunately, no LG B5 OLED owners have come forward to mention any improvement on their sets, and that could be down to the fact that the B5 maxed out at just 632 nits in a 10% window. A boost in HDR brightness might not do much to change that.

Now, I think there will still be good reason to buy the new 2026 models — just see our guides to the LG C5 vs C6 and LG G5 vs G6 for a complete rundown— but the latest update could give folks on the fence a reason to save some money by buying last year’s suddenly improved screens.

We're keen to get them into our labs for testing, so stay tuned for more.

More from Tom's Guide

• 5 simple ways to extend your TV's life — expert tips from a TV reviewer
• I test TVs for a living, and this is the one spot in my living room I would never put my TV
• Dolby Vision 2: What is it and what does it mean for your next TV?

OLEDs are some of the best TVs you can buy, but they come at a steep cost — especially when you compare their price to most LCD/LED sets. For shoppers looking to save some money on this enticing display technology this year, there might be good news coming down the pike.

As first reported by FlatpanelsHD, LG Display — maker of select OLED panels for LG, Samsung and Sony — is rolling out a new, more-affordable OLED panel in 2026. As a result, select OLED TVs that use this type of display this year might be more competitively priced than their predecessors were upon their debut. They’re also reportedly brighter than previously used panels.

Dubbed OLED SE, the new panel is not without some intriguing tradeoffs. Let’s review what we know so far.

Better brightness at the expense of anti-reflectivity — but that’s OK

Within LG Display’s OLED hierarchy, OLED SE sits below the OLED EX panels used by the LG C5 and the soon-to-be-released LG C6. In turn, OLED EX sits below OLED META, the panel associated with the LG G5 and the upcoming LG G6.

These panels are the end result of a cost-reduction plan that aims to make OLED TVs cheaper to produce, perhaps a response to the advent of RGB LED technology and the expansion of affordable Mini-LED TVs in recent years.

The “SE” in OLED SE reportedly stands for “Special Edition.” As it happens, there are some special qualities attached to these panels, too.

OLED SE displays are reported to reach 1,000 nits of brightness — quite the feat for the entry-level models that are likely to leverage OLED SE panels. Last year, we clocked LG’s entry-level B5 OLED at around 600 to 650 nits in Filmmaker mode, so it’s quite possible that some (or all) versions of the incoming LG B6 series will see a bit of a brightness boost.

However, it’s also reported that the reason for the brightness boost — namely, the strategic removal of the display’s polarizer — is also the reason why OLED SE panels are more reflective. There’s a new reflective film in place of the polarizer which introduces a level of reflectivity akin to a typical Mini-LED panel.

As an OLED TV-owner who’s tested many of the best OLED TVs over the last decade, I think this tradeoff is fine. With specular highlights at (or near) 1,000 nits, the higher reflectivity shouldn’t be much of a concern, provided the room isn’t flush with light.

As mentioned, not all OLED TVs will feature OLED SE panels in 2026. That said, we can do some back-of-the-napkin work to figure out which incoming models are the most likely candidates.

Which TVs will feature OLED SE panels in 2026?

As the most affordable OLED configuration in LG Display’s repertoire, one can assume that this panel will find its way to the newest version of LG’s entry-level B Series, the B6. What I wouldn’t guarantee, though, is the panel being used by all of the sizes in the series.

Samsung Display manufactures quantum dot-enhanced OLED displays for Samsung’s QD-OLED TVs (like the Samsung S90F and the Samsung S95F), and the brand will continue sourcing those panels for its 2026 QD-OLED TVs. This includes the Samsung S95H and the S90H, so we can rule those models out.

However, some of the brand’s entry-level OLED models may come with OLED SE panels, including the Samsung S85H. Last year, the 77- and 83-inch versions of the Samsung S85F arrived with standard WOLED panels, so there’s reason to believe that 77- and 83-inch versions of the S85H will make use of OLED SE panels.

Sony and Panasonic — two brands who have also sourced OLED panels from LG Display in recent years — have yet to divulge much about their 2026 TVs.

OLED SE: outlook

We’ve reached out to LG for more information about its upcoming B Series and will update this space when we’ve learned more. In the meantime, you can color me excited.

Long-term OLED TV ownership has had its ups and downs, but I do often find myself wishing that my five-year-old OLED TV was capable of getting brighter. I’d gladly take that deal today.

I’ve also long since celebrated the slow-but-steady drop in OLED pricing throughout my time covering TVs. I love OLED technology, but there’s no denying that the cost of an OLED TV relative to a similarly sized LCD/LED set is prohibitively expensive for a large swath of shoppers.

There’s certainly no guarantee that LG, Samsung or any other brand that sells OLED TVs will offer OLED SE-equipped sets for less. However, I’m of the mind that, if this is in fact a cost-reduction effort to compete with new Mini-LED and RGB LED TVs, it only follows that OLED SE-equipped TVs will go on sale for less than what we’ve come to expect.

More from Tom's Guide

• It’s been nearly 5 years since I bought an LG OLED TV — will these 3 gripes stop me from buying another?
• LG C6 vs LG C5: Is the newest OLED TV worth it in 2026?
• I test TVs for a living but I won't be buying an RGB LED TV in 2026 — here's why

LG's flagship TVs have always been in contention for the title of best OLED TV — even if Samsung's top-end QD-OLED TVs like the Samsung S95F OLED have recently given them a run for their money.

At this year’s CES, LG unveiled the latest in its line of flagship screens. Dubbed the LG G6 OLED, it takes the reins from last year’s LG G5 OLED.

What’s different? Well, unlike some years, the LG G6 OLED is a pretty substantial upgrade over the G5 OLED — LG claims that the G6 OLED is a fair bit brighter than the model before it and boasts even deeper blacks.

So if you're in the market for a new top-end OLED TV, is it worth shelling out for LG's newest, or should you save some cash and go for the last-generation model?

LG G6 OLED vs G5 OLED: Specs

LG G6 OLED vs G5 OLED: Design

Physically, the G6 and G5 both follow LG's sleek, wall-friendly approach. Both include "Zero Gap" wall-mounting brackets that let the TV sit flush against the wall, giving you that picture-frame look with minimal space between the screen and the surface. Both models come in the same size options, too: 48", 55", 65", 77", 83", and 97".

Connectivity is also consistent. You get four HDMI 2.1 ports on both, supporting up to 4K at 165Hz. It's nice all four of the ports are HDMI 2.1 ports, though definitely expected at this price point. The only exception is on the largest model, which is limited to 120Hz.

The fact that the design is so similar will be good news to those that liked the design of the G5 — but perhaps less so for those who feel it was getting a little stagnant. Regardless, you couldn't argue the TV isn't slim and subtle, which is nice — especially when coupled with the Zero Gap mounting bracket.

LG G6 OLED vs G5 OLED: Performance

Because the design is so similar, performance is really the most important difference between the two. The G6, as you might expect, brings updated display panel tech to the LG G series. In fact, it seems as though the larger sizes in the G6 lineup actually use LG's second-generation Primary RGB Tandem panel, building on the OLED EVO tech from the G5. This newer architecture should deliver better color purity while keeping the brightness advantages that tandem OLED designs offer.

Brightness is where these two TVs differ most though. LG says the G6 is 20% brighter than the G5, and real-world testing puts the newer model. In our testing, we found the LG G5 to offer a brightness of up to 2,296 nits at a 10% window, so if LG's claims turn out to be true, the G6 could reach 2,750 nits or so. That said, this jump applies mainly to small highlights rather than full-screen brightness, so don't expect everything to look uniformly brighter across all your content.

The other brightness-related upgrade, though, will make your entire image appear brighter, even if it's not. The G6 has a new "Reflection Free Premium" polarizer, which supposedly helps reflections drop to under 0.5% — significantly beating the roughly 1.5% you get from typical solutions. In practice, this means a noticeably cleaner image when you've got windows, overhead lights, or other ambient light sources in the room.

Black levels in bright rooms improve meaningfully too. At 500 lux — about what you'd have for comfortable reading — the G6 keeps blacks deeper than 0.24 nits. You might be wondering why black levels are an issue with OLED TVs, and the answer is basically that while the TV is outputting any light from black areas of the screen, ambient light from your environment can make them appear brighter.

Then there's the TV's processing, which also gets an upgrade. The G6 has LG's Gen 3 Alpha 11 processor, up from the G5's Gen 2 version. The extra power helps most with upscaling sub-4K content, making older movies, cable broadcasts, and standard-def streaming look noticeably cleaner. We'll have to see how effective this new upscaling tech is, but LG's top-end TVs were already quite good at this.

Both TVs support modern HDR tech including Dolby Vision, but don't get your hopes up about Dolby Vision 2 just yet — LG has confirmed that it currently has no plans to support Dolby Vision 2 in 2026. It's entirely possible support will come further out, but don't buy your TV based on this.

Still, the G5 already handles HDR very well, especially in controlled lighting. The G6's improvements are real but might seem subtle if you mostly watch in dark rooms where the G5's contrast and detail are already excellent. For dark-room viewers, the upgrade may not be worth the extra cost.

Gamers also in for much of an improvement — gaming specs are identical on both models. They both have Variable Refresh Rate support, 4K at 165Hz, and cloud gaming through GeForce Now with support for G-Sync and FreeSync.

Outlook

The G6 OLED makes the most sense specifically for watching in environments that are brighter or have a lot of reflections. Its higher peak brightness will make highlights pop more, but not everyone will need that.

The G5 is still an excellent TV that shouldn't be overlooked just because something newer came along. It still offers amongst the best image quality you can get from any TV out there right now, and it'll likely lower in price over the next few months ahead of the G6's release.

Speaking of release date, we don't yet know exactly when the LG G6 will come out. LG often releases new TVs around March or April, so hopefully we won't have to wait too long — but without official confirmation, it's hard to say. The LG G5 has been out for a while now, so if you need a TV right now, it's the way to go.

As a TV reviewer, a big part of my job is to dive deep into the digital nooks and crannies of every TV I cover. But when I’m done for the day and ready to catch up on my shows from the comfort of my living room, I don’t want to explore software anymore — I just want to stream in peace. I yearn for a frictionless experience, and unfortunately, my LG TV’s built-in webOS smart platform wasn’t cutting it as my daily driver.

Now sure, LG OLED TVs are some of the best TVs you can buy, but in recent years, I’ve found webOS to be a frustrating software suite for everyday streaming. Recently, I made the jump to a dedicated streaming device: the Roku Ultra. I’m now a certified Roku enthusiast, and I’ll never go back to webOS.

Roku isn’t inundated with ads and recommendations

As is the case with all streaming platforms, there are ads nestled into the Roku interface. Unlike the vast majority of its competitors, however, Roku’s ad output is downright minimal.

LG’s webOS is a different story. By default, webOS plasters a gigantic banner ad that takes up about a third of the real estate across its home screen. An entire section of the home screen is dedicated to recommended content.

By comparison, Roku is a breath of fresh air. Typically, there’s a rectangular ad on its home screen, and while it does take up a big chunk of the Roku home screen, you don’t have to scroll through it in order to reach certain menu items. Roku also lets you turn off all of its recommended content, leaving you with just the apps you need across its only screen.

On webOS, some of the sponsored and recommended elements can be hidden or shuffled around by disabling Home Promotion and Content Recommendation via the Home Settings. Unfortunately, the UI still stretches unimportant content across the places where ads and recommendations would be.

Even with a highly customized home screen, the general vibe of webOS is that of a pushy person prodding you into pressing buttons. I don’t need shortcuts to LG’s Home Hub or the User Guide at my fingertips at all times, but webOS seems to think I do.

That brings me to my favorite aspect of Roku: its clean, zippy UI.

A fast and easy interface that makes streaming simple

By setting my LG TV’s Power On Screen setting to Recent Input rather than Home, it brings me straight to Roku’s HDMI input when I turn on the TV. I skip the garish, neon-colored clutter of webOS’s home screen, and instead, I’m treated to the clean, simplistic grid of tiles I’ve come to love about Roku.

On the left of this grid of apps is a straightforward menu with settings and customization options. Everything is laid out where I expect it to be, and the main focus is my curated list of apps.

Now that I’ve turned to a Roku Ultra for every-day use, I probably stream more movies and shows than I did before. I’m willing to chalk that up to the approachability of Roku.

But it’s not just the big tiles and simplistic navigational experience that makes Roku so easy to pick up and learn. It’s also super speedy.

I find most TV operating systems to have somewhat of a chunky feel to them. There are stutters between screens, buttons often require repeated inputs, and sometimes, apps take a while to load. I’ve seen this on webOS, Samsung smart TVs and across Fire TV-based products, too.

Roku, meanwhile, almost never misses a beat. Apps boot up quickly. I’m in and out of menus lickety-split.

When you combine a simple, uncluttered interface with zippy performance, you end up with that flowy, frictionless experience I yearn for when all I want to do is just watch some TV.

Useful (not superfluous) features

Another secret ingredient in this satisfying formula are a handful of Roku features I suddenly can’t live without.

For example, did you know that there’s a physical button on top of the Roku Ultra that, when pressed, prompts the remote control to call out with an unmistakable whistle sound? It’s helped me locate my lost remote on, frankly, an embarrassing number of occasions.

If I’m watching a loud action movie past my partner’s bedtime, I simply jam a pair of wired headphones into the Roku remote’s 3.5mm headphone jack and voila: a private soundscape without the need to fumble with Bluetooth.

Roku’s Universal Watch List feature lets me collect all of my favorite shows into one easy-to-access menu — regardless of which streaming service hosts them.

A few of Roku's best features exist in some capacity on rival operating systems, but none of them blend their usefulness with Roku's simple approach. Meanwhile, many new smart TVs — particularly LG's and Samsung's — are shipping with features I have no use for.

I don't need to make a viewing profile on webOS in order for it to learn my preferences and shove TV show recommendations into my face; I watch "Jeopardy!" every night at 7:30 and baseball games during the spring and summer. I know when a new season of "The White Lotus" is about to start.

I'll be the first to admit that Roku isn't perfect, but it's the best-oiled machine for streaming movies and shows in 2026. Other brands should take note.

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• 7 tips and tricks to make your LG TV even better
• Roku Streaming Stick Plus review

OLED just keeps getting better (and brighter) every year. The best OLED TVs can now match the cornea-scorching vividness of high-end Mini-LED sets, which is hugely impressive.

When it comes to my most anticipated TV of 2026 though, the LG G6 OLED, it’s not the rumored eye-rubbing number of nits I’m most excited for — it's actually the LG G6’s reflectivity. Or more accurately, it’s total lack of it.

Thanks to LG’s new “Reflection Free Premium” tech, the TV giant is promising a top-tier set that will deliver perfect black levels in not only dark viewing conditions, but also the most sun-filled living rooms. Here's why I think it's the biggest TV upgrade in years.

It's time to end glare for good

Eliminating reflections has been a big priority for LG for years at this point. I’m lucky enough to own a 77-inch LG G3 OLED, and the anti-reflective coating on its Evo panel stops it from becoming a giant mirror whenever the sun pops up here in my native (currently frigid) Scotland. It’s far from perfect, though.

In summer months, my living room takes in a lot of light. In late June, when the sun often doesn’t fully set until after 10pm, the mid-evening rays that pour into my lounge create a bunch of distracting reflections that the G3 simply can’t banish.

This admittedly first-world AV problem was so distracting last summer, I literally thought there was a giant mark on my screen every sunny evening. Mercifully, I hadn’t accidentally scratched my screen, rather, it was the sun bouncing off my PS5 Pro’s shiny black middle strip that was creating an annoying reflection.

Plonking my console on its side quickly remedied this issue, but I can’t deny I’ve been pining for better anti-reflective tech ever since.

Nearly glare-free since 2023

Since the G3 launched back in 2023, LG has made significant strides in reducing glare on its OLED panels. Last year’s superb LG G5 OLED is, in part, such a “picture powerhouse” because its anti-reflective coating is extremely accomplished. Said coating works so well, LG’s current flagship OLED was granted a UL Glare Free certification.

That might make you think there’s little room for improvement when it comes to slaying TV reflections. Yet if you believe LG’s early promises surrounding the G6, glare will be a complete non-issue for its upcoming screen.

LG stated at CES 2026 that the G6’s panel would have a screen reflectance lower than 0.5%. That’s an impressive metric on its own, but when working in conjunction with LG's new “Brightness Booster Ultra” technology, the G6 should have more than enough juice to overpower ambient light.

So how bright are we talking? We measured last year's LG G5's HDR peak brightness at 2,296 nits on a 10% white window, making it one of the brightest OLEDs we’ve ever seen — and the G6 is supposedly 20% brighter than its already vivid predecessor.

When you combine that Reflection Free Premium coating with sky high brightness, OLED’s infinite black levels, an upgraded Alpha 11 Gen 3 processor, plus a four stack Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 panel, it would be a surprise if the G6 isn’t competing with the Samsung S95H for the crown of 2026’s best OLED TV.

Spring can't get here quick enough

Look, I’m incredibly happy with my G3. The 2023 screen is still so good. It’s the first OLED TV I’ve owned in years where I’ve not been immediately tempted to replace it as soon as its successor was released.

But the G6 is going to be a day-one buy for me. I already know I’m going to appreciate the G6’s 4K/120Hz screen and its plethora of gamer-friendly features — like Nvidia G-Sync, FreeSync Premium, VRR and ALLM — and the improvements in upscaling and motion processing that will come with G6's updated processor.

It's possible, of course, that LG's marketing speak has simply said all the right things to convince me to shell out for the latest and greatest technology... but from everything I've read about it, I’m confident the G6 will be the most impressive set I’ll have ever clocked eyes upon.

If prior years' launch dates are anything to go by, LG's new OLEDs are typically released in late March or early April, and you can bet I'll be first in line when they arrive.

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• Sony 'True RGB' TVs are coming — and they could be an OLED-killer
• I saw Samsung’s 2026 flagship OLED and Micro RGB TVs side by side — here's the one I like more

The biggest tech event of the year has come to a close, and while the industry’s leading TV brands didn’t announce all of their newest TVs at CES 2026, we’ve seen enough of their upcoming lineups to get the lay of the land. And, as it turns out, 2026 is shaping up to be the biggest year yet for what have come to be known as lifestyle TVs.

It’s an umbrella term for a relatively new class of TV that puts a particular emphasis on design. More specifically, lifestyle TVs are built to harmonize with the viewer’s life and living space, both aesthetically and functionally. The majority of these sets resemble framed, wall-mounted portraits — and they were everywhere at CES.

I’ve long been a fan of lifestyle TVs, if only for the fact that they fill an interesting niche. I love the idea that a TV can fulfill an aesthetic purpose even when not in use, and while traditionally they’ve compromised on performance, it’s clear to me that they’re only getting better in 2026. Here’s what might grace your wall this year — from affordable lifestyle QLEDs to an incredible LG OLED.

LG's Wallpaper OLED TV sets a new standard for lifestyle TV performance

This year, the most advanced display to get the lifestyle treatment is LG's Wallpaper TV, also known as the LG W6. It harnesses one of LG Display's top OLED panels and places it within an ultra-thin, wall-mounted design that sits flush against the wall — hence the Wallpaper moniker.

Indeed, the W6 has a bit more in common with LG's G Series OLEDs, which historically have also been engineered for a flush, wall-mounted configuration. In fact, the "G" in G Series once stood for Gallery, as the overall design of these premium sets have always been heavily curatorial.

However, if TVs like the LG G5 and LG G4 can be considered lifestyle-adjacent, the W6 is closer to full-on lifestyle. Its entire body — both panel and chassis — has been engineered to be as thin as possible. It's an astonishing 9mm thick, and its uniform design allows it to hang right up against the wall.

While pricier than just about every other lifestyle TV we've seen in recent years, the W6 will potentially the best-performing TV in this space in 2026. It leverages LG Display's newest Tandem OLED panel and features the brand's newest performance-related innovation: Hyper Radiant Color Technology.

LG claims that the display can get up to 3.9 times brighter than "conventional OLEDs," and given the benchmark set by the LG G5 (which taps an older version of LG Display's Tandem OLED panel), I'm willing to bet that it gets brighter than most OLED TVs on the market.

The W6 is also wireless, so you can bask in its elegance without peeping cables all over the place. It comes with LG's Zero Connect Box, which transmits the signal of your connected devices from up to 10 meters away.

A note on price: While it's true that the W6 will cost a pretty penny compared to most lifestyle TVs, it's shaping up to be lower in price than one might expect. A representative from LG told Tom's Guide Global Editor in Chief Mark Spoonauer that the W6 would sell for roughly the same as the brand's G Series OLED TV.

Amazon eyes affordability with the Ember Artline QLED

Searching for something a bit more affordable that still plays the role of a thoughtfully designed, gallery-inspired TV? Amazon might have what you're looking for this year.

At CES, the company unveiled the Ember Artline TV — a model that blends the clever, customizable frames of traditional lifestyle TVs with the budget-friendly pricing we've come to expect from Amazon-branded sets.

It runs the newest, updated version of Amazon's Fire TV smart platform (complete with apps to showcase artwork), and shoppers can choose from ten different magnetic frames to complete the portrait-inspired look.

It'll come in two sizes at launch: 55 and 65 inches. What sets the Ember Artline TV apart from some of its competitors in the QLED-equipped lifestyle class is its price; the 55-inch version will debut at just $899 — that's about $200 less than the current price of Samsung's The Frame.

Samsung expands size options for The Frame

Obviously, Samsung is enjoying a bit of a head start as one of the most popular purveyors of lifestyle TVs, but there are some minor changes coming to Samsung's lifestyle lineup in 2026.

While the Samsung 2026 TV lineup doesn't currently include brand-new versions of The Frame and The Frame Pro, Samsung is nonetheless expanding the series to include new size options this year.

The Frame Pro, which taps a variation of Samsung's Neo QLED display with edge-lit Mini-LEDs, is now available in a 55-inch version. Previously, Samsung's top-performing version of The Frame was only available in 65-, 75- and 85-inch models.

Similarly, the basic version of The Frame will now be available in a room-dominating, 98-inch version. Unlike the The Frame Pro, the entry-level variant offers a basic QLED panel rather than the more nimble Mini-LED display found on the step-up version.

While it's a tad disappointing that Samsung doesn't seem prepared to bring bigger, hardware-based updates to its super-popular lineup of lifestyle TVs, the expansion of these series could be an indication that people are buying more of these TVs than ever before.

LG certainly saw the writing on the wall ahead of 2026. And hopefully, now that TV-makers are blending lifestyle designs with higher-level hardware, we've only just begun to see what the lifestyle class has in store for viewers in the coming years.

More from Tom's Guide

• Google TV just got even better with some big upgrades through Gemini
• Samsung just unveiled the S90H OLED TV at CES 2026 — and these 2 features took me by surprise
• Hisense’s new RGB Mini-LED is probably the best-looking LCD TV at CES 2026

One of my favorite CES memories is spending eight hours working with a professional THX Home Installation trainer to understand the dynamics of sound. We reviewed how to best place subwoofers to reduce standing waves in a room and angle speakers for the widest sound dispersion.

But not everyone gets to spend a full day learning how to make their speaker system really, truly sound its best. Heck, some people don’t even have a few hours to spend on it.

That’s where the LG Sound Suite audio system comes in. Thanks to Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, you can put satellite speakers anywhere in the room and get calibrated spatial audio sound tuned to wherever you want to sit. It's just become available on LG's website and it's changed the way I think about surround sound.

Who needs channel-based audio anyways?

If you have a passing familiarity with speaker systems, you’re probably used to seeing them described by the number of channels they have.

A 5.1 system describes a setup with left and right channel speakers, plus one center channel, two back satellite speakers and a subwoofer. A 7.1 system adds two extra speakers to the mix... so on and so forth.

That’s not quite how LG Sound Suite works. The speakers don't need to be placed in a regular configuration — the system calibrates itself to your living environment.

Say you only buy two LG M7 surround speakers. You might want to put them on either side of your couch, where they’ll work like regular left and right paired speakers.

But rather than the traditional placement, you could also put one behind you to the left on a table and the other in front of you somewhere. Well, guess what? You can do that, too, and it won’t sound weird.

If, next week, you decide to get a new end table and want to move the front speaker onto it, there are no cords that need to be re-measured and cut or settings to change. You simply re-run the calibration tool on either your LG TV, the ThinQ AI app on your phone, or via the Sound Suite Soundbar. Voila, your system is now reconfigured to the new layout.

Dolby Atmos in any room with any speaker configuration

There are several pieces of technology at play to make the system work so seamlessly. The first is Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, which adapts the sound depending on how many speakers you currently have set up. The other is Sound Follow, an LG technology that uses ultra-wideband to get the speaker levels just right for wherever you’re sitting.

In my CES 2026 demo, LG had four M7 surround speakers and a W7 subwoofer connected to the Sound Suite H7 soundbar. Each surround speaker was set up in a normal configuration (to the left, right and behind me) and I got immersive spatial audio from where I was sitting.

Halfway through the demo, the demonstrator picked up one of the surround speakers and moved it right next to where I was sitting. Normally, moving a speaker this close would require you to re-calibrate the whole system. If you don’t, the closest speaker will sound significantly louder than the others and ruin the mix.

That didn’t happen. Instead, the system recognized there was a change and re-calibrated itself on the fly. Within 30 seconds, the system was once again balanced.

Versatility and convenience at a cost

The LG Sound Suite demo was impressive. I’ve been walking around CES just thinking how much time FlexConnect would save me when setting up a new system, and every wired surround sound speaker now just feels like a load of extra work that I don’t want to deal with.

Unfortunately, given the cost of the LG Sound Suite, I’ll still have a few more years of setting up my surround system the old-fashioned way — it’s just too expensive for me right out of the gate.

The Sound Suite H7 soundbar, for example, will set you back $999. Each of the four M7 surround speakers comes in at $399 apiece, while the W7 subwoofer is $599. That means the cost of the system I was listening to was well over $3,000.

That’s not unreasonable — especially considering a Sonos Arc Ultra starts at $1,099 — but wired surround systems can be had for half the price or less.

Overall, LG Sound Suite is among the coolest audio technologies I’ve yet to hear at CES 2026 and I really respect all the engineering that had to go into it. Still, at this price, I probably won’t be able to get it in my own home for another few years.

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• I saw Samsung’s 2026 flagship OLED and Micro RGB TVs side by side — here's the one I like more
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One of the hardest parts about making homemade cakes, cookies, bread, or even meringues isn't the actual baking. It's not the weighing of the ingredients. And it's definitely not the mixing — we've got a stand mixer for that. It's knowing when your food is actually ready to come out of the warm oven and onto your room-temperature countertop. If you're anything like me and tend to leave foods in the oven for a little longer, just to be on the safe side, then things are about to be switched up big time in your kitchen.

Among the releases of new tech for 2026 at CES is the new LG Signature Oven range that will prove itself to be especially handy for bakers. Fitted with LG's AI Core-Tech inside, aptly known as Gourmet AI, each oven has a specially-designed camera sitting inside it to monitor your food at all times while it's switched on and warm. Once your bake looks perfectly browned, it'll alert the app on your phone, ready for you to check and remove from the oven. Talk about taking the guesswork out of baking.

Better yet? All of this is wrapped inside a neat, modern package that will bring a sophisticated feel to your kitchen. Think gold accents, minimalist designs, and convenience at your fingertips.

LG's Signature Oven

How exactly does this oven work? With a bank of 85+ dishes to choose from, you need to prepare your bake as normal and then tell it what you're making on the app. It will then program your oven with the right temperature setting and timer for cooking this specific bake.

While baking, the Gourmet AI camera will continuously monitor your food and send an alert via the ThinQ app when it detects that it appears ready. You can even view the contents of your oven from your phone, adding some serious convenience to your life, especially if you're often forgetting you've got the oven on in the first place.

Undeniably handy when it comes to perfecting those delicate-to-cook items such as meringues, cakes, and even some types of bread, this way you won't ever have to risk opening your oven and your bake collapsing. This handy technology can offer an extra insight into cooking than your recipe book, all while giving you control, whether you're in your kitchen doing the dishes while your food is baking, or on the sofa watching your favorite movie.

What else is new?

Among the other LG products released at CES 2026 were two refrigerators:

The New LG Signature Refrigerator is fitted with A 6.8" display and inside lives smart AI, which works hard to keep your fridge fresher than ever. It anticipates fridge openings based on getting to know your regular patterns, and to keep your fridge at the perfect temperature, it pre-cools before it anticipates an opening.

The LG Signature Smart InstaView Refrigerator boasts an internal camera that can identify ingredients, suggest recipes based on the contents of your fridge, and more. It's fitted with a T-OLED InstaView panel on its front for both convenience and style.

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We’re live on the scene from CES 2026 this week, where the biggest brands in the TV industry have been busy spotlighting their newest screens and innovations. Yes, there are tons of TVs on display, but there are a handful in particular that have caught our eye.

From upgraded OLEDs to all-new Micro RGB TVs, here’s a round-up of the best sets we’ve seen so far — the TVs that are poised to make a big splash in the coming months.

Samsung R95H

For most of the major TV-makers, CES 2026 has been all about one thing: RGB-based backlighting.

These teeny-tiny LEDs are smaller than garden-variety Mini-LEDs and create their own red-, green- and blue-colored light instead of relying on a color filter. The result is gobsmackingly gorgeous color — hues that are much brighter and purer than what we’ve come to expect from even the best Mini-LED TVs on the market.

Samsung has dubbed its take on the technology RGB Micro LED, and the Samsung R95H is the brand’s latest flagship to flaunt it. Nick Pino, managing editor of TV and AV for Tom’s Guide, was lucky enough to go hands-on with the Samsung R95H and walked away impressed.

“Samsung's R95H is as bright as any Mini-LED TV I’ve seen,” Nick says, noting that the R95H features “a slightly larger color volume” than those Mini-LED-based TVs. He added: “Scenes from ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ I watched on my Samsung S95D OLED looked significantly brighter and richer on the R95H.”

As mentioned, the R95H is far from the only TV tapping this tantalizing tech on the showroom floor, but given Samsung's pedigree (including its superb track record for picture processing), it's quickly becoming one of our most-anticipated.

Hisense UR9 and UR8

Hisense ain’t messing around this year. After another successful year of selling some of the most competitively priced and value-packed TVs on shelves, the TV-maker has spent the week showcasing its own RGB-based sets — except Hisense is calling its version RGB Mini-LED.

Enter the UR9 and UR8. We don’t know much about these sets just yet (and trust me: I’ve been dying to learn more), but if Hisense’s track record is any indication, there’s a good chance that they’ll be aggressively priced. That’s potentially very good news for shoppers who might be flirting with this cutting-edge display type at some point in 2026.

While showing off the Hisense 2026 TV lineup, the brand confirmed that, between the UR9 and UR8, screen sizes between 55 and 100 inches will be represented. Given the razzle-dazzle prevalence of RGB-based TVs above 110 inches, it’s reassuring to hear that there’s a roadmap to popular size points for these exciting new TVs.

LG C6

It oughtn’t come as a surprise that LG’s latest C Series OLED is on our most-anticipated TV list as we spring into 2026. After all, its predecessor — the LG C5 OLED — was the only TV we bestowed a five-star rating on last year.

LG's C Series sets have been a perennial pick for parsimonious people seeking high-level performance, and the LG C6 is shaping up to play the same role.

Despite its years of success, I’ve longed for a major shake-up to the C Series formula, and this year, we’re getting one — at least for some of the sizes in the series.

The 77- and 83-inch versions of the LG C6 feature LG Display’s marvelous Tandem OLED panel featuring Hyper Radiant Color technology. That’s a heaping helping of technical jargon that essentially means that the two largest sizes in the series will offer better brightness and color volume than the rest of the sizes in the series.

In Nick Pino’s hands-on LG C6 review, he notes the impact of this upgrade, reporting that the 77-inch C6 features color “as deep here as on any TV [he’s] seen so far at CES.”

Color me excited.

Samsung S95H

The S95H is the follow-up to the best OLED TV Samsung has ever made: the Samsung S95F. This alone makes it one of the most exciting TVs of 2026.

Like its predecessor, the S95H is sporting a matte screen that nearly eliminates direct glare. It’s certainly not for everyone as the finish can’t help but lift black levels in well-lit rooms, but it’s hard not to go ga-ga over it when viewed in a controlled, home theater-like setting.

New this year is a swanky, metal bezel and custom wall-mount. This gives the S95H a unique look compared to many of the other wall-mountable OLEDs we’ve come across on the showroom floor this year.

LG Wallpaper TV (W6)

LG’s ultra-thin, artful OLED TV is back after a several-year hiatus, and we couldn’t be happier to see it return. In his LG Wallpaper TV hands-on review, Nick Pino got up close and personal with one of LG’s thinnest OLED TVs to date, noting the set’s surprisingly affordable, yet-to-be-confirmed price.

Also known as the W6, LG's Wallpaper TV is set to take on the lifestyle TV competitors with the not-so-secret weapon of OLED display technology — something we've not seen much of in this popular subcategory of TV.

If the W6 proves successful, we could be seeing a new wave of artful, design-forward TVs with OLED-based displays.

TCL X11L

While brands like Hisense and Samsung are zigging toward an RGB-based future, TCL has chosen to zag. The TCL X11L is a complete reimagining of what it means to be a quantum dot-equipped Mini-LED TV, and my colleague Kate Kozuch is already sold.

In her TCL X11L hands-on review, Kate reported that this set features incredible clarity. "Bright whites popped hard against deep blacks without washing out surrounding colors," she said. "Greens, yellows and neon reds looked intensely saturated but controlled, not smeared or glowing past their edges."

According to its engineers, TCL has reformulated quantum dots entirely and slapped a new color filter and processing algorithm onto the X11L, resulting in its sensational highlights and deep, realistic color.

TCL claims that this TV reaches an eye-popping 10,000 nits of brightness and covers 100% of the BT.2020 color space. That's nuts.

You'll have to shell out a good amount of dough for this one, though. The smallest version of the X11L — a 77-inch version — will reportedly start at $6,999. The 85- and 98-inch versions will be even pricier.

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LG just made a big splash at its CES 2026 press conference with the official unveiling of CLOiD, an AI-powered home robot that's a central focus of the company's "Zero Labor Home" vision. And I got a taste of what this robot can do as it rolled around stage, fist-bumped presenters and (yes) started some laundry.

Actually, starting laundry is a bit of a stretch. But we did see the robot take a towel from an LG exec with its outstretched hand and then place the towel in a washing machine. The movements were quite slow and deliberate, but at least CLOiD performed the task fairly well. And we got a glimpse of all the other chores and activities this robot could perform.

What is CLOiD?

According to LG, CLOiD is a robot that uses AI and vision-based tech to perform household tasks like cooking and laundry. And it connects with LG's ThinQ ecosystem and connected appliances to automate aspects of home life.

CLOiD has a head unit with expressive eyes, a torso with two articulated arms and a wheeled base equipped with autonomous navigation. Each arm has seven degrees of freedom, and each hand includes five independently actuated fingers for fine manipulation.

And we could see these arms and hands in action when CLOiD accepted the piece of laundry with its outstretched limbs. It took the towel and placed it in the washing machine without dropping it, which is a positive sign. I'm just not sure I would trust this thing with the dishes.

CLOiD has a personality and AI smarts

During its interactions with LG reps, CLOiD spoke in a soft and assured male voice, and it seemed to anticipate the needs of speakers — at one point, it offered a bottle of water to a speaker who seemed parched.

The head of CLOiD doubles as an AI home hub. With a built-in display, speaker, cameras and various sensors — plus voice-based generative AI — the robot can communicate through language and facial expressions.

CLOiD can also "talk" to LG appliances, so it could start the oven for you while you're on your way home, or it could change the temperature for you in the room if you're feeling hot or cold.

LG has also shown clips of CLOiD just being helpful around the house, whether it's acting as a personal fitness coach for your workout or just reaching an item on a high shelf for someone in a wheelchair.

CLOiD is just a concept for now, but I'm looking forward to seeing this robot up close to see what else it can do. Check out our CES 2026 live blog for all the latest tech and gadget news live from Las Vegas.

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At CES 2026, LG is attacking the TV market from all sides. LG’s already announced that it’s upgrading Mini-LED TVs in 2026 with new Micro RGB technology, and now it says that its OLED lineup will once again include a W-Series model for the first time since 2019.

Meet the LG OLED evo W6 — a.k.a. The LG Wallpaper TV.

Like the LG OLED evo M5 unveiled at last year’s CES, the W6 model will use the Zero Connect Box to beam information from up to 10 meters (30 feet) away. However, what sets the W6 apart from its predecessor is that it will include a whole new array of technology (dubbed Hyper Radiant Color Technology) for improved black levels, color vibrancy, and brightness, plus a newly designed anti-reflective screen.

Brighter and thinner than ever

To stand out from the crowd — a real challenge considering what we've already seen from the likes of Samsung and Hisense — LG says the W6 Wallpaper TV will be thinner and brighter than any OLED it has ever made.

According to LG, the W6 is just 9mm thick. On average, that’s thinner than the LG G5 OLED and LG C5 OLED from 2025, though the latter does have part of its screen that’s 6.35mm thick — a hair thinner than the W6.

In terms of brightness, LG claims the W6 is up to 3.9 times brighter than "conventional OLEDs." In HDR, last year's LG B5 OLED reached around 600 nits in Standard mode in Tom's Guide's lab tests. A 3.9x increase would put the W6 Series at around 2,340 nits in a 10% window in Standard HDR, which does seem plausible considering the LG G5 reached almost 1,900 nits in the same test.

Of course, better brightness and thinner screens usually comes at a cost — usually to the tune of several thousand dollars. The good news is that LG told our Global Editor-in-Chief Mark Spoonauer that the W6 won't be much more than the G Series OLED.

Considering the 65-inch W7 launched back in 2017 for $7,999 and the 77-inch model came in at an eye-watering $19,999, this is very good news.

The W6 will likely be joined by other OLED models (more on that tomorrow), so stay tuned to Tom's Guide for all the latest LG news out of CES 2026.

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The biggest tech show of the year, CES 2026, is right around the corner, and LG is set to debut four new speakers in its xboom Bluetooth speaker series. Designed in collaboration with the artist will.i.am, the new speakers will feature AI integration and update the existing Stage 301, Bounce and Grab speakers.

The 2026 xboom speakers are supposed to feature "stage-inspired" speakers and a rugged design for outdoor use. LG says the collaboration focuses on "smarter interaction," extended battery life and seamless design.

“The collaboration with will.i.am continues to advance our vision for intelligent, expressive sound,” said Lee Jeong-seok, head of the LG Media Entertainment Solution Company’s Audio Business said in a press release.

AI Integration

AI integration comes in the form of FYI.RAidiO, an AI project in the works from will.i.am. The AI radio has AI personas and DJs that let users use conversational prompts to find music. It offers "real-time curation" and location-aware personalization.

“With FYI.RAiDiO and AI personas, xboom by will.i.am speakers offer a glimpse into a new way of enjoying audio experience through an inspiring cultural connection with AI," will.i.am. said in a press release.

The platform launched last year in partnership with Mercedes-Benz, but LG introduced FYI.AI in newer versions of the xboom Grab and Bounce speakers back in September with the new "MY Button."

Four new speakers

The expanded xboom is getting four new models: the Stage 501, Blast, Mini, and Roc, each meant for different listening settings.

The Stage 501 is an update to the Stage 301 with a new AI Karaoke Master that can remove or adjust vocals from most any songs, so you can sing along with the song or hit it solo. It comes with 25 hours of playback with the 99Wh swappable battery. It can be set up vertically, horizontally, tilted or on a tripod mount. The speaker has dual woofers, full-range drivers and Peerless tweeters.

The xboom Blast is the rugged speaker meant for outdoor adventures. It features up to 35 hours of playback with a 99Wh battery. It comes with a side rope handle for travel, along with a rubber top handle.

LG's xboom Mini features a cube design and up to 10 hours of playback time per charge. With IP67 water- and dust-resistance, it can go anywhere you do, plus the mini features a built-in tripod mount.

Finally, the xboom Rock is a rugged speaker meant for more intense outdoor activity. It features up to 10 hours of playback and is meant to be reliable even in "challenging outdoor environments."

The Rock is an upgrade of the older XG2 model with increased power. It can be paired with multiple LG speakers via LE Audio Auracast.

Release date and price

LG did not provide pricing or release date details in its press release. However, the company will be at CES 2026 this year with the new speakers, and we hope to receive more information there.

As for price, the xboom Stage 301 currently sells for $300, while the older LG XG2 sells for $49.99. We expect similar pricing for the newer models, though tariffs and material price hikes might cause a bump.

Tom's Guide will be at CES this year, so keep us in your tabs to follow along with all the latest tech news coming later this month.

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TV processors are basically the brain of your TV. They're similar in nature to your computer's CPU, and they handle speed, multitasking, and overall performance.

While TV manufacturers have been better about advertising the processor, most people don't know what a TV's processor is actually for. There are plenty of tasks that TV processors take care of, but not all of those tasks will have much of an impact on your day-to-day experience with your TV. Here's why you need to pay attention to them when shopping for a new TV.

What does a processor do exactly?

Whether you're buying the best OLED or a budget TV, a TV's processor is the microchip that handles all computational tasks on your smart TV. It runs the TV's operating system, processes commands from your remote or voice assistant, runs streaming apps, upscales and improves content to look better on the screen, and coordinates all the smart features you'd expect from a modern TV.

The processor also manages energy efficiency. More advanced processors often deliver better performance while using less power, which means a lower energy bill at the end of the month. High-end processors are designed to balance processing power with energy efficiency, preventing overheating during intensive tasks like 4K streaming or gaming while keeping everything responsive.

Perhaps the most obvious use for a TV's processor is in its handling of built-in software. A TV's processor has a huge impact on software performance — and if it's doing its job well, you won't notice it at all.

When you open Netflix, YouTube, or any other streaming app, the processor determines how quickly it loads and how smoothly it runs. A more powerful processor can shave several seconds off load times and make navigation feel more responsive. If your TV feels slow right out of the box, that means that it probably has an underperforming processor.

Voice control features put additional demands on processors. Features like Google's Gemini or Alexa integration require significant processing power to quickly recognize, interpret, and act on voice commands. Lower-end processors may result in delayed responses or reduced accuracy.

The difference between budget and premium processors is most apparent during multitasking — when your TV is running background processes while you navigate menus, or when you're switching between multiple apps. Budget processors might struggle, causing noticeable stuttering. Premium chips handle these tasks smoothly.

How do processors affect picture performance?

Perhaps even more important than how a TV's processor handles software is how it handles image processing.

Upscaling is one of the more important jobs of a modern high-end TV processor. When you're watching content at a lower resolution than your TV's native display, like watching 1080p content on a 4K screen, the processor has to intelligently add pixels to fill the screen.

Premium processors can analyze content in real-time, enhancing details while minimizing artifacts, resulting in sharper, more natural-looking images that look like they were actually shot in 4K. That's especially important when watching older broadcasts, DVDs, or non-4K streaming content.

If you primarily watch 4K content, that doesn't mean your TV's processor is inactive though. Motion processing is another area where processor capabilities directly impact viewing quality. During fast-moving scenes in sports or action movies, less capable processors may produce motion blur or judder.

Advanced processors use sophisticated algorithms to analyze movement and insert additional frames where needed, resulting in smoother motion without the artificial "soap opera effect" that plagued earlier motion-smoothing technologies.

Processors also handle color management, contrast enhancement, and noise reduction — all of which contribute to the perceived sharpness and clarity of the image. The panel technology (OLED, QLED, etc.) establishes the baseline capabilities of a display, but it's the processor that determines how effectively those capabilities are utilized.

Gamers also have a reason to care about the processor

For gamers, a TV's processor has a significant impact on the overall gaming experience.

Input lag, for example, can be a concern. Input lag is the delay between pressing a button on your controller and seeing the action on screen. That lag is directly influenced by how quickly the processor can handle incoming signals. Premium processors can reduce this lag to under 10 milliseconds in game mode on some top TVs.

Modern gaming-focused processors also support advanced features like 120Hz refresh rates and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) technology.

These features ensure smooth gameplay by syncing the TV's refresh rate with the game console's output, preventing screen tearing and stuttering during graphically intense sequences. Samsung's Quantum Processor 4K that's used by the S95F OLED, for example, has been specifically optimized to support these gaming-centric features.

And, advanced processors can also better handle HDR gaming content, which requires real-time tone mapping to display the extended brightness range correctly. This ensures that games with HDR support display with appropriate contrast and color accuracy, revealing details in both shadows and highlights that might otherwise be lost.

So which TVs have the best processors?

Modern TV processors range from dual-core chips in budget models to octa-core (eight-core) processors in premium displays. More cores generally allow for better multitasking, with different cores handling separate functions simultaneously — for example, one core might manage the user interface while another handles video processing and a third monitors network connectivity.

Several TV manufacturers have developed proprietary processors that showcase their particular strengths. Sony's X1 processors on its Bravia 8 II OLED and Bravia 9 TV use AI to process content the way humans see and hear, focusing on the focal points that naturally draw human attention.

LG's Alpha 11 AI processor on the new LG G5 OLED excels at upscaling and HDR tone mapping, while TCL's AiPQ processor found on the TCL QM8K and QM7K delivers impressive AI-driven picture enhancements at more accessible price points.

In general, budget TVs have processors that can handle basic smart TV functions but may struggle with complex tasks. Mid-range TV processors deliver solid performance for most viewers. High-end TV processors offer premium features like advanced AI processing, superior upscaling, and enhanced gaming support.

In other words, if you're spending the cash on a high-end TV, expect great performance. And, if you're shopping on a budget, at least be aware that the software may not be quite as fast, or be willing to buy an external streamer like the Apple TV 4K.

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At CES 2026, LG is taking its lifestyle TV lineup a step further with the debut of the LG Gallery TV — a new category of display that blurs the line between a museum-grade dedicated canvas and a flagship home cinema.

Available in 55- and 65-inch models, the Gallery TV features a slim, flush-mount design. Like Samsung’s The Frame, it can be customized to match your home decor using interchangeable magnetic frames.

To bring the "Art TV" experience to life, LG worked alongside museum curators to develop a specialized Gallery Mode. This mode optimizes color and brightness to reproduce the subtle visual textures of famous masterpieces. To ensure an art-like viewing experience at any time of day, the Gallery TV is equipped with a specialized matte screen that reduces glare and minimizes reflections. Likewise, it uses ambient light sensors to automatically adjust picture quality, maintaining the illusion of a physical painting even as the sun sets.

Instead of one of LG’s best-in-class OLED panels, the new Gallery TV is powered by the company’s MiniLED tech and an a7 AI Processor. This allows it to display bright visuals in 4K while hopefully keeping the cost down. Since you probably won’t want to mount one of the best soundbars underneath it — which would ruin the museum-style look — the Gallery TV comes equipped with LG’s AI Sound Pro virtual 9.1.2 channel audio.

Museum-curated content or generate your own

The Gallery TV wouldn’t be an Art TV without high-quality artwork to go with it, which is why LG is giving its gallery service a massive upgrade.

LG Gallery+ gives you access to more than 4,500 works that are refreshed each month. From fine art to cinematic scenes, game visuals, and even animations, the platform features a diverse spectrum of background visuals. This makes it easy to find the perfect match for your taste and your home's decor.

You’re not limited to just using existing art from LG Gallery+ though. Instead, you can create your own custom images using generative AI or display your favorite memories from your own photo library.

To elevate the experience further, LG Gallery+ also incorporates background music. While you can pick from built-in tracks based on your mood, you can stream your own playlists via Bluetooth, too.

LG Gallery TV vs Samsung The Frame

I’m actually surprised it took LG this long to launch a true “Art TV” rival. Samsung unveiled The Frame back at CES 2017 and has led the category ever since. We’ve seen other competition pop up recently, but this is the first time a heavyweight like LG has really joined the fray.

Last year, Hisense and TCL both jumped in with the CanvasTV and the TCL NXTFRAME. While those are great budget-friendly alternatives, they do make a few concessions. The biggest one is cable management; Samsung uses its One Connect Box and a single, near-invisible wire so you don’t have a mess of HDMI cables ruining the "painting" aesthetic.

LG does have its own high-end solution called the Zero Connect Box — which is actually completely wireless — but so far that's been reserved for its ultra-premium M-series and W6 Wallpaper OLEDs. We'll have to wait and see if LG brings that tech to the more affordable Gallery TV, or if you'll still need to get creative with hiding your wires.

I can’t wait to find out more about the LG Gallery TV soon. I and the rest of the Tom’s Guide team will be on the floor at CES 2026, so stay tuned for more.

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2025 was an electric year for the TV business, but for LG in particular, it was an especially impressive turn. The brand launched some of the best OLED TVs we’ve ever seen, including the mid-range C5 OLED, the only TV we awarded a five-star rating this year.

We also saw the debut of LG Display’s all-new, fourth-generation OLED panel, whose starring role on the LG G5 made that TV one of the brightest, most impressive-looking OLEDs I’ve ever seen. In a year full of top-notch TVs, few stood taller than LG's flagship OLED.

Where can LG take its TVs in 2026? With CES right around the corner, I’ve put together a wish list of what I’d most like to see out of the brand in the coming year. These are not official announcements — we’ll have to wait and see what LG brings to the table at CES for the final word.

More-affordable OLED TVs

One of my favorite LG TVs of 2025 is the B5, the brand’s entry-level OLED. It’s not as flashy as higher-end OLEDs, but it brings the benefits of OLED technology down to a more manageable price point, carefully cutting corners in a way that emphasizes value. For the second year in a row, there’s a Best Buy-exclusive, 48-inch version of the B Series that’s been immensely popular with budget-shoppers.

It’s not just that I want to see a new LG B Series OLED in 2026 — I want to see prices come down for all of the brand’s newest OLED TVs. In addition to making the technology more accessible, it could convince competitors to do the same.

Here’s a look at the prices of the C5 and G5 at launch across the 55- to 83-inch size points:

As is usually the case, the C5 and G5 steadily dropped in price throughout the year. This pattern is standard across the industry. But if their successors debut at a lower price, end-of-year pricing might shake out to be lower, too.

If I had to place a bet, I don’t think a price cut is in the cards in 2026. More than likely, the TVs set to replace the C5 and G5 will launch at precisely the same price. A person can dream, though, right?

An upgraded C Series OLED

Speaking of the C Series, I’d love to see LG’s next mid-range OLED get a little refresh in 2026. Currently, the LG C5’s top competitor — the Samsung S90F — is equipped with quantum dot-color on select size options. This gives the S90F an edge when it comes to color brightness and overall volume.

I don’t foresee LG switching to Samsung Display’s QD-OLED panels anytime soon, but what if the brand began engineering its mid-range OLEDs with display technology that used to be reserved for its flagship OLED?

In 2025, LG Display’s Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology — which previously adorned the LG G4 and G3 OLED TVs — was abruptly replaced with LG Display’s 4th-generation, four-stack OLED technology. MLA’s brightness-boosting capabilities allowed for scintillating, energy-efficient highlights on these flagship OLEDs, but with LG Display’s 4th-generation panel doing an even better job at this, MLA has spent a year without a home.

I propose that LG standardizes MLA tech across select sizes in its mid-range OLED series going forward. It wouldn’t do much to close the gap in color volume between WOLED and QD-OLED, but it would likely give LG’s mid-range OLEDs the edge when it comes to HDR highlight brightness.

Once again, I must admit that I don’t really expect this to happen — especially in a hypothetical world in which LG OLEDs are receiving a price cut in 2026. It’s probably not a cost-effective way to do business right now, all things considered. One thing that could — and should — happen in 2026 is LG’s reinstatement of ATSC 3.0 support.

The return of ATSC 3.0 support

If you own a reliable TV antenna, ATSC 3.0 support is the feature that makes it possible to pipe-in native 4K content. Unfortunately, LG TVs don’t support it after LG quietly removed it from its TV lineup a few years ago.

It’s confusing to me why LG and other TV-makers assume that most folks have no use for 4K, over-the-air programming. While it’s true that 4K, terrestrial broadcasts are few and far between, they do come around every now and then (like the Super Bowl).

Despite the ubiquity of streaming, plenty of people still rely on an over-the-air signal for free TV. This is an undeniable truth: Free TV is awesome. And if you’re shelling out for a decent TV, it ought to be able to receive 4K broadcasts, period.

LG TVs in 2026: outlook

We won't know for certain what 2026 has in store for LG until the brand shares its road map for the coming year. In all likelihood, most of that roadmap will be made clear at CES (and in the weeks that follow).

Remember: Most of us in the industry did not expect to see the release of LG's 4th-generation OLED panel until we were face to face with the G5 in Las Vegas. There's still plenty of time for LG to surprise us.

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At CES 2026, LG Display is set to unveil several new OLED gaming monitors, including one with a blazing fast 720Hz refresh rate. At the same time, these new gaming monitors will also feature its Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 tech.

LG’s new 27-inch OLED gaming monitor features one of the fastest Gaming OLED panels currently available. By refreshing its picture 720 times per second, this new display will be ideal for competitive gaming, especially since it also has a response time of up to 0.02ms.

By combining such a high refresh rate with an ultra fast response time, LG’s new gaming monitor will completely eliminate motion blur even during high-paced scenes and rapid transitions.

Alongside this new monitor, LG will also debut the world’s first 39-inch 5K2K Gaming OLED panel at this year’s show. The company is currently the only manufacturer that makes 39-inch OLED panels and these curved displays with a 21:9 aspect ratio and 1500R curvature are quite useful for video editors and other content creators.

On the show floor, LG will also be showing off the world’s first OLED panel with a 240Hz RGB pixel stripe structure. With 160 pixels per inch, it’s able to perfectly display sharp text with excellent color representation.

Brighter and more colorful gaming monitors

In addition to all of these new OLED gaming monitors, LG Display will also be showcasing its new TANDEM WOLED tech, Primary RGB Tandem 2.0, at CES 2026.

First unveiled last year, Primary RGB Tandem is an OLED stack structure where each of the primary colors of light (red, green and blue) is formed as an independent emission layer. Now with Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 though, the pixel structure is now even more optimized with advanced algorithms.

As a result of these new innovations, LG’s Gaming OLED panels can achieve a peak brightness of up to 1,500 nits, all while delivering perfect blacks with HDR True Black 500 and reproducing 99.5% of the DIC color gamut.

All of LG’s new OLED gaming monitors will all feature Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 and we can’t wait to try them out for ourselves at CES 2026.

LG OLED gaming monitors: Outlook

We were very impressed by LG Display’s new monitors at CES last year and these new offerings have us just as excited. Given that gaming monitors just keep getting faster, I don’t think LG will have the only 720Hz one on display at this year’s show. However, thanks to all of these other advancements, it may be the best looking one.

Last year, we saw a bendable 5K2K gaming monitor from LG. While that one was 45-inches and quite expensive, hopefully this new, smaller 39-inch one won’t carry as premium of a price tag.

If you’re thinking about picking up one of the best gaming monitors, you might want to hold off as there will be plenty of new models from LG and others joining their ranks soon enough. Stay tuned to Tom’s Guide for all the latest on CES 2026 and we’ll be on the ground floor taking in everything first hand soon enough.

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Your smart TV probably isn't as smart as it was when you first unboxed it. Apps that used to load instantly now take forever. Streaming shows buffer at the worst possible moments. The interface feels laggy when you're just trying to find something to watch. Most people assume this slowdown is inevitable, but your TV just needs some basic maintenance and a few simple tweaks.

These straightforward adjustments that take less than 10 minutes and cost nothing, yet they can bring your sluggish TV back to the responsive device it once was. Whether you're using a Samsung, LG, Sony, or any of the other best smart TVs for streaming, these upgrades are game-changers.

Here's five ways to improve your smart TV's performance without spending a cent.

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Just ahead of CES 2026, LG Display has announced the world’s first 27-inch 240Hz 4K OLED monitor featuring an RGB stripe structure. So what the heck is RGB stripe , and why is this announcement important? Simply put, this monitor aims to enhance text readability on OLED gaming monitors.

In some OLED panels, you might notice something equivalent to chromatic aberration around text on web pages, as our friends at PC Gamer note. This phenomenon is known as “text fringing,” and it’s most noticeable on 1440p monitors or panels with lower pixel densities. This happens because the subpixels are arranged in a triangular pattern, which doesn’t always align with how text is rendered. LG Display is getting around that by utilizing the RGB stripe structure.

“The RGB stripe structure arranges the three primary color subpixels — red, green, and blue — in a straight line, significantly reducing visual distortions such as color bleeding and fringing, even at close viewing distances,” says LG Display's press release.

The RGB stripe method isn’t new, but OLED panels that utilize this technique currently top out at 60Hz, which isn’t ideal for modern gamers who desire higher refresh rates. LG Display says its new panel is the first in the world to hit 240Hz while maintaining an RGB stripe structure.

In addition, the display is capable of switching from high-resolution (4K at 240Hz) and high-refresh-rate (1080p at 480Hz) modes, as we’ve seen in monitors like the LG UltraGear 32GS95UE-B.

LG Display applied new technologies, like increasing the aperture ratio to simultaneously achieve an RGB stripe structure and a high refresh rate. The panel also has a high pixel density of 160 pixels per inch (ppi) to provide sharper detail.

LG Display plans to show off this technology at CES, so you can bet I’ll be there to check it out for myself. Not only am I curious to see how much sharper text appears on this panel, but how this technology affects an OLED monitor’s performance in any meaningful way. Stay tuned for more!

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LG Display is set to announce changes to its OLED panels and a simplified rebranding that hints at the future of TV technology. The Korean company makes OLED panels for many of the best OLED TVs and best gaming monitors, so any changes LG makes will have an impact.

A teaser video released over the weekend teased LG Display’s 2026 technology and showed off the new Tandem OLED/WOLED rebranding.

LG is expected to show off its new panels at CES 2026, where the next generation of products will be revealed. The Tandem rebrand references the multiple layers of OLED pixels used in the panel, while the W in WOLED stands for “white” for the extra white light sources used in LG’s panels to increase the brightness.

The Tandem naming convention is meant to simplify the company’s branding which is slightly confused by the announcement of Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 technology. Technically, this tech is under the umbrella of Tandem WOLED.

FlatPanelsHD reported that this rebrand is the first one in more than 13 years with the panels directly competing with Samsung Display’s QD-OLED as well as upcoming variations on RGB Mini-LED technology from brands like Hisense, Sony and Samsung.

"Basically, 'Tandem' was chosen as the brand name to highlight the strengths of LG Display OLED, including increased durability and performance, long life, high brightness, and low power consumption through the laminated OLED structure," LG Display reportedly said in a translated message.

Primary RGB Tandem is already used in existing TVs including the LG G5 and the Panasonic Z95B. Next year’s version will likely see a significant upgrade with the new 2.0 version.

New gaming monitors

In a different YouTube video, LG Display teased multiple WOLED displays for gaming monitors. This includes a giant 39-inch WOLED with a 5K 5120x2160 resolution. It appears to be more subtly curved than most arcing panels.

The advertisement also reveals a 27-inch Tandem OLED with “high ppi” that FlatpanelsHD speculated is UHD/4K based. Additionally, the previously announced 27Q monitor was shown, which features a 540Hz 1440p panel with dual-mode 720Hz.

As a teaser, it looks nice but the video doesn’t reveal much about what RGB 2.0 brings to the table. It does claim up to 1,500 nits of peak brightness, but that’s not exactly new.

We’ll get more information during CES 2026 in January and Tom’s Guide will be on hand to cover all the news coming out of Las Vegas. Keep us in your tabs to keep up to date.

Meanwhile, LG just announced its first Micro RGB TV, a huge upgrade for mini-LED sets.

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• No more cables! Dolby and LG are making wireless Dolby Atmos sound happen in 2026

Dolby Atmos is great at delivering spatial audio sound, but getting it set up properly has always required a TV that supports the standard; a soundbar or AV receiver that can decode the signal; and, of course, an HDMI cable to pair the two together.

But those days will soon be behind us.

Announced ahead of CES 2026, LG Sound Suite is the first soundbar to support Dolby Atmos’ FlexConnect protocol, which allows you to connect up to four speakers, a soundbar and a subwoofer in a 13.1.7-channel configuration wirelessly to your TV.

Spatial audio speaker placement without the headache

If you’ve never done it, stringing together a surround sound system is both an artform and a practice in patience. Cutting speaker wire with just the right amount of slack only to realize that you need another six or seven inches is certainly something I don’t miss.

Dolby Atmos fixed this problem by only requiring a single HDMI cable to run from a soundbar to an HDMI eARC port on the back of the TV. Unfortunately, I’ve heard from some readers that even that can be tough with certain living room layouts.

FlexConnect will fix that problem — but comes with the caveat that both the TV and soundbar need to support the new standard. So far, the LG Sound Suite is the only soundbar that can receive a FlexConnect signal and LG’s upcoming 2026 TVs are the only ones that can send it. (Though LG says that some 2025 models will also be updated to support FlexConnect via a software update sometime in the future.)

Don’t have a perfectly level shelf to put those two rear-channel speakers on? No problem. FlexConnect and Sound Suite will even custom-tune the sound to fit the space.

A new reason to buy LG OLED TVs?

Keep in mind that although the LG Sound Suite is the first soundbar to support FlexConnect, it’s not the first piece of audio gear with that distinction — that honor belongs to the TCL Z100 wireless speaker, which my colleague Kate Kozuch tested earlier this year.

The biggest draw for the LG Sound Suite for me personally is its out-of-the-box integration with LG’s 2026 TVs. LG has yet to announce what’s included in the lineup outside of the brand’s first-ever Micro RGB TV, but it’s almost certain that we’ll see 2026 versions of the LG C5 OLED and LG G5 OLED, two of the best OLED TVs of 2025.

Am I salivating over the possibility of unboxing an LG C6 OLED and an accompanying Sound Suite system for immediate 13.1.7-channel spatial audio? Absolutely.

Unfortunately LG didn’t give us a firm date on either product, so for now I’ll just have to settle for seeing one (or both!) at CES 2026 in early January.

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Ahead of CES 2026, LG has taken the wraps off of its first-ever Micro RGB TV, appropriately dubbed the LG Micro RGB Evo. It’s an evolution of the industry’s Mini-LED technology that swaps the white backlight with individual RGB LEDs.

While it’s a serious upgrade for Mini-LED TVs, Micro RGB will exist alongside LG’s coveted OLED TVs — which happen to be some of the best TVs on the market. And according to LG, Micro RGB will push the boundaries of color accuracy and vibrancy.

In addition to its bonafide color credentials, the Micro RGB Evo will use LG’s newly upgraded Dual AI Engine-based a11 AI Processor Gen 3 for better upscaling and Micro Dimming Ultra that offers “OLED precision” to control the LED zones.

The RGB Evo will be available in three sizes — 100, 86 and 75 inches. And while we weren’t given a firm price or release date for the technology, LG says that we’ll be able to see the TV for ourselves in-person at CES in early January.

The future of color TVs?

Now, this might be LG’s first Micro RGB TV, but it’s not the first one to be announced — both Samsung and Hisense have already said they’ll be bringing similarly specced TVs to Vegas in January for the world’s largest consumer electronics event, while TCL has announced its own version for the Chinese market.

At first, spotting the difference between these TVs is going to be a challenge, as each manufacturer has chosen a different name for the technology. (LG, for example, is calling its technology RGB Primary Color Ultra.)

Whatever the name, the LG Micro RGB Evo and TVs of its ilk can achieve 100% coverage of the three highest color spaces — BT.2020, DCI-P3, and Adobe RGB — by marrying the new RGB LED zones with advanced AI processors.

What sets LG’s Micro RGB TVs apart from the crowd right now is that the company says that their color accuracy has been independently verified by a quality assurance company called Intertek.

But how will the LG Micro RGB TV stack up against its competition from Samsung and Hisense? We’ll just have to wait until CES to find out.

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If you’re in the market for an OLED TV, you’ll likely find yourself choosing between two types of OLED displays: QD-OLED or WOLED.

While all of the best OLED TVs deliver the same core benefits — perfect black levels, unparalleled contrast and super-wide, accommodating viewing angles, just to name a few — these two OLED subtypes have their own benefits and drawbacks.

And, when it comes to value, both types of OLED TV fall into a spectrum. Depending on the size of the screen, QD-OLED- and WOLED-based TVs vary in price, but only one type is consistently cheaper than the other at the entry level. Here's what you need to know.

QD-OLED vs WOLED TVs: Which are cheaper?

Being the older of the two technologies, WOLED is often cheaper to manufacture. Not all WOLED TVs are cheaper than QD-OLED TVs, but in recent years, the cheapest OLED TVs on the market are of the WOLED variety.

When QD-OLED TVs made their debut in 2022, they were few and far between and limited to just 55- and 65-inch models. These days, there are tiers of QD-OLED TVs just as there are tiers of WOLED TVs, so those shopping for a QD-OLED have more options available to them, and some of these models rival mid-range WOLED TVs in price.

That said, entry-level WOLED TVs are still more affordable on average than the most affordable QD-OLED TVs you can buy. The gap has closed dramatically in a few years’ time, but an affordable WOLED TV will almost always save you more money than an affordable QD-OLED-based set.

For instance, as one of the most affordable WOLED TVs of 2025, the 55-inch LG B5 is just $896 at Amazon right now. As the most affordable QD-OLED TV in 2025, the 55-inch Samsung S85F is $997 at Amazon.

But while all five size options in the LG B5 series leverage the same WOLED display, only two of the four size options in the S85F series use a QD-OLED panel: 55 and 65 inches. The remaining sizes use standard WOLED panels.

And therein lies the rub: You have a wider range of options when shopping for a value-forward WOLED TV than you do by sticking to QD-OLED, and they’re spread out across more size points, too.

Are QD-OLED TVs really worth it?

QD-OLEDs have one distinct advantage over their WOLED-equipped counterparts: Thanks to their efficient use of quantum dots (nanocrystals in the display energized by blue light), these sets almost always deliver brighter, more voluminous color.

Mid-range QD-OLEDs sometimes offer slightly better highlight brightness during HDR movies and shows, too, but mid-range WOLEDs like LG's excellent C5 OLED are catching up in recent years. Ultimately, you'll have to decide for yourself whether these performance benefits are worth the added cost at the 55-, 65-, or 77-inch size point.

What are the best-value QD-OLED TVs in 2025?

As mentioned, there aren't as many value-forward QD-OLED TVs as there are WOLEDs, but there are two I'd recommend and both of them are Samsung TVs.

Samsung (which also offers a flagship-level QD-OLED in the Samsung S95F) is the only major TV brand bringing QD-OLED TVs down to an aggressively competitive price point.

What are the best-value WOLED TVs in 2025?

There are two WOLED TVs this year that I would recommend above the rest if you're hoping to squeeze as much value as possible out of an OLED TV that leverages WOLED technology.

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If you're after one of the best vacuum cleaners, cordless vacuums can make all the difference. But, not all of them are created equal. I have a dog, a kid, and a lot of hobbies that track dirt through my house (mountain bikes, running, and anything else that will give me an excuse to get dirty are all fair game). As a result, our house gets pretty dusty and grimy with a frequency that might embarrass a more cleanliness-obsessed household.

So the LG CordZero Q3 Cordless Stick Vacuum has been a welcome addition to my household for obvious reasons. And it’s been wonderful to have around. It’s powerful, light, and easy to empty. It’s packed with clever features that make it a useful tool not only for vacuuming carpets and hardwood floors, but also for sucking up messes on my workbench in the garage — sawdust, dirt, metal shavings, and the like.

Among the stick vacuums I’ve tested recently, the LG CordZero Q3 easily claims the top spot as the best choice for tackling a wide range of messes. Here’s why.

LG CordZero Q3 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review: Specs

LG CordZero Q3 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review: Price & availability

The LG Cordzero Q3 costs $299 on Amazon and $329 on LG’s website. You can purchase it outright or use Affirm for financing. LG offers a 1-year warranty at purchase.

Additionally, you can buy the LG CordZero at other retailers, and the LG website has a handy dealer locator button if you’d prefer to buy in person.

LG CordZero Q3 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review: Design

The LG CordZero weighs under 7 pounds in its largest configuration. Design-wise, a curved, ergonomic handle mates to the main dust bin and motor components. The top of the handle has two prominent buttons in a plus and minus configuration, useful for adjusting the power modes, of which there are three: normal, auto, and turbo.

Additionally, the power switch and the LED battery indicator are on the front of the handle, and the battery inserts into the back of the handle. It’s easily detachable for charging.

The unit comes stock with three attachments: a crevice tool, combination tool, and Dual Floor Max Lite Nozzle. The latter is the main vacuuming attachment and has an LED light mounted to the front of it to make it easier to see dust and dirt in low-light areas. The other attachments are useful for getting into corners, or cleaning furniture or tabletops.

The Dual Floor Max Lite Nozzle features an Auto Floor Detect feature, which automatically senses what type of surface you’re vacuuming. It will then automatically adjust suction power depending on whether you’re on carpet or non-carpeted surfaces.

The modular vacuum unit is detachable so you can use it as a handheld vacuum, a’la Dustbusters of old. The crevice tool and combination tool are the attachments you’ll use for this setup.

The CordZero Q3 features 150 Air Watts of suction, which is pretty darn powerful for a vacuum of this size. That’s due to the Smart Inverter Motor, which, according to LG, enhances suction and improves airflow. There isn’t a ton of information on the LG website that explains exactly what that means, unfortunately.

Within the suction process, LG incorporates 15 ‘cyclones’ that separate dust particles from larger detritus. This helps improve suction and keeps suction power consistent over the life of the product.

From there, a 5-step filtration system further filters out dust and separates it within the dust bin. With all that debris within the dust bin, LG has wisely added what it calls Kompressor technology, which is essentially a lever that you pull to compress the collected dirt further back into the bin. This frees up more space within the dustbin so you don’t have to empty it as frequently.

LG CordZero Q3 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review: Performance

First, I started vacuuming with the CordZero Q3 in my living room, which is vinyl plank flooring with a rug on top of it. The rug is low-pile, but this is also where the dog tends to hang out most often. It’s a high-traffic area too, so it’s most susceptible to ground-in dirt and dog fur.

The CordZero actually surprised me a little with how aggressively the brush digs into the carpet pile. It was almost too much, in fact; it was a bit difficult to glide the vacuum over the rug. I actually had to muscle it a bit. Strangely, on my higher-pile carpet in my office (it’s basically a shag carpet. Hold your giggles.), the CordZero moves a lot more freely, yet still aggressively sucks up dirt and dog fur.

That said, it felt good knowing the CordZero was digging in deep to get at the grit and dust. The clear dust bin shows as much: it filled up quickly with all the yucky nasties I could and couldn’t see in the living room. The lever that pushes the dirt further into the bin is a nice touch, allowing you to free up more space and necessitating emptying less frequently.

On the vinyl plank flooring, I could see the dog fur zipping up into the brush head. The brush head pivots nicely, allowing me to get into corners often neglected by our full-size vacuum. It’s also fairly compact, again allowing me to get into oft-neglected spaces. The brush itself is close to the edge of the brush head body, which means it’s possible to get closer to walls and mouldings to pick up dirt hiding out in edges and corners.

I was particularly impressed by how bright the lights on the front of the brush head housing were. I turned off the light in one of our windowless hallways, and the CordZero’s lights brighten up the space enough to spot dirt and dog fur easily.

Transitions from carpet to hardwood floor are nearly seamless. The vacuum automatically detects what surface you’re on and adjusts its function accordingly. The vacuum also automatically sections off dust particles you’ve sucked up, which apparently keeps the motor working more efficiently for better suction and cleaning.

Swapping out the various attachments is quick and easy, and turns the CordZero into a modern man’s dustbuster. A wand and a brush give you plenty of flexibility for cleaning up desktop messes (I found this particularly handy in the garage) and scrubbing the pet fur off furniture.

I thought the battery life held up very well. LG says you can get up to 60 minutes of vacuuming from a single charge. I used the vacuum on its highest setting and got about 22 minutes out of it. With more judicious use, the battery life claims seem spot-on.

LG CordZero Q3 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review: Accessories

The LG CordZero Q3 comes with a few accessories included, like the crevice tool, combination tool, and wall mount. You can order more accessories on the LG website.

Most of these accessories appear to work for several different LG models, so you’ll have to ensure the accessories you choose will work with the CordZero Q3. Replacement parts like batteries, filters, chargers, and attachments are all on the menu.

LG CordZero Q3 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review: Competition

I tested the LG CordZero Q3 alongside the Eureka ReactiSense 440 and Bissell PowerClean cordless vacuums. The CordZero bested both of those vacuums in just about every category, though the Bissell was a very strong contender and has a better front light.

Additionally, the Bissell has strong suction and good battery life, but its brush head is a bit bulkier, making it difficult to get dirt and dust that has accumulated in corners and along baseboards. In any case, the LG and the Bissell beat the Eureka in pretty much every relevant category.

LG CordZero Q3 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner review: Verdict

The LG CordZero Q3 Cordless Stick Vacuum outperforms its competition in all relevant categories. First, it’s got excellent battery life, strong suction, a powerful brush, and smart features to keep dust from blasting back into your rooms as you vacuum. Plus, it’s light, convenient, and easy to operate.

Perhaps my only real complaint is that I wish it was free-standing. However, the LG CordZero Q3 does everything I want it to do and is versatile enough to use in any room in the house — even in the garage, where I frequently vacuum my workbench from sawdust and other debris. More importantly, it conquers dog fur with ease too, which is a must in my house. I give it full marks.

The LG C5 OLED is the poster child for affordable OLED TVs, but it's not the only OLED available on the market for under $1,000.

The LG B5 OLED is also well-priced, and ekes under $1,000 if you're picking up the 48-inch version that's exclusive to Best Buy. Unfortunately, to sneak under the wire price-wise, it does make some cuts in performance. The B5 has lower specs and fewer features, and pales in comparison to the brighter, more colorful C5 OLED.

However, that doesn't mean the B5 is out of the running. Although it might sit in the shadow of the LG C5, the LG B5 OLED still has a lot to offer for its minimal price. Here's how LG's two OLED TVs stack and which model is the better pick this Fall.

LG B5 OLED vs LG C5: Specs compared

LG B5 OLED vs LG C5: Design

Since these OLED TVs were designed by LG, you can expect similar build quality between them. The two models are very slim, measuring at 1.8 inches in depth without the stand, which is typical of more modern OLED TVs.

Even their weights are practically identical, with the B5 coming in at 37.7 lbs and the C5 weighing in at 36.6 lbs without the stands.

No matter which model you choose, you'll still get those deep contrasts and perfect shadows thanks to their WOLED panels. The LG G5 OLED, the pair's higher-priced sibling, uses a Tandem RGB OLED panel that takes the technology to the next level, but these WOLED models are more than capable of delivering great picture performance.

Audio, on the other hand, isn't ideal for either set. The speaker configurations of the C5 vary across screen sizes, with models at 48-inch and above featuring a 2.2-channel 40W speaker system. The LG B5 offers a mere 20W of output on a 2.0-channel speaker, highlighting the OLED duo's middling speaker performance.

However, both LG OLED TVs are equipped with Dolby Atmos support and can leverage LG's AI Sound Pro feature. This allows the TVs to hit a Virtual 9.1.2 Up-mix for improved audio, but you'll still want to get one of the best soundbars for quality audio.

Since the C5 is equipped with an improved processor, the mid-level OLED TV will offer better upscaling than the B5. I witnessed it for myself at an event earlier this year, with the LG C5 making a 1080p MLB broadcast look identical to the same broadcast in 4K. It's almost too good to believe.

The C5 also has a 144Hz refresh rate against the B5's 120Hz, making the former far more well-designed (and well-rounded) for anyone who wants to connect their TV to their gaming PC.

Winner: LG C5

LG B5 OLED vs LG C5: Performance

Despite seemingly similar color ratios, it's clear from the metrics that the LG C5 outclasses its lower-priced counterpart. The two TVs share quite a bit when it comes to color, but brightness is a major letdown on the B-series OLED. It can't even break over 1,000 nits in HDR, which creates several problems for the TV.

One notable setback, given its lower brightness, is a lack of ample glare mitigation. In our B5 review, we highlight this very issue, calling into question its highly reflective screen. The minuscule luminance on the B5 is one of the key factors for its lower score, introducing diminishing returns for bright room viewing.

Meanwhile, the LG C5 handles glare with ease. It eliminates reflections using a new screen design, ensuring stellar performance in bright rooms.

Although imperceptible, the C5 also has slightly better color accuracy with its lower Delta-E score. The lower the better for Delta-E, but seeing how slim the variances are between them, it would be hard to rate one over the other here. They both have great color accuracy, which isn't surprising given they're OLED TVs.

On the input latency front, the B5 surprisingly outperforms the C5 with a solid 9.0ms, which is truly remarkable. This is the lowest-rated input latency in our testing all year, highlighting the power of LG OLEDs for serious gamers.

Unfortunately, neither TV lives in a vacuum and must contend not only with one another, but against their predecessors as well. That's a problem for the B5 as it doesn't seem like a major enhancement over last year. It feels more like a rebranding with the same general picture performance and features.

The LG C5 OLED, on the other hand, is one of the only TVs all year to get a perfect rating. It offers serious performance at a minimal premium, netting you enhanced picture quality on an OLED screen and loads of features.

Winner: LG C5

LG B5 OLED vs LG C5: Smart platform and features

The B5 and C5 use the same TV interface, called webOS. It's home to a wide swath of free content under LG Channels, and it has access to many of the best streaming services. LG's webOS is also one of the few TV interfaces with access to cloud gaming platforms, like Nvidia GeForce Now, Amazon Luna, and Game Pass.

One of the best aspects of webOS is LG's ReNew Program, which aims to make older sets feel brand new through software updates over the course of five years. This means both the LG B5 and LG C5 will see major interface updates going into 2030, which is great for newer buyers.

The LG B5 and C5 also share similar feature support. They're equipped with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, both of which you'll want if you get into 4K/HDR streaming. Unfortunately, neither set has an ATSC 3.0 tuner for 4K broadcasts, but I think this is fine given the many free channels LG and other services offer.

You can expect a healthy dose of gaming features on both sets, but the C5 definitely outclasses the B5 with a native 120Hz that can hit up to 144Hz in VRR. The B5 is stuck at merely 120Hz, which is reasonable enough for console gamers, but not quite enough if you're running one of the best gaming PCs.

Although the LG C5 outclasses the B5 in terms of some features, you'll still get largely the same experience from both TV interfaces. They share the same HDR compatibility and run on the same OS, so don't expect a major difference if you go with the B5 over the C5.

Winner: Tie

LG B5 OLED vs LG C5: Verdict

While the LG B5 OLED has a lot to show for its features and price, it simply can't match the raw value of the C5. The mid-range OLED is equipped with excellent performance and remains one of the only TVs we reviewed this year to receive a perfect score.

The B5 falls short in a lot of ways. The 65-inch model might be $1,099 at the time of writing, but the C5 surpasses it with enhanced brightness and color accuracy, and it's just $400 more at the same size. The C5 also handles screen reflections very well, thanks to a new screen design, which the B5 lacks.

Poor brightness and limited anti-reflective measures make the B5 a tough sell, but it's a good budget set for gamers. While it might have poor luminance, it does offer great gaming features and some of the lowest input latency tested in our labs all year.

If you're looking for a small-screen OLED TV at an incredible price, the B5 isn't a bad choice, but the C5 OLED is the clear winner.

More from Tom's Guide

• LG G5 OLED TV review
• Samsung S95F OLED TV review
• This new TV breakthrough looks like a game-changer for OLED TVs

The LG B5 OLED replaces the LG B4 as the value-priced OLED TV in the company's lineup, but very little has changed since that previous model. The B5 ($1,399.99 on sale as tested, $1,999.99 MSRP) boasts a few new AI features and the sleek redesigned Magic Remote. But based on my testing, performance has barely improved.

Yes, you get good color reproduction, strong gaming performance, and the slick webOS software that could help it compete with some of the best TVs. But, unfortunately, the B5 OLED’s brightness remains on the low side. That would matter less if LG didn’t face stiff competition in this price range, but it does from both Sony and Hisense.

Your best move might be waiting until Black Friday, when the B5 is likely to be at its cheapest. Here are the pros and cons in my LG B5 OLED review.

LG B5 OLED: Pricing and availability

Following LG’s clear, easy-to-remember naming scheme, the B5 replaces the LG B4 in the opening slot of the company’s OLED catalog, with the more midrange C5 and the flagship G5 above it. The B5 is available in a full array of size options to satisfy any living space and meet any budget:

• LG OLED48B5PUA (48-inch): $1,299.99 | Sale: $699.99
• LG OLED55B5PUA (55-inch): $1,499.99 | Sale: $1,199.99
• LG OLED65B5PUA (65-inch): $1,999.99 | Sale: $1,399.99
• LG OLED75B5PUA (77-inch): $2,999
• LG OLED83B5PUA (83-inch): $4,499 | Sale: $3,699.99

We evaluated the 65-inch model, but because all five use the same picture and processing technologies, we anticipate seeing comparable performance no matter which size you choose.

LG B5 OLED: Design and ports

The B5 is hardly a flashy TV, but it’s in no way bad-looking. The 65-inch set measures 57x32.8x1.8 inches and weighs only 37.7 pounds, so you may be able to move it by yourself, but the screen is so svelte (only a quarter-inch thick), you might want help with it anyway. Under the power light on the bottom edge is a physical button you can press to turn the power on and off or adjust the inputs, volume, or channel.

More interesting in terms of design is the B5’s rear, which uses the same dark-gray, marble-like finish of LG’s other sets. It’s an alluring, stylish touch, even if you will never spend much time looking at it. The only other notable features are the 300x200 VESA holes you can use to wall-mount your TV, though the stand, which consists of two sharply rectangular metal feet, is good looking in its own right.

The permanently attached power cable leads off the right side of the B5’s rear panel; all other connections are found on the left. Four ports face directly out the left edge: two HDMI, coaxial cable, and one USB. The remaining ports — two more HDMI (one with eARC for connecting an external audio device), one USB, an RS-232C service port, S/PDIF optical audio out, and Ethernet — are all aimed straight back.

All four HDMI ports adhere to the HDMI 2.1 specification, which offers faster and variable refresh rates (in this case, up to 120Hz) as well as features such as Auto Low-Latency Mode (ALMM). It’s nice to see a TV not skimp on these ports; some higher-end TVs from other manufacturers only include two, which is becoming a less-tenable solution (particularly if your house is home to multiple gaming consoles).

LG B5 OLED: Performance and test results

The traditional problem with OLED TVs is that the same technology that makes them so exciting — the infinite contrast that arises from pixels that are perfectly black because they turn entirely off — can also result in muddy, indistinct pictures when what’s on screen relies on the interplay between multiple dark shades. In recent years, OLED sets have been getting markedly brighter, meaning you get something closer to the best of both worlds. But with the B5, this is not quite the case.

There’s no skirting around the issue: Watching the recent Ryan Coogler hit “Sinners” in Filmmaker Mode was almost impossible in a room with even a moderate amount of lighting. Featuring many nighttime scenes (which you would admittedly expect from a vampire film) and a predominantly Black cast, the movie is as dark in color as in tone until its last few minutes. Because the B5 lacks the advanced antiglare technology LG introduced in the more expensive C5 and G5 TVs in its OLED lineup, reflections run rampant.

Much of Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s gorgeous cinematography gets swallowed up by the ghostly floating presence of the edges of furniture or window panes on the other side of the room, and these items constantly divert your focus from the intense intimate scenes that drive Coogler’s screenplay. Only by drawing the shades and turning every light off was I able to enjoy the movie (and it still looked far better at night).

The “workaround” for this is to use one of the brighter picture modes, such as Standard or Vivid, to cut through the glare. But then, with the dark overtones gone and oversaturated colors flooding the screen, you’re not seeing what Coogler and his team intended.

Our test results fully backed this up, with the B5 in Filmmaker Mode managing only 204 nits of brightness with SDR content and 632 nits in HDR. (Those other modes don’t buy you additional HDR headroom, either.) This is nearly on par with what we saw from the B4, but far behind the LCD-based Hisense U8QG and firmly half of what we saw from the Samsung S90F.

Color performance was a lot better: Its Delta-E (a value representing the difference between a color at the source and as displayed on the screen, with lower values being better) of 1.65 is terrific, and it covers decent swaths of the Rec. 709 (SDR) and UHDA-P3 (HDR) color gamuts. (The Hisense and Sony sets easily better it in Rec. 2020 gamut coverage, though.)

This means that movies where the picture composition doesn’t rely on brightness play perfectly well. I experienced no problems with the likes of “A Minecraft Movie,” “Barbie,” “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” and “Wicked,” though “Dune: Part Two” and “Oppenheimer” exhibited some of the same problems as “Sinners,” if to a lesser degree. (Supported HDR formats include Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG, but not HDR10+.) And, as is typical of OLEDs, their pictures looked lush and rich viewed from any angle; even when there are implementation issues, OLEDs have real benefits.

But there’s one other thing worth mentioning about the B5’s performance: It’s nearly identical to the B4’s in every way. There was no noticeable improvement in brightness, and there was but a negligible increase in color performance. In terms of picture, the B5 offers not a single compelling reason to upgrade from the B4, so rest easy if you bought one of those last year.

LG B5 OLED: Audio

Like all of LG’s TVs — and most sets that aren’t high-end Sonys or made by Panasonic — the B5 has only-okay sound. I didn’t encounter any audio hiccups watching everyday movies or series; everything sounded as it should, with acceptable blending and clarity of elements including dialogue, sound effects, and music. There was, at best, middling bass response on The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” though my soprano test track, which climaxes in a high B-flat, played sufficiently clearly even at high volume levels.

The B5’s audio won’t wow you, and it won’t offend you, so there are few surprises here. But if you want to make the most of your entertainment experience, you will want to pair the B5 with one of our best soundbars.

LG B5 OLED: Gaming

All major TV makers have upped their gaming, uh, game the last few years, significantly improving gaming features and performance, and LG is no exception. The B5 may not be as advanced as the C5 or the G5, but its gaming experience is every bit as good as theirs.

Using my Leo Bodnar 4K Input Lag Tester, I measured the B5’s default input lag at 13.1ms and its “boosted” lag (with Game Optimizer mode activated) at 9ms — one of the very lowest we’ve seen.

Add in LG’s intelligently designed and informative Game Bar, which you can raise to get an instant look at critical performance and picture stats when you’re using the Game Optimizer, and the 120Hz native refresh rate and other HDMI 2.1 features, and you have a TV that games about as well as any on the market.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle played extremely well in both its action and stealth sections and its cut scenes alike. The only problem? Some of those tombs beneath Vatican City can get mighty dark, and that’s when the B5’s reflection problems made themselves known again. In the brighter parts of the game, though, the quality and smoothness of the picture easily matched the fun I was having playing.

LG B5 OLED: Smart features

LG’s TV operating system, webOS, remains one of the best on the market, easily competing against the increasingly popular Google TV (and surpassing Samsung’s Tizen or Amazon’s Fire OS). It’s attractive, colorful, and simple to navigate.

Though you are unlikely to have too much trouble finding anything to watch, you can also use Google Cast or Apple Airplay 2 to view video from your mobile devices, or watch live broadcasts using the integrated ATSC 1.0 tuner. (ATSC 3.0, which is necessary for viewing 4K over-the-air TV, is still absent due to continued licensing disagreements.) Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit integration allow you to connect the B5 to your existing smart home ecosystem.

As with the C5 and the G5, the B5 utilizes an “AI Concierge” for answering your questions and making suggestions, and you can use AI voice search to scan for your preferred content across services. These features work, though the Concierge is nothing special, and what “AI” adds to voice search other than a couple of letters on the remote remains unclear to me.

LG B5 OLED: Remote

The B5 uses the glowed-up, slimmed-down version of the Magic Remote that LG has introduced this generation. Though it does everything the old one did (including, somewhat controversially, letting you wave it to activate a mouse-like pointer for interacting with on-screen interfaces), it sports a matte finish and a flatter, more modern-looking candy-bar design instead of the glossy, ergonomically oriented version it replaced.

It’s a good design overall, though I miss dedicated Mute and Input buttons—it may not always be clear at a glance what you need to do to activate certain functions. Everything else on this Magic Remote is clean and straightforward, including the six shortcut buttons (for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, LG Channels, Sling, and Alexa) at the bottom.

LG B5 OLED: Verdict

There are reasons why LG is one of the top TV manufacturers and its sets constantly occupy the top positions in our best TV lists. The B5 produces a decent picture and delivers a slew of other pluses that show just how hard LG has worked at refining its smart interface, its remote control, and everything in between.

But the screen’s low brightness and high reflectiveness present problems for some viewing scenarios (particularly during the day), and those need to be taken into consideration. As, for that matter, does the fact that the “AI” features and the redesigned Magic Remote are the only real differences from last year’s model.

Its price, however, may be its saving grace — emphasis on the “may.” As of this writing, its pricing has proven volatile, and it can currently be found for as little as $1,399.99, or $300 less than the (better-performing) Samsung S90F. That’s appealing for a current-generation OLED, though because both the similarly outfitted B4 and the much brighter Hisense U8QG can be found for about $300 less than that, the B5 is still on somewhat shaky footing.

That may change as prices fluctuate further (especially around the holidays), and if it does, the LG B5 would become a more obvious choice for a less expensive OLED. That wait-and-see approach might be best with the B5, which, despite being the latest, isn’t quite the greatest.

Welcome to a battle between two titans. At the tippy-top of LG's latest TV lineup is the flagship LG G5. It’s one of a handful of OLED TVs in 2025 that leverages LG Display’s all-new, 4th-generation OLED panel.

Meanwhile, the Sony A95L — one of the best OLED TVs ever made — is in its second year on shelves (in large part because there's simply no reason to stop selling a TV this good). The A95L blends the benefits of OLED with quantum dot-enhanced color for a best-of-both-worlds approach.

As you might imagine, there are perks to both of these souped-up OLED displays, and some sizable differences when it comes to performance and features. I'm familiar with both sets, so here's how the A95L and the G5 compare, and which is the best for movies, streaming and more.

Sony A95L vs LG G5: Specs compared

First, let's talk about screen size availability. The G5 comes in a couple of additional sizes, but they're the largest of the series: 83 and 98 inches. There's a small sliver of shoppers who will have no choice but to go with the G5 if they're choosing between these two TVs and want something above 77 inches.

In terms of specifications, the G5 supports 4K gaming at 165Hz, but the A95L is capped at 120Hz. You really don't need to concern yourself with this difference unless you're planning on using one of these TVs with a gaming PC, as current-generation consoles top out at 120Hz for 4K games.

Dolby Vision support is in the cards for both of these TVs, though HDR10+ is absent. I wouldn't worry too much about this, however, as Dolby Vision is the more popular format across various streaming platforms.

The A95L supports ATSC 3.0 while the G5 does not, so if you're hoping to pipe in 4K over-the-air broadcasts, the A95L is the only way to go.

But perhaps the biggest difference between their respective spec sheet has to do with HDMI. All four of the G5's primary inputs are HDMI 2.1-compatible, while only two such ports exist on the A95L (the remaining two being HDMI 2.0). Gamers should take note of this, and I'll get into the reasons in a second.

Sony A95L vs LG G5: Design

You'll want to pay close attention to how these two TVs are designed, as their approach will likely play a big role in deciding which is right for you.

Last year, LG included a stand with 55- and 65-inch versions of its G Series OLED. The all-new G5, however, doesn't come with a stand at any size point, as LG assumes that most people plan on taking advantage of the TV's gap-free, wall-mounted design.

You can check out the G5's separately sold stand in the photo above. It's a sturdy, pedestal-style stand that screws into the back of the panel. It does, however, come at an additional cost.

The A95L, on the other hand, puts flexibility at the forefront. It comes with a narrow pair of feet that can be attached to the TV in three different ways: a wide-set configuration that rests the panel directly on its surface, a centered setup that places the feet near the center of the panel and a wide-set configuration that lifts the panel by several inches (seen below).

While it's tough to understate just how cool the G5 looks in its wall-mounted formation, there's no denying that more people are in the market for a TV with a stand, particularly one that offers multiple configurations to accommodate various home theater setups.

The caveat here is that the G5 might just be the best-looking wall-mounted TV on the market right now. If you have your heart set on putting your next TV on the wall, the G5's design approach is more closely aligned with your needs.

Winner: Sony A95L

Sony A95L vs LG G5: Performance

Before we dive into which of these TVs is the better performer, let's compare their test results.

Thanks to its 4th-generation OLED panel from LG Display, the G5 is one of the brightest OLEDs we've ever tested, rivaling only QD-OLEDs from Sony and Samsung. When you factor this in with the incredible contrast OLED displays are famous for, you get a dazzling picture with an unparalleled sense of depth.

And, at well over 2,000 nits, the G5's blistering HDR brightness is arguably the most impressive aspect of its performance.

But the A95L — itself a QD-OLED TV — is no slouch. Given the unparalleled contrast of OLED displays, the A95L makes out perfectly well with over 1,200 nits of HDR highlight brightness.

However, the G5 has a considerable edge when it comes to average picture brightness. In other words, the entire screen is brighter than the A95L during most content — not just small, concentrated highlights. Daytime TV, sports broadcasts, YouTube videos, you name it — the G5 is going to pack more of a punch.

For this reason, the G5 has a sizable advantage over the A95L for folks who favor daytime viewing (or for viewers with brighter-than-average living spaces).

There are areas of performance where the A95L bests the G5, however. The A95L's incorporation of quantum dots (microscopic, color-boosting nanocrystals) allows for some of the purest color I've ever seen on a TV. The G5 offers better color volume than any LG OLED to date, but it doesn't quite reach the A95L's incredible 89% coverage of the Rec.2020 color gamut.

And then there's the A95L's secret sauce: Sony's superb picture processing. I talk about this often when covering Sony TVs, but the brand's attention to detail is second to none. Older, upscaled content often looks immaculate, motion handling is smooth and rarely do I spot quirks like color banding.

LG is certainly closing the gap in recent years; the G5 offers excellent upscaling and a clean, cinematic presentation. That said, I still find the A95L to be better suited at zshushing up sub-4K content and, in general, minimizing minor, visual artifacts.

All of this adds up to a TV that is in its element when showcasing movies in a darkened room. If you're the type of A/V enthusiast who's keen on crafting a modern home theater with a carefully calibrated experience, the A95L is closer to what you're looking for.

But the G5 is more of a crowd-pleasing, Jack-of-all-trades sort of TV — bright, colorful and excellent in all scenarios. I'm a huge fan of the A95L's attention to detail, but the G5 muscles its way into a win for the performance category.

Winner: LG G5

Sony A95L vs LG G5: Smart platform and features

Before we delve into features, let's discuss software. I much prefer the Google TV experience on the A95L to the webOS experience on the G5, and there's a good chance that you will, too.

While both platforms are peppered with ads and banners for recommended content, Google TV's user interface is easier to navigate. The newest version of webOS, while snappy, is more cluttered, with certain menus tucked further away from the home screen.

But software is just one piece of the puzzle. The G5 is practically overflowing with gaming features to go along with its full slate of high-bandwidth, HDMI 2.1 inputs.

As mentioned, the G5 supports 4K gaming up to 165Hz across all of these ports. You're getting nearly every gaming-related enhancement under the sun. And, while the A95L supports many of these enhancements (like ALLM and VRR), they're limited to just two HDMI 2.1 inputs, and one of them will be lost the moment you link up an eARC-enabled soundbar to the A95L.

If you consider yourself to be more than just a casual gamer, you ought to weigh the G5's gaming benefits heavily. Both of these TVs come with all sorts of audio- and streaming-related bells and whistles, but only one of them is a gaming powerhouse.

Winner: LG G5

Sony A95L vs LG G5: Verdict

The A95L and the G5 are neck and neck competitors when it comes to watching movies in the dark, and under these circumstances, I may even give the edge to the A95L thanks to its added color volume and pristine picture processing.

But there's no denying the G5's punchier picture, and it's a better fit for the average person who watches movies and shows on and off throughout the day.

Beyond performance-related considerations, there's also the matter of price. The A95L has been enjoying its status as one of the best TVs on shelves for a few years now, and since so much time has passed since its debut, you can find some seriously sensationally deals on this Sony.

Right now, the 65-inch A95L is $1,997 at Best Buy. That's over $1,500 off its original, sky-high price tag.

Meanwhile, the 65-inch LG G5 is $2,899 at Amazon. That's the lowest price I could find at the time of publishing.

The G5's higher sticker price is worth securing a brighter picture along with better gaming features, but don't discount the A95L's ability to shine in a proper home theater.

More from Tom's Guide

• Sony A95L QD-OLED TV review
• LG G5 OLED TV review
• Does your OLED TV look funny? Here are 5 common issues and how to diagnose them

In an industry of shifting goal posts, vague marketing speak and over-hyped expectations, there’s one thing most folks can agree on: OLED TVs are incredible.

In the ten years I’ve spent testing, reviewing and watching all types of TVs, no technology has captured my attention more effectively than OLED. There’s only one issue: OLED TVs are priced higher than most. There’s just no way around it.

That said, if you’ve got the financial flexibility to put an OLED TV on your wish list, you’d be hard pressed to find a safer bet when it comes to viewer satisfaction. Here are three reasons why OLED TVs are worth their relatively steep price tag.

1. OLED performance cannot be replicated

Garden-variety LED-based TVs have never been better, but when comparing them to OLED TVs of the same price point, most of them can’t hold a candle to OLED’s performance.

The reason is fairly simple. While LED TVs rely on fast-working, difficult-to-control LEDs to illuminate the picture, OLEDs don’t rely on LEDs at all. Instead, every single pixel in the display is self-illuminating, which has a positive impact on almost every aspect of performance — especially contrast.

OLED TVs are not just capable of creating perfect black levels, they’re not saddled with the bluish, glowing halo of light you might see around bright objects on an LED TV.

This incredible level of contrast means that OLED TVs also don’t need to get as bright as their LED counterparts in order to appear that bright. That perceivable contrast advantage is hard to replicate on even the best Mini-LED TVs.

2. OLED TVs are usually packed with features

OLED TVs tend to arrive with an above-average selection of enhancements and features. If you’re shopping for one of the best OLED TVs on the market, it makes sense that you’d be getting a heaping helping of, say, highly sought-after gaming features. But the most affordable OLED TVs you can buy typically arrive with far more features than the most affordable LED TVs on shelves.

These displays cost more than most to manufacture, so to a certain extent, it makes sense to pair the technology with a set of features that meets the shopper’s expectations.

What does this mean for you? Well, if you’re willing to spend a little more on even the most budget-friendly OLED TV, you’ll probably feel pretty taken care of when it comes to bells and whistles.

Take the LG B5, for instance. This is LG’s entry-level OLED for 2025, and despite its relatively low price within its class, it still comes equipped with HDMI 2.1 inputs, an array of gaming enhancements and Dolby Vision HDR. Heck, it even has a native refresh rate of 120Hz — a spec that was considered top notch just a few years ago.

The entry-level B5 is pricier than most entry-level LED TVs, but in addition to its performance-related benefits, the B5 comes with a longer list of features. You get what you pay for.

3. OLEDs offer distinct design advantages

Since OLED displays lack a traditional backlight, they’re able to take on a much, much slimmer profile. This not only makes for an elegant pose, but can allow for a lighter, easier-to-move screen.

Back when LG was the only mass-market maker of OLED TVs, the brand emphasized the radical design potential of OLED displays by leaning into the thinner-than-a-smartphone aesthetic. This meant that all of the hardware — the “guts” of the TV — had to be housed in a chunky chassis that bulged out around the panel’s midsection.

LG still deploys this design approach today, as seen on the all-new LG C5 OLED (pictured above). However, in recent years, Samsung and Sony have taken a different approach to the design of their OLED TVs by spreading the internal hardware out across the entire panel, allowing for a more uniform shape.

You can see this play at work with Samsung’s newest flagship, the S95F OLED. Not only is its panel the same thickness across the board, but much of its hardware sits in a separate box that connects to the back of the TV.

The result is a stunning-looking design that also delivers a tremendous amount of flexibility when it comes to setting up a home theater. All of the S95F’s inputs can be positioned next to (or beneath) the TV itself, broadening the cable management possibilities.

When will OLED TVs come down in price?

OLED TVs have been slowly coming down in price for as long as I’ve been in the business. Unfortunately, it hasn’t happened as quickly as some of us were hoping it would. Any forecast that projects the next wave of OLED TVs to be significantly cheaper than this year’s batch is rosy at best.

That doesn’t mean the future of TVs isn’t flush with affordable OLEDs — it’s just going to take a while for manufacturing costs to come down, and for TV-makers to incentivize cheaper OLED TVs.

For now, I recommend sticking to major sales events, especially those around the holiday season. Typically, OLED TVs are at their cheapest at the end of the calendar year. At that point, brands are getting ready to release a new slate of models for the coming year and discounts are very much in play.

More from Tom's Guide

• Do you actually need Dolby Vision on your next TV? Here's the answer
• I'm a TV expert and this is the one picture mode you should avoid at all costs
• I’ve set up hundreds of TVs in my career — here are 6 mistakes people make when setting up a new TV