LG’s 2026 flagship OLED TV, the G6, is easily one of the most anticipated TVs I’ve looked at this year. It’s replacing the already impressive G5, which was a TV I thought did a lot of things extremely well. But as good as the G5 was, it still had some real weaknesses, especially in areas like banding and dithering. That’s exactly why I was so interested in getting hands-on time with the G6.

After spending time with a pre-release sample, my early impression is that LG has taken a very smart approach here. Instead of reinventing everything, it looks like the company focused on refining the areas people actually complained about on the previous generation.

Disclaimer: LG lent me this review unit. Additionally Home Theater Review may run advertising campaigns with various manufacturers including LG.

Banding Looks Significantly Better

One of the first things I wanted to evaluate was banding. Gray screen banding can still vary from panel to panel, and on my particular G6 sample, I didn’t see much noticeable banding on gray slides. But color banding is where the G5 had more consistent problems, and that’s also where I saw one of the biggest improvements on the G6.

LG is now using a new processor with 12-bit color processing, and based on what I saw, that seems to be making a meaningful difference even with 10-bit HDR content. In actual use, I just wasn’t noticing banding the way I would have expected on the previous model. And when LG showed the G5 and G6 side by side in their studio, the difference was obvious. The G6 looked significantly improved.

Now, I would not go so far as to say banding is fully solved. I don’t think any TV is going to completely eliminate all banding in 2026. But the G6 is clearly better. For anyone who was hesitant about the G5 because of banding concerns, I think the G6 becomes much more compelling.

Near-Black Performance and Dithering Have Improved in a Big Way

The other major issue I wanted to look at was near-black performance, and more specifically dithering. This was a real talking point on the G5, especially if you were someone using the TV in ways that made those flaws easier to spot.

From what I’ve seen so far, the G6 makes a huge improvement here. In the comparison I looked at, the G5 showed clearly visible diagonal dithering in a gaming scenario, while the G6 no longer made that stand out in the same way. It isn’t totally gone, but the presentation is much better now. Instead of those more obvious diagonal lines, it looks more like a subtle film grain effect.

That distinction matters. It takes the issue from something that could look distracting and artificial to something that is much easier to live with. If you were already the kind of user who never noticed the G5’s dithering from normal viewing distances, then this is probably going to be a complete non-issue for you on the G6. Even up close, where that grain can still be visible, it feels much less offensive than before.

I still think QD-OLED has an edge here, but that comes with trade-offs of its own, especially in ambient light handling. And that leads directly into one of the G6’s strongest traits.

LG’s Coating Might Be the Best on the Market

One of the standout things about the G6 is the coating. In my testing, it delivered ambient light handling that felt very similar to the G5. If anything, it may be just a tiny bit worse, but only to a degree that I’d describe as nearly unnoticeable. And even then, it still looked better than the G4.

The bigger win is reflections. Reflections were simply less noticeable to me on the G6. That creates a very strong overall package, because LG is managing to preserve the glossy look that gives OLEDs that depth and clarity I really like, while also keeping ambient light performance strong and making reflections less distracting.

To me, that combination is extremely hard to beat. I think LG may have the best TV coating on the market right now based on what I’ve seen. You get pretty strong reflection handling, excellent ambient light handling, and you still retain that glossy finish that helps the picture look deep and clear.

That’s also where I think LG separates itself from Samsung in 2026. Samsung’s matte approach may diffuse reflections more aggressively, but that can come with trade-offs in perceived depth and possibly contrast. LG, on the other hand, feels like it is getting much closer to solving reflection concerns without giving up the benefits of a glossy OLED presentation. For my preferences as a reviewer, that puts LG ahead here.

Text Clarity Is Noticeably Better

Another upgrade that stood out to me was the move to an RGWB sub-pixel arrangement. In practice, this gave the G6 noticeably better text clarity than the G5. If you’re someone who even occasionally thinks about using a TV like this as a monitor, that matters a lot.

Text just looked cleaner. It also seemed like there was less of that over-sharpened look I had noticed before. I can’t say with certainty yet whether that is entirely due to the new sub-pixel arrangement or if LG also backed off some of its sharpening behavior, but the end result was definitely positive. The image looked more natural, and text looked much clearer in my experience.

That alone could make the G6 much more attractive to people who want a TV that can pull double duty in a setup where desktop clarity matters.

The Main Hardware Issue That Still Remains

As promising as the G6 looks, I don’t think it’s perfect. The main hardware limitation I still noticed was off-angle viewing. Compared to mini-LED, it’s still much better overall, but if you move far enough off center, there is still a visible shift toward green, especially on white objects.

If you’re sitting fairly centered, I really don’t think this is going to matter much. In that kind of setup, it feels like a non-issue. But if you’re at a significant angle, the shift is there, and it’s something I hope LG continues improving in future generations.

Still, the fact that this is the biggest remaining hardware issue I’m seeing says a lot about how strong the G6 already looks in its current state.

So, Is This the Best OLED of 2026?

Based on my hands-on time so far, the LG G6 absolutely looks like it has the potential to be one of the very best TVs of 2026, and maybe even the best. The improvements to banding, dithering, reflections, and text clarity all feel meaningful.

That said, I’m still holding back from making a final verdict because my unit was a pre-release sample and did not appear to be running final retail firmware. I also ran into some bugs in Filmmaker Mode, so I want to wait for full CalMAN testing and a proper review before making any absolute claims about tracking, bugs, or how polished the final retail experience will be.

But if LG cleans that up and the retail firmware delivers the way I hope it will, then yes — the G6 has a very real shot at being the best TV of 2026. From what I’ve seen so far, it has all the makings of a flagship OLED that meaningfully improves on its predecessor in the exact places that needed the most attention.