The best new TVs are typically announced at the beginning of the year – this year, as part of the CES show – with LG's best OLED TVs a staple. There's one major difference in the Korean brand's 2025 range, however, and it's a massive upgrade that makes for stunning viewing.
I got a behind-closed-doors preview of the LG OLED G5, the company's top-tier TV for the year, and was amazed at its gorgeous images. So just what's so special about the G5 compared to the already impressive LG G4 OLED of last year?
Well, it's all change. The term 'Brightness Booster Ultimate' has been applied to this set – the 'Ultimate' signifying that it's a step beyond any models further down the range (there's the LG OLED C5 and OLED B5, with no A5 model being ranged this year). But that's not achieved using a Micro Lens Array (MLA) panel – instead LG has created a multi-layered OLED that, at its peak, is 40% brighter than its predecessor.
This move away from MLA for 2025 is an unexpected shift – but a positive one. Not that brightness is everything, of course, as in the room where I got to see all of LG's new products – including the wireless LG OLED M5, plus the new wireless QNED9M – the G5 stood out to my eyes for the sheer richness and depth of the picture.
With a trailer for Apple TV+'s Wolfs running on repeat – as it was on many of the other sets in the room – the G5's images looked streets apart from LG's other formidable products. There's a new processor on board, the Alpha 11 Gen 2, which can even process images up to 165Hz (up from 144Hz of previous) – ideal for gamers.
While the panel type is a clear upgrade, however, there's one thing that I think is a downgrade – while the earlier G4 came in both stand-mount and wall-mount options, the G5 will only feature a wall-mount in the box. That aligns it with how things were in the G3 model and before it, presumably owed to data showing the wall-mount sold better, but I still think it's regressive.
A stand can be purchased separately, of course, it'll just cost you a bit extra. Not that there's any word on the OLED G5's pricing just yet – something that'll be revealed in the coming months, I suspect. What was also confirmed, however, is that the G5 will come in a new size – 48-inch – alongside the 55-, 65-, 77-, 83- and 97-inch models, although the smallest and largest don't feature this new panel tech, so are less bright as a result.
