2022 is already packed with amazing TV’s thanks to improvements to OLED and Mini-LED tech. LG, Samsung and Sony all have some very exciting TV’s but at the end of the day, LG remains king of the OLED TV space. The new and improved LG G2 OLED Evo Gallery Edition is a stunning TV that keeps LG at the top of the leaderboard.
As the flagship TV in LG’s lineup, the Gallery Edition isn’t just an amalgamation of all their cutting-edge tech but quite literally, a work of art. It’s designed to be a centerpiece attraction in the home, whether that’s hanging on a wall or standing on an art style easel like a beautiful 17th century painting by one of the greats.
LG has put its brightest and sharpest OLED Evo panel in the G2 and powered it with the latest generation α9 Gen 5 AI Processor that does all sorts of wizardy to acheive the best possible viewing experience. And gamers will love the four HDMI 2.1 ports that are Dolby Vision HDR at 4K 120Hz ready, not to mention the panels 1ms response time and support for variable refresh rate.
Retail pricing starts at $4,000 for the 55” model and tops out at a mind-blowing $13,000 for the 83” model. And that doesn’t even include the stand. LG sells the Gallery Stand for an additional $633 although there is also a more traditional TV cabinet stand for $349 or $449 depending on the size of TV.
The G2 is certainly an impressive display of opulence and luxury that does everything you’d want a TV in 2022 to do. But at the end of the day, is it really worth it? Read on to find out.
LG G2 OLED Evo Gallery Edition
LG were kind enough to send me the 65″ G2 with Gallery Stand for review. Not long ago, 65″ seemed excessive but now feels like the sweetspot. The TV came in two packages, the second being for the gallery stand. After the LG technicians assembled the TV, I fully appreciated the whole gallery concept.
Thanks to the impressive 1-inch thickness of the G2 from front-to-back, and the polished metal frame, the TV really looks like an expensive picture frame. Seeing it standing in the corner of a room where it draws everyone’s attention, words cannot fully convey its elegance and beauty.
Designed for minimalism, the ports bay channels all cables downwards to make cable management easier and preferably hidden. To this end, LG provides some cable clips as well as channels in the Gallery stand. Speaking of which, those ports include four HDMI 2.1, an Ethernet port, 3x USB, a Digital Optical out and an old school RF antenna port for watching broadcast telly(but who does that anyway?)
I should point out that as good as it looks on the Gallery Stand, the G2 is still a massive TV and so there is some worrying wobble. Nothing to worry about if you never touch it but if you have little children, you might want to go for a wall mounting.
That said, the G2 looks stunning in the stand especially when it’s in ambient mode displaying some beautiful art work. It really does look like live painting and it’s very surreal. I admit to feeling rather posh with it standing in the corner of my living room.
Powering on and initial setup of the TV is a breeze and upon completion you are taking to the WebOS home screen. It’s clean, simple and uncluttered except for the expected advertising that pops up here and there. However, navigating is easy thanks to the Wii-style remote which to be honest is rather outdated in the looks department for such a premium TV. However, I can’t deny it feels great in the hand and is a pleasure to use.
Performance
The G2 OLED Evo is the next generation of LG OLED panels which boast improved brightness and a revised pixel layout for improved fidelity. Essentially, they are brighter and sharper than ever. This one is hard to test without calibration tools or a side by side with last years model but I can assure you, this thing is absolutely bonkers good looking.
My unit was set right next to massive living room windows and yet I never once had a problem viewing content during the day. Reflections were handled superbly allowing me to watch everything, even those with dark scenes perfectly well.
Color saturation and vibrancy is truly eye popping especially when Dolby Vision IQ kicks in. When we watched Dr.Strange Multiverse of Madness, the G2 expertly handled the dark scenes with ease while the crazy trips through the multiverse were bursting with color and detail. I also thoroughly enjoyed Obi-Wan and Darth Vaders lightsaber duel on the dark moon. The flash of the red and blue lightsabers shone through the pitch blackness while lighting only portions of the characters.
There was no blooming or haloing even on closed caption text as is normally the case with traditional LED and even Mini-LED panels. Turning to games, my gosh. The various biomes of Ghost of Tsushima were alive with colour and contrast that made me long to live there for real, while the monster laiden plains of Lingrave in Elden Ring made me want to run far away.
Everything looks and sounds amazing on the G2 as you’d expect for such a premium TV thanks to a dizzying array of LG’s AI Picture and Sound modes powered by the α9 Gen 5 AI Processor. There are a several picture modes to choose from though I preferred the Filmmaker Expert and Dolby Vision Bright for most content.
HDR is absolutely brilliant thanks to the G2’s much improved brightness paired with the perfect blacks that only OLED’s can achieve. The TV also has Dynamic Tone Mapping Pro which intelligently divides the picture into over 5000 areas to adjust color, tone and contrast for the best possible picture.
You are free to jump into the TV’s settings and play around with all the settings to fine tune the picture to your liking but I think most people who own this TV simply won’t have the time or skill do so and will leave it on auto to pick the best settings for them. Which is perfectly fine too because the TV’s smarts do a wonderful job at it.
The sound from the G2’s speakers is very good for a TV by which I mean, you’ll really need a sound bar or external speakers to get the best audio but without them, it’s good enough. Volume is loud enough with good bass and tonality. The AI Sound Pro feature can even scan your room to adjust the audio to the TV’s surroundings and even upscales stereo sound into virtual 7.1 surround sound. That doesn’t mean much when using the TV’s speakers though but if you have external speakers it might.
Gaming
Of course this is a gaming site and that’s what you came here for, right? Well I’ve already mentioned how gorgeous games look but they feel amazing too. The G2 comes with all of LG’s many gaming-centric features such as 4K 120Hz, Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync for PC gaming and VRR for console gamers. The 1ms response time and a low latency of under 15ms in Game mode make it perfect for gaming.
Xbox Series X/S owners are in for a treat since those consoles support Dolby Vision HDR gaming in titles like Halo Infinite. PC and PlayStation 5 owners needn’t worry though because the G2’s impressive HDR tone mapping makes games shine too. I gotta say, playing Destiny 2 The Witch Queen on the G2 in 4K HDR is such an incredible visual feast as it’s arguably one of the most gorgeous HDR games available to date.
Hitting the settings button on the remote while you’re in Game Mode brings up the excellent Game Optimiser Dashboard that shows you all the necessary stats; framerate, refresh, black levels and even lets you choose between game genre presets for the best picture. This is still the best gaming dashboard on any brand of TV, so much so that LG has now brought it to their new UltraGear gaming monitors.
Should you buy it?
Yes and no.
Yes in that the LG G2 OLED Evo Gallery Edition is a fantastic TV without question. Picture quality, gaming performance, WebOS interface and all the connectivity you need. Not too mention how it really does look like a pricey gallery painting. No because of the very high price it demands. At $5,300 for the 65” model I have here, I question why anyone would buy the G2 over the very similar but far cheaper 65” LG C2 that costs $1400 less.
The G2 is clearly a showpiece television, something to show off in your home like any one of your other collectibles. The fact that it does all these other TV things very well is a bonus though I doubt many a G2 owner will care about those things. So if you want a fantastic TV that also gives you a sense of wealth and aristocracy like no other TV I’ve ever encountered, then the LG G2 OLED Evo Gallery Edition is a must buy.
