ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The LG C5 OLED boosts dazzling brightness and shade.
- It options an ultra-slim physique, with materials selections that evoke premium.
- It is priced comparatively excessive for the nominal upgrades over final yr’s mannequin.
extra shopping for selections
Main retailers have discounted LG’s newest C5 OLED TV as a lot as $700 off, relying on which dimension you purchase.
I might argue that essentially the most essential facet of any tv set is its image high quality. By no means thoughts its good capabilities, model status, or super-high refresh charge. For human beings, at first look anyway, the visible stimulus overrides all else.
This is the reason if you stroll into Costco, you’re arrested by the beautiful photographs flashing on a bunch of big-screen TVs set to “Retail Mode,” peacocking their 4K magnificence. First impressions are all the time based mostly on look.
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By that criterion alone — image high quality — LG’s 2025 C5 OLED ranks among the many best OLED TVs you should purchase at the moment. That seems like a matter-of-fact assertion, however I stand behind it as a result of as quickly as I fired up our overview unit for testing, I knew it was a win. It is that good this yr.
The C5 has a singular development and a futuristic aesthetic. For one factor, it has one of many thinnest screens I’ve ever seen — at a mere 0.25 inches thick. When lifting it out of the field, my colleague and I had been cautious of dealing with the sides of the display screen as a result of they appeared so delicate. The decrease part of the panel is extra substantial, one thing to seize onto whereas setting it up.
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It is as if LG’s engineers had been taking pictures for “extra display screen, much less panel” on this yr’s design, an angle they pulled off efficiently. It is virtually 4 occasions thinner than the fashionable Body TVs available on the market, however that solely accounts for about two-thirds of the display screen’s floor space.
I might like to present a shout-out to whoever designed the packaging for this mannequin. While you open the cardboard field prime, you instantly discover the distant management in its personal little sleeve, with batteries preinstalled. The bottom plate (stand) and all its elements are in one other styrofoam field, which makes it simple to drag out and get going. (These are belongings you discover if you unbox a couple of too many 65-inch TVs.)
Different fantastic particulars distinguish the C5, such because the black marble sample on the again of the display screen, and tiny sq. silicone pads on the underside of the bottom plate that stop the TV from scooting.
LG is a pioneer in OLED expertise, so we will anticipate every iteration it produces to enhance on the final. Whereas the C5’s picture high quality alone is a testomony to LG’s persevering with pursuit of perfection, numerous {hardware} upgrades account for this yr’s progress.
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There’s the Alpha 9 Gen 8 processor, chargeable for a deep listing of AI options. Every part from AI Tremendous Upscaling — which boosts the standard of lower-resolution content material to look extra like 4K for streaming companies — to AI-assisted Deep Studying, which analyzes and learns your viewing preferences to optimize image and sound settings only for you.
I additionally examined AI Concierge, which pays consideration to your viewing preferences and content material to supply solutions on your subsequent binge-worthy present. These options aren’t causes to improve to the newest fashions per se, however they are a step in the correct route when it comes to AI instruments most customers could make use of.
The LG C5, like final yr’s C4, comes with 4 HDMI 2.1 ports and three USB 2.0 ports.
Adam Breeden/ZDNET
Whereas I am admittedly enamored with the C5’s default visuals, it additionally comes with a bunch of options that make calibrating your viewing expertise ultimate. Immediately, it provides two choices for establishing: utilizing your telephone or the distant. Opting on your telephone requires downloading the LG ThinQ app. I did this, and it made life simpler, initially asking in case your TV is resting on a stand or wall-mounted, which could(?) have an effect on efficiency.
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Humorously, in response to my ThinQ instructions, the TV responded with a feminine voice that was talking tremendous quick, as if studying the disclaimer on the finish of a Micro Machines business. That is okay, although, as a result of it made the method go by faster.
Then the C5 invitations you to activate sure AI features like AI Image Professional. This section reveals a short video clip of a child (doing child issues) with a left-to-right display screen sweep. This real-time upscaling demonstration impressed me a lot that I enabled the characteristic (which will be turned off anytime).
How’s the visible efficiency?
The LG C5, although a step down from the corporate’s actual flagship, the G5, examined for a visible expertise that was excessive up on our efficiency listing.
Apart from placing TVs via varied systematized calibrations and stress tests on the ZDNET lab, I take a look at TV efficiency by scrutinizing sure film scenes with demanding visuals, like “Avengers: Endgame,” with its explosive battle scenes and CGI spectacle.
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From the darkest moments (like Tony Stark’s soliloquy at the start) to the second Thanos snaps his fingers, the LG C5 OLED delivers a picture high quality surpassing my expectations. Colours are stunningly vibrant, the distinction is pure and exact, and the picture particulars are spookily particular.
Even when the C5 is at relaxation, it manages to impress. With its “At all times Prepared” perform, the TV’s movement sensor shows wallpaper or movement graphics in response to exercise within the room. That is the place I observed the true-black nature of this OLED, which provides a component of depth that approaches 3D, as when you can attain behind the silent, glittering fireworks exploding on-screen ready on your interplay.
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I wasn’t as eager on LG’s AI Sound Professional tuning, so I stored that turned off regardless of it making the TV louder. The characteristic took the pattern music from background to foreground, probably doubling in decibels however not high quality. It was rather more tinny and excessive on treble, though including a soundbar might simply treatment this.
I emphasize turning any Power Saver modes off to take pleasure in the absolute best HDR brightness. Power-saving modes on AI good TVs are gimmicky and impractical as a result of they “save” solely a modicum of electrical energy utilization, impacting the C5’s efficiency in a vibrant room. In varied lighting situations, I discovered the ISF Professional Vivid Room setting to be greatest.
In regards to the Magic Distant
LG nonetheless makes use of its Magic Distant characteristic to navigate the UX, which I’ve by no means been an enormous fan of; I do not take pleasure in feeling like I am utilizing a Wii controller to vary settings. Fortunately, the cursor a part of navigating with the Magic Distant is now an non-compulsory characteristic (invoked and commanded by the wheel button) slightly than the only real means for choosing gadgets. It’s also possible to use the directional pad for navigation.
Notably, the distant lacks a vital button on any distant — the Mute button. Streamlined to the Nth diploma, the left rocker change doubles as Mute if you pull it downward, and it’s essential to maintain down the quantity rocker for actually two seconds for the TV to go silent. Additional — and this is perhaps peevish of me — I discover it disappointing every time a brand new TV’s distant shouldn’t be backlit. All remotes ought to have illuminated buttons for accessibility’s sake. (And an enormous Mute button.)
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The LG C5 OLED is an exemplary TV that’s fairly the looker — whether or not the display screen is turned on or off. At round $1,997 (on sale on the time of writing), the 65-inch C5 options upgrades from its predecessor which might be par for the course, however not essentially game-changing. As an example, take a look at measurements of the C5 solely barely exceed the 2024 C4 collection unit (similar to a marginal enhance of nits for brightness).
Equally, the C5 does not step up over the C4 relating to its refresh charge, which continues to max out at 144Hz as an alternative of 165Hz like we’re seeing on some higher-end (and competing) fashions. Till that price ticket drops, you may be simply as effectively off choosing up a C4 series unit for half the worth of the C5.
This text was initially printed on April 29, 2025, and was up to date on July 21, 2025.
