When it comes to high-end OLED TVs, LG’s G-line is often seen as the crème de la crème. I reviewed the LG G3 OLED Evo and called it the best TV. So, it’s hard to imagine how LG could top that with the new LG G4 OLED Evo. Many improvements are subtle, under the hood, and perhaps imperceptible to anyone but the most discerning TV enthusiast.
I’ll be the first to admit I’m not one of those nerds. However, I can tell you that the G4 still boasts stunning visual performance, remains the brightest OLED TV I’ve used, and retains its sleek, gallery-inspired design. Whether you’re a cinephile, a serious gamer, or someone who simply wants to flex with a wall painting that moves, the G4 stands tall as one of the best.
And you know what else remains unchanged? The wallet-melting price. The 65″ G4 I received for review will set you back a whopping $5,300, and that price only goes up with size. The G4 is available in 55, 65, 77, 83, and a massive 97-inches. It’s worth noting that the older G3 can be had for closer to $4,000 and even less with various discounts.
Design and Build Quality
The LG G4 is still as much a work of art as ever. Its “Gallery Design” practically begs for wall mounting, with an ultra-slim profile ensuring it blends seamlessly into any living space. The chassis is about an inch thick in total, with a silver metal frame. It uses a 300×300 zero-gap VESA mount so that when wall-mounted, the TV looks like a high-end art frame, with no visible gap between the TV and the wall.
While this sleek design is a showstopper and clearly meant for wall mounting, you can also get a more traditional G4 pedestal stand (though it comes separately). The stand is designed to be as unobtrusive as the minimalist TV, but I find it rather utilitarian and somewhat of an afterthought. Nevertheless, it’s stable with two height settings; the higher one meant to accommodate any of LG’s soundbars like the SC9S.
Around the back, there’s not much to see. It’s all clean plastic with a cutout for cable channeling, ensuring a tidy aesthetic. This channel comes with a cover to completely hide away cables, which can run down the back of the TV and out through the pedestal stand. As usual, the G4 doesn’t skimp on ports.
You get four full HDMI 2.1 ports that now all support 4K 144Hz input—great for PC gamers. You also get optical audio, Ethernet LAN, Broadcast TV RF, and some USB ports. The TV supports Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay, Google Chromecast, and WiFi 5—which is one of my pet peeves. It should surely be WiFi 6E because right now, it’s constantly struggling on slower 2.4Ghz band in my home network and buffering Netflix and YouTube far more than I’d like. That means if you want the fastest connection to the TV, you’ll need to use an ethernet cable.
Display Quality: OLED Evo Tech in Action
At the heart of the G4 is LG’s OLED Evo technology, which enhances brightness and color accuracy compared to previous generations of OLED TVs. LG claims the G4 can get 150% brighter at its peak compared to regular OLEDs. I don’t have measuring tools to verify this, but a quick look around the internet corroborates this claim. Does it matter in real life? Absolutely. The G4 excels in bright rooms. I had mine set up in a living room with large French doors and never had a complaint about the picture being too dark to see.
With a 65-inch screen boasting 4K resolution, you can expect deep blacks, vibrant colors, and breathtaking contrast. Each pixel in an OLED TV emits its own light, allowing for true blacks and near-infinite contrast ratios. This makes dark scenes in movies or games appear incredibly detailed. By now, if you know anything about panel technology, once you’ve gone OLED, it’s hard to go back to anything else—and the G4 will properly spoil you.
The OLED Evo technology improves on this by increasing brightness levels without losing that signature contrast, making it ideal for both HDR content and brightly lit rooms where OLEDs traditionally struggle. I reviewed the G4 right after the impressive Hisense U8NAU Mini-LED, and I can’t lie—I felt the G4 was much brighter than that TV. Well done, LG. In terms of HDR formats, the G4 supports everything and the kitchen sink—HDR10, Dolby Vision, and HLG—ensuring that you get the most out of compatible content.
The display also handles motion exceptionally well, whether you’re watching sports, action-packed movies, or gaming at high frame rates. The 144Hz refresh rate coupled with LG’s Motion Pro technology ensures smooth, judder-free performance. This will particularly appeal to gamers and those who watch fast-paced content regularly.
All of this technological wizardry is wrangled by LG’s newest Alpha a11 AI Processor 4K. Without nerding out into core counts and TOPS, the new chip boasts four times faster AI performance than the previous generation. This chip processes complex 4K scenes much faster in real-time, reducing noise and enhancing colors of faces and objects for vibrance and clarity.
Something new is Director processing, which is essentially the AI trying to adjust the picture to match the director’s vision. Now, is this something you can actually see? Probably not, especially without having two TVs side by side to compare. Either way, you’ll always be getting a stunning picture on this panel.
And of course, you get all the fancy picture modes like Filmmaker Mode, Dolby Vision, and IMAX Enhanced. Returning is the personal picture wizard that lets you easily fine-tune the picture using a simple A/B test. I like this as it takes out all the tech work of adjusting individual colors, gamma, brightness, and more—though you can absolutely do that too if you prefer.
Sound Quality: Room for Improvement
While the G4 excels in picture quality, its built-in speakers are serviceable but not extraordinary. With 4.2-channel speakers and 60W of power, the sound is decent for most content but doesn’t quite match the immersive visuals. Dolby Atmos support does help improve the audio experience, but if you’re looking for cinematic sound, a soundbar or a full home theatre system would be a worthwhile investment.
That being said, LG offers easy integration with their range of soundbars, which are designed to work seamlessly with the G4. I had the accompanying LG S95S Sound Bar, and the TV immediately recognized it, allowing me to manage all its options using the TV remote. WOW Orchestra also lets you use the TV as a center speaker to complement the soundbar. The TV can pass through lossless Dolby Atmos sound to a compatible soundbar, which would significantly elevate your overall entertainment experience.
Smart TV Features and Interface
LG has equipped the G4 with its latest webOS platform, one of the most intuitive smart TV interfaces on the market. The updated webOS 23 offers a more personalized experience, learning your preferences over time and suggesting content tailored to your viewing habits. The home screen is customizable, letting you pin your favorite apps or frequently used features.
Navigating the interface is smooth and straightforward, thanks in part to the Magic Remote, which allows you to point, click, and scroll through menus. Voice assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa are also built-in, giving you hands-free control over not only the TV but also compatible smart home devices. If you have a lot of smart home devices, it’s easy to set up the TV as a central hub where you can see and control all these devices. This is one area where the voice commands really shine.
The app support is comprehensive, covering all the major streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+. Heck, the remote even comes with dedicated buttons for some of these. There’s nothing really special about the interface, and it does well to get out of your way—which is exactly what you want.
The good ol’ Magic remote remains virtually unchanged for another year running, and I’m not pleased about that. For a TV this premium, the remote feels decidedly plastic and cheap. Yes, it gets the job done, but it doesn’t match the technological wonders of the TV it supports. I would expect a slim, metal remote with solar or USB charging. I can’t believe we still have to use AA batteries in a remote for a $5,000 TV.
Gamer’s Paradise
The G4 manages to retain its place as one of the best TVs on the market for console gaming. LG has added every gaming feature you could think of, most notably increasing the refresh rate from 120Hz at 4K to 144Hz. Factor in Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium support, and the G4 becomes perfect for a living room PC setup. With four HDMI 2.1 ports, you can plug in every next-gen console and a PC into the TV and enjoy some gorgeous gaming.
For kicks, I plugged my Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 into the TV to play some Diablo IV on the big screen, and what a treat it was. The inky blacks, vibrant colors, and smooth refresh made slaying demons and monsters a delight. Of course, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X work perfectly with the G4, though at a lower 120Hz. Perhaps the new PlayStation 5 Pro will be able to top the 144Hz refresh, but either way, gaming on the G4 is a delight.
LG’s Game Optimizer is still the best game dashboard on any TV to date, even though the competition is fast catching up. Sony’s implementation is cleaner and more aesthetic but doesn’t have the breadth of functionality that LG’s does. The Game Optimizer lets you adjust gaming-specific settings on the fly, with options for tweaking picture quality, input delay, and sound settings.
And even if you don’t have a console but have a fast internet connection, the G4 supports Nvidia GeForce Now cloud gaming. This lets you stream games from Nvidia’s servers, and if you’re on the highest tier, you can get 4080-powered RTX graphics for some great gameplay. I was disappointed to see that there’s still no official Xbox Cloud Gaming on webOS, but given Xbox’s cloud domination plans, I expect that it will be available in short order.
In short, I’ve yet to play games on a better TV than this, and while the competition has caught up, LG still edges out ahead as the better gaming platform.
Verdict
I stated at the start of this review that I didn’t know how LG would top the G3. Well, the company took the Apple route and kept the same design but refined the panel and improved the processor to give us an experience that’s better in every way than its predecessor. The LG G4 OLED Evo is a fantastic TV , whether you’re a movie enthusiast, a gamer, or someone who simply wants a sleek, modern display for your home, the G4 delivers across the board.
As a gamer and streaming enthusiast, its OLED Evo panel offers some of the best picture quality available today, especially in terms of contrast, brightness, and color accuracy. The gaming features are top-notch, and the increase to 144Hz makes living room PC gaming an even more enticing prospect. While the sound could be better, the visual experience more than makes up for it, and pairing it with a good soundbar will easily solve that issue.
Is it expensive? Absolutely. It’s almost $800 more than its nearest rival, the Samsung S95D, and $1,200 more than the Sony Bravia 8 OLED. And let’s not forget that LG’s own C4 OLED Evo offers almost all the same features for over $1,600 less. So is it the best value for money? No. Do I still want one over any other TV? Hell yes!
LG Australia kindly loaned the G4 OLED Evo to PowerUp for the purpose of this review
