The LG G6 OLED is a genuinely impressive piece of technology. It’s sleek, it’s sharp, and for movie fans especially, it checks most of the boxes you’d want in a high-end TV. But here’s the thing: when you’re sitting with it side-by-side against last year’s G5, or worse, against Samsung’s S95H, the gap between them feels less like a canyon and more like a crack.
According to CNET’s hands-on evaluation, the G6’s headline feature is LG’s new “tandem” OLED technology, which stacks two OLED panels to chase what’s been LCD’s advantage for years: brightness. The company claims up to 20% brighter performance than the G5, along with refined color systems like Hyper Radiant Color and Perfect Color. On paper, that’s compelling. In practice, it’s complicated.
The brightness promise stumbles
When you actually measure the two TVs, the brightness advantage doesn’t quite materialize as advertised. The G6 and G5 looked “remarkably similar” in most content, according to the review. The real boost showed up specifically in HDR gaming, where the G6 pulled ahead, but only noticeably so. In standard brightness measurements, the G6 actually came in 10% dimmer in movie mode than expected, which hints at real technological limits in what OLED can currently deliver.
This matters because brightness is one of the few areas where OLED has been playing catch-up to LCD. The fact that incremental improvements are getting harder to achieve says something about where the technology sits right now. Samsung’s S95H, meanwhile, matched the G5’s brightness levels, suggesting LG’s advantage here is narrower than the marketing suggests.
Where the G6 actually wins and loses
Shadow detail is where the G6 genuinely outperforms its predecessor. When testing with a 4K UHD disc of “It,” the G6 pulled up more detail in darker areas, giving background objects better shape and definition. That’s a real improvement, and it matters for anyone who watches a lot of darker films or shows.
But LG apparently made a trade-off. The G5 won a lab award for color accuracy. The G6? It trades some of that precision for extra punch. Brighter colors and muted tones lose accuracy when viewed off-axis, and the effect is noticeable even from eight feet away. On all-white backgrounds especially, a green tint creeps in from the sides of the screen. The G5 had this too, but it took extreme off-axis viewing to trigger it. On the G6, it’s there much sooner.
That’s not a dealbreaker for everyone. But it’s a reminder that the G6 isn’t a straight upgrade across the board. It’s a different set of priorities.
The competition is real
The Samsung S95H deserves mention here because it’s not just nipping at the G6’s heels. In light rejection tests, the Samsung actually won outright. Its anti-reflectivity performance is superior, which matters if you watch TV in a bright room. The S95H’s picture is also noticeably more saturated and brighter overall, and it includes anti-burn-in tech that lets it pull double duty as a Frame TV.
Where the G6 stays competitive is in how it handles that reflectivity versus black levels. The reviewer preferred the G6’s coating because it preserved blacks better in lit rooms while still cutting down glare. That’s a subtler quality than what Samsung offers, but for movie purists, it might matter more.
Gaming performance? Largely a wash. Both TVs are excellent for gaming, though the G6 has a slightly slower response time at 1080p. The Samsung is harder to switch out of gaming mode unless you set it to auto, while LG’s system stays more flexible.
The real cost of staying on top
Here’s what’s easy to overlook: the G6 is expensive. Really expensive. LG makes a W6 model that’s essentially the wireless version of this TV, and there’s now a C6H stepping between the budget-friendly C6 and the premium G6, which adds even more complexity to the lineup. The remote is refined and useful, the stand design is solid, and LG even includes a wall mount in the box. These are thoughtful touches.
But they don’t change the fundamental question: is the G6 worth the premium over the G5 when the brightness improvements don’t materialize as promised, and when color accuracy actually takes a step back?
For someone still using LED TVs, the G6 is a meaningful leap forward. The contrast and color are undeniably superior to anything LCD can do. If you primarily watch in darker rooms and don’t mind the off-axis color shifts, the G6 makes sense. But if you’re upgrading from a G5, or if bright room performance matters to you, the case gets murkier. Samsung’s S95H deserves serious consideration. So does waiting to see what comes next.
The panel competition in 2026 is only heating up, and incremental improvements are starting to feel like the price of entry rather than reason to upgrade.
