Last week, Caleb Denison and I got the chance to spend some time at LG headquarters for closer looks at the 2025 models announced at CES in January. Sure, the majority of the excitement the past couple months has been around WOLED technology taking a pretty big step forward. The G5 is getting rid of MLA (Micro Lens Array) technology and the existing three layer structure — consisting of a single yellow/green/red layer between two blue layers — and instead using a four-layer stack with separate red, green, and (two) blue layers. It’s right for this kind of news to get top headlines in the AV world, but after last week, I’m equally interested in the oft-forgotten LG OLED series — the B series.
The best of the best G series steals attention because it debuts the new tech each year and is the best OLED, and the C series is the best mix of performance and value, while the B series patiently waits its turn for coverage. There’s only so many days in the year, and only so may TVs that can be reviewed in that time. But the B5 looks very intriguing, and it worthy of a bit of a callout.
Year-over-year improvements aren’t as drastic as they used to be even five years ago. TVs, from budget to high-end, are all at least pretty good. And the trickle down of performance has real impact on the lower tiers. Look at the surprise, inexpensive introduction of the Sansui OLED last year, or the newly announced Philips OLED Roku TV. What used to be a market that didn’t exist, or wasn’t worth recommending, now has multiple players.
Judging by some of the numbers we saw this week, an OLED tier is a few years behind the tier above it. So the LG C5 performance looks possibly comparable to the LG G2, which would put the B5 on par with the LG C2 — a very good OLED TV. When people asked me what TV they should buy in 2022 (and even into 2023 before it left the market), the C2 was the quick, easy, and obvious answer. I’d still be happy with it today (and my friends who bought it, are).
During the opening presentation, we learned that the B5 would be available in an 83-inch model and…that’s it. No other size was listed in the powerpoint. Fast forward an hour, and there we were, looking at a gaming demonstration on a B5 that was most certainly 77 inches and not 83. After some questions, we found out that, yes, the B5 will be available in sizes ranging from 55 to 83 inches — the question is availability. Smaller sizes will only be available from certain retailers, but LG was not prepared to reveal which retailers just yet. We’ll likely get the news in coming weeks (or a couple months, at most).
Once pricing is released (I don’t expect the recently announced EU prices to accurately represent the North American B5 pricing) we’ll get a better sense of where things stand and how the B5 will stack up against the Philips and Sansui OLEDs (or maybe something that hasn’t been revealed yet). Going by my eyes last week, though, entry-level OLED competition is about to get heated.
