LG G5 Series OLED TV Review: Most Color Accurate TV for 2026

The LG Evo AI G5 OLED has set a new standard for gaming and movie watching among premium TVs. 8.8 / 10 Score Cnet Score CNET provides expert, unbiased reviews of products and services. When we assign a score, we use a scale of 1-10. Each product we score is evaluated by criteria specific to its category with most assessing pricing, quality, features and performance. Read more on: How we test LG G5 Series $2,272 at Best Buy $2,497 at Crutchfield$2,500 at LG Pros Highest brightness of any OLED TV yet Stunning image quality Cons Brightness boost not visible in all content Remote is not as good as previous versions Expensive Table of Contents LG G5 Series OLED TV Review: Brightest OLED Yet, Great for Gaming LG G5 OLED TV sizes and series comparison Class from the ground up Smart TV and AI Higher brightness is just the start High-end OLED comparison: LG G5 vs. LG C5 vs. Samsung S95D Light output in nits LG C5 test measurements 2026 LG G5 Series Read more about how we test Buy Now OLED TVs have consistently demonstrated the best picture quality according to our head-to-head tests -- with the best shadow detail, contrast, color and black levels. Yet, there is one thing LCD-based TVs have always done better: sheer brightness. That is, until the LG G5 came along. Finally, OLED can reclaim its place at the top of the TV technology leader board with a model that performs brilliantly in almost every single respect. When LG claimed its G5 had a 40% brightness increase I was skeptical because companies make these types of announcements all the time. Furthermore, OLED has typically been an incremental technology, with small gains made every year. The year 2025 is an exception and LG has made a major leap forward in light output. The G5 is bright. Very bright.  Based on my measurements, the claimed improvement is right on the money. I have compared it against the brightness of the Samsung S95F and the LG C5, and it did very well, but there are still others, like the Panasonic Z95B, to come. The catch to all that brightness is that its impact varies with different types of video. While I was watching typical Blu-ray movies or streaming HDR TV shows, it was difficult to tell the difference between the LG C4 from 2024, the less expensive C5 I reviewed earlier and the G5. It was mainly in console gaming or particularly well-mastered 4K material that I saw the advantages. The extra brightness helped in bright rooms too. For a roughly $600 premium on the 65-inch C5, the G5 offers nearly twice the potential brightness and better color saturation too. While most OLED generations have experienced a small bump, the G5 is demonstrably brighter than any other OLED TV on the market. If you want the punchiest OLED picture available right now, it's the LG G5.  As a counterpoint, if you want maximum bang for buck, then last year's C4, at a savings of more than $2,000 on the G5, is the OLED to buy. Editors' note, July 19: I published the full review of the Samsung S95F after the LG G5's, and have since awarded the Samsung S95F the CNET Editors' Choice. The rest of this review is as it appeared in May 2025.Read more: I'm a TV Reviewer, and Gaming on This New LG OLED Blew My MindBest TVs of 2025 See at CNET LG G5 OLED TV sizes and series comparison I performed a hands-on evaluation of the 65-inch LG G5, but this review also applies to the other screen sizes in the series. All sizes have very similar specs and should provide very similar picture quality.  LG OLED97G5WUA (97-inch)LG OLED83G5WUA (83-inch)LG OLED77G5WUA (77-inch)  LG OLED65G5WUA (65-inch)LG OLED55G5WUA (55-inch)The G5 evo AI series, to use its full name, is the company's premium wired TV for 2025. The flagship M5 announced at CES is the same panel but it features a wireless connection to the input box. The rest of the range is made of the mid-level C5 and the entry-level B5. Class from the ground up Ty Pendlebury/CNETWhile the C series goes for a slim profile, the G series is a lot chunkier, being about an inch thick. It goes without saying that when you're watching TV on either of these the differences in thickness don't matter. The G5's bezel design is classy with a thin, black border and a faint metallic rim. One thing I appreciate about the G5 is that it includes a slim wall mount in the box -- no more flailing around on Amazon for a suitable mount, it's right there. The company also produces a separate "desktop stand" which is a gun metal pedestal. I used the stand instead of the wall mount and found that it was easy enough to attach. LG's Magic Remote has been redesigned for 2025. Ty Pendlebury/CNETWhile I am used to the "infrared thermometer" remote that has shipped with LG OLEDs for the past decade, the 2025 models switch it up with a more traditional candy-bar shape. It's still a "magic" remote with a motion-sensitive cursor I could wave around the screen, but you can also use it as if it's a regular clicker. It has fewer buttons than before, yet more with AI