'The complete package': I tested the LG G6 OLED TV side-by-side with the G5 in our testing rooms — and the difference is clear

An upgrade in all the right ways

28 Mar 2026, 15:00 · TechRadar

Features By James Davidson published 28 March 2026

LG G6 (left) and LG G5 (right) (Image credit: Future)

Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox

Become a Member in Seconds

Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful

Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.

Explore

An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter

The LG G5 was one of the best-performing TVs of last year, delivering superb picture quality with gorgeous colors and strong contrast. It was also one of the best options for gaming, with a full suite of features and razor-sharp performance, as well as an intuitive smart TV platform. While it was a premium TV, it was good value for what it delivered.

Its successor, the LG G6, has some mighty big shoes to fill. Earlier this year, I saw the LG G6 and LG G5 side-by-side at a demo event, but now the G6 has now arrived in our testing labs for longer-term testing.

I still use the G5 regularly for testing discs in my Blu-ray Bounty column, so I put the G5 and G6 next to each other, and compared the two using some 4K Blu-rays I regularly use for testing TVs, with a signal splitter from our trusty Panasonic DP-UB820 Blu-ray player.

Article continues below

Brightness and reflections

While the LG G5 (right) may appear brighter in some peak areas on screen (the snow on the ground), the G6 appears more accurate with more balanced white tones (Image credit: Future)

Equipped with a new-gen Primary Tandem RGB OLED 2.0 panel, the LG G6 promised a brightness upgrade over its predecessor, and it’s delivered. The G6 registered 2,471 nits of peak HDR brightness (10% window) in Filmmaker Mode, compared to the G5’s 2,268 nits. While this is only an incremental increase, fullscreen HDR brightness (100% window) in Filmmaker Mode on the G6 clocked in at 455 nits, which is a huge jump from the G5’s 331 nits.

But what does this mean for pictures? In brighter scenes, such as a series of clips of snow from the Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark’s demo material, the G6 has higher brightness in fullscreen parts of the picture.

While the G5 actually appears brighter in some peak areas, such as the snow on the fence in the photo above, this is likely due to intentional Filmmaker Mode tweaks, where G6 pulls back on the vibrancy. This results in a more balanced picture, with no over-exertion of bright tones, which is how the G5 can appear at times.

The G6 (left) is the better choice for bright rooms, due to its far superior reflection handling, despite the fact the G5 looks brighter in this scene during The Batman. (Image credit: Warner Bros. / Future)

One area where the G6 shows a real upgrade over the G5 is reflection handling. While the G6 still shows some mirror-like reflections, they are significantly reduced compared to the G5.

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors