I got an early look at the LG G5 OLED and was blown away by the TV’s performance in ambient light
We got an early look at the LG G5 OLED and it’s another flagship force to be reckoned with from the South Korean brand
LG is one of the biggest players in the TV manufacturing business and has dominated OLED model sales globally over the past decade.
However, it is facing increasingly stiff competition from its rivals. Last year’s flagship LG G4 OLED received top honours when we reviewed it but narrowly missed out on scooping a prize in our Product of the Year Awards, with the Samsung S95D taking home the TV of the Year crown.
The two South Korean giants resume battle in March 2025, with the LG G5 OLED and Samsung S95F at the centre of the action. I spent some time with the G5 OLED at an exclusive event in February and there’s no doubt in my mind that it will be challenging when awards season comes around again.
LG has made significant changes to improve performance, most notably in a department where OLED televisions often struggle: picture quality when there’s a lot of ambient light. I’ve outlined those changes below and given my initial impressions of the TV based on a side-by-side comparison with the LG G4, Samsung S95D and Sony A95L.
READ NEXT: The best TVs for gaming
LG G5 OLED: Key specifications
- Screen sizes: 48in, 55in, 65in, 77in, 83in, 97in
- Panel type: Four-stack WOLED (except 48in and 97in)
- Resolution: 4K (3,840 x 2,160)
- Refresh rate: 165Hz (48in 144Hz, 97in 120Hz)
- Audio enhancements: Virtual 11.1.2-channel upmixing, Dolby Atmos
- HDMI inputs: 4 x HDMI 2.1
- HDR formats: HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision
- Gaming features: 4K@165Hz, VRR, ALLM, Game Optimiser mode
- Smart platform: webOS 25
- Price and availability: TBC
LG G5 OLED: What’s new?
The first thing to note about the LG G5 is that, unlike its predecessor, it doesn’t use Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology. On the 55in, 65in, 77 and 83in models, MLA has made way for a new four-stack OLED approach, referred to as Primary RGB Tandem OLED by LG’s panel manufacturer, LG Display.
Three-stack OLED TVs use two blue OLED layers with a third containing red, green and yellow elements sandwiched in between, while four-stack panels incorporate individual red and green layers between a pair of blue layers. The resulting structure allows for increased light output (brightness), a wider colour gamut, improved black level response and a more consistent gamma (the transition from black to white) during extended use.
Elsewhere, the LG G5 gets an updated processor – the Alpha 11 Gen2 – and a new 48in screen size. That option is limited to a refresh rate of 144Hz, while the 97in model only refreshes at 120Hz and neither use a four-stack OLED panel.
The quartet of four-stack OLED options can handle 4K resolution at 165Hz and support LG’s Brightness Booster Ultimate, which the brand says enables them to hit three times the peak brightness of conventional OLEDs on a 3% window, and achieve up to 40% higher full-screen brightness than the LG G4.
Last year, there were two iterations of the 55in and 65in LG G4 available; one with a stand in the box and the other designed specifically for wall-mounting. This will be the case again in 2025, with the new 48in model also getting SKUs with and without a stand.
Other changes include the addition of new AI functionality and an updated remote. Most territories outside the UK are getting a new Magic Remote that ditches number buttons, but that isn’t the case here. Instead, we see the microphone button replaced by a new LG AI button and the sources button swapped out for a Home Hub button, enabling you to access the webOS homepage with a single press and your inputs by pressing and holding it.
On the AI front, there’s a stronger focus on voice identification. The remote will recognise who’s speaking into it and change the webOS user profile accordingly, and this year, LG’s smart platform can tailor home screens and content recommendations individually for each user profile on the TV.
AI is also being used to provide greater customisation when it comes to audio options. While LG hasn’t said much about the LG G5’s in-built sound system, it will be able to harness the brand’s new AI Sound Wizard. This is the sonic equivalent of AI Picture Wizard, which debuted on LG TVs in 2023.
Users are provided with a selection of audio options and asked to select the ones that sound best to their ears. These choices are then used to create a personalised audio profile, which should in theory deliver the optimal way of experiencing sound on your shiny new telly.
READ NEXT: LG TV model numbers explained
LG G5 OLED: Initial impressions
I didn’t get to test out the G5’s AI Sound Wizard mode or 165Hz gaming chops but I did get an extended look at its picture quality across several demo clips.
These demos took place alongside last year’s G4, the Samsung S95D (2024) and the Sony A95L (2023). Given those TVs are all older, you’d expect the G5 to look better and it certainly did. The additional brightness generated by the new four-stack panel was immediately evident in a darkened room, but what struck me most was how well the G5 performed in bright ambient light.
This is an area where similarly specified Mini LED TVs typically hold the edge over their OLED rivals due to their ability to drive higher levels of brightness. While the G5 won’t be able to match the brightest Mini LED models, the images it produced in a room with a 1,000 Lux light source turned on were a huge step up on the other TVs on show and the best I’ve seen from an OLED in such conditions.
It should be noted that the light source was overhead, so the conditions were not directly comparable to a room with windows to the side or behind you on the sofa. However, 1,000 Lux is much brighter than your average living room and I think the images of the G5 and Samsung S95D below speak for themselves. Of course, it’s an unfair comparison – Samsung is promising massive improvements of its own with this year’s S95F – so we’ll have to wait and see how its Quantum Dot OLED panel matches up.
In the scene from Inside Out 2 pictured below, taken with the overhead light source switched on, there’s significantly more richness, vibrancy and intensity to the eye-catching HDR colours on the G5 (left) than the S95D (right).
The G5 also demonstrated an ability to render cleaner details in natural, real-world images, such as the interior of a church during a scene from Emily in Paris. Here, the patterning on the church walls looks a lot more pronounced and has an extra level of clarity.
In a clip shot at night, the G4 exhibited highly impressive black-level performance. The darkest areas of the image look considerably darker and retain more detail, while the perceived contrast level – what the eye deems as the difference between the brightest and darkest parts of the image – is superior too.
The image below shows that the difference in panel performance is far less noticeable in dark conditions, while also highlighting one of the advantages of Samsung’s 2024 QD-OLED flagship. The glare-free filter on the S95D is pretty much impervious to reflections in the room, while you can see light bouncing back off the G5.
The angle the photo was taken at doesn’t help the LG’s cause, but the disparity was clear as I walked between the two models. So, there’s going to be a tradeoff going for LG’s four-stack OLED, but quite how large this is will depend on what Samsung Display and Samsung’s PQ engineers have managed to do with its latest QD-OLED panel.
The final area of performance that caught my attention was the LG G5’s upscaling. Compared with its predecessor and the S95D on either side of it, the G5 made an HD (720p) broadcast of a German TV programme look a darn sight sharper. The stubbly beard of one of the guests seemed to comprise more defined elements, while his skin tone was more natural.
READ NEXT: How to improve your TV’s picture quality for free
LG G5 OLED: Early verdict
The LG G5 looks to be a sizeable step up from both its predecessor and our favourite TV of 2024 in terms of picture performance when exposed to ambient light. Given how many people watch television in less-than-optimal OLED viewing conditions (a blacked-out room), that’s a pretty big advance.
Of course, there’s only so much that can be read into a side-by-side comparison with older models. Samsung is going all out to retain its OLED crown by boosting the S95F to similar levels of brightness and that TV will also support 4K@165Hz on certain screen sizes. Then there’s the glare-free filter to consider; it already worked brilliantly and Samsung says it’s going to be even more effective this year.
I’ve not seen that TV in the flesh yet, but we’ll have a review of both it and the LG G5 later this month – I’m fascinated to see how they measure up in our tests. There are also offerings from Panasonic – the Z95B looks like another stunner from the Japanese brand – and Philips to consider, and Sony is yet to reveal its hand for 2025.
So, while only time will tell which brand comes out on top, one thing’s for certain, videophiles are going to be eating extremely well this year.
