LG G5 vs LG C5 OLED TV Review

Tom's Guide

In this video, Kate gets another hands-on look at the LG G5 OLED TV and LG C5 OLED TV, which are likely to be two of the best TVs to buy in 2025. Now that we know more of the specs, and that there's a $700 price difference between the 65-inch configurations, she'll break down the biggest differences between the LG G5 vs. LG C5 to help you plan your new TV purchase.

Transcript

00:00If you're planning on buying a new OLED TV in 2025 and even beyond, the LG C5 and LG G5 will

00:07inevitably end up on your lists. But between the two, there are some key differences that you're

00:12going to want to consider besides price, of course, and in this video, I'll take you through what those

00:16are. Alright, so as I said, there are two different models in LG's OLED lineup for 2025 that I would

00:23say are most relevant for potential customers. First up, we got the LG C5, a continuation of

00:29the C series, and I'll give credit where credit is due. It's the C series that helped LG become the

00:34go-to for OLED. It's almost always among the top rated sets every single year, largely due to the

00:40price to performance proposition. But if you checked out my review of the C4 in 2024, you know that I was

00:46a little underwhelmed. I think part of that has to do with competing models from Samsung stepping

00:51things up. It was starting to feel like the C series just wasn't a priority for LG anymore.

00:56After getting to spend a little bit more time with the C5, I'm afraid that might be the case even more

01:01now. There are a lot of exciting features that LG announced this year, but they're only coming to

01:06the G5 OLED. The biggest of those is the adoption of a new four-stack display engineering process,

01:12replacing the Gen 2 MLA design that's still being used on the C5. LG claims the new G5 delivers 40-45%

01:20higher full-screen brightness over last year's G4. So that may, by proxy, mean 40% brighter than the

01:26C5 just based on the company's trickle-down MO we've seen in the past. I'll put a link in the

01:31description that gives you a full explainer on how the four-stack technology works, but to keep

01:36things simple and based on what I actually got to see side-by-side results in the C5 just looking a

01:42little lackluster next to the G5 specifically in terms of brightness. I will say, however, the C5

01:49has some promising upscaling abilities thanks to the Alpha 8 Gen 8 processor, but the G5 has LG's

01:55latest and greatest Alpha 11 Gen 2, so that's where you're going to see the best picture processing

02:01overall. Then we get some other spec differences that I do believe matter to some shoppers, but you

02:06can tell me if you disagree. The C5 maxes out at 144Hz display refresh rate, while the G5 supports

02:12up to 165Hz, which is more in line with what Samsung's competitive models offer. Again, maybe I'm

02:18nitpicking considering this really only applies to users running gaming PCs using the OLED TV as their

02:24monitor, but remember it is the C5 that comes in 48 and 42-inch sizes, more comparable to a gaming monitor's

02:30size. Speaking of sizes, this is something you'll absolutely need to consider. The C5 comes in 83,

02:3777, 65, 55, 48, and 42 inches, while the G5 comes in 97, 83, 77, 65, 55. So if you want the biggest

02:47screen, that's going to be with the G5, but you do have more options with the C5, especially for those

02:54smaller sizes. I'm always a fan of size flexibility because it really is important to get the TV

02:59configuration that best suits your space. If you're not sure what that is, I'll link a guide to choosing

03:04the right TV size below. Also worth noting, the C5 comes with a stand, while the G5 does not. It's

03:11only set up like this for demo purposes. LG very strongly encourages wall mounting the G5. If that's

03:17not your plan, there you go. Another point for the C5. And there are software features that level the

03:22playing ground too. I plan to go into a lot more detail when I actually get one of these TVs into our

03:27studio to test so that I can show you. But with WebOS 25, it's all about AI. Advanced AI search uses

03:34an LLM. You can search for information with co-pilot integration and the onboard AI chatbot.

03:39Think things like service on demand, troubleshooting, picture and sound recommendations,

03:44even just changing the settings. The TVs even have voice recognition so it knows who in your household

03:49is making a given request. But the best part of WebOS, in my personal opinion, is no matter which TV

03:55you end up getting the C5 or the G5, you'll get at least four software updates within five years with

04:00new features, improved experiences, all the things that continue the value of your purchase for years

04:05to come. I really do want to wait for the full set of TG benchmark testing to make a definitive

04:10verdict of the LG G5 versus C5. But in case you want to plan your shopping decision now or want to

04:15purchase before our full reviews are live, I'll break it down. The G5 is going to be the ultimate

04:21choice, the more expensive choice for sure, but that four stack technology looks incredible in person,

04:26even in bright rooms. For the latest and greatest, I do really think that's the way to go if it's

04:31within your budget. That said, the C5 still looks like a well-rounded OLED TV. You get more flexibility

04:37with sizes and setup options, but hey, at that point I might even consider looking at the G4 or C4 markdown

04:43if budget is a priority. Thanks for making it to the end of this video. Hopefully I've explained the

04:49differences between the LG C5 and LG G5 enough to help you make some decisions, but if not, you know

04:54I'm always responding in the comments, so be sure to drop your questions there. While you're here,

04:59make sure to subscribe and turn on those notifications so you never miss a future video.

05:03Otherwise, that's it for me. I'll catch you next time.

05:19I'll catch you next time.

05:22Bye.

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