Why I recommend the LG C5 OLED over more premium models – especially at this price

LG C5 OLED TV

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I would argue that the most crucial aspect of any television set is its picture quality. Never mind its smart capabilities, brand prestige, or super-high refresh rate. For human beings, at first glance anyway, the visual stimulus overrides all else.

This is why when you walk into Costco, you are arrested by the exquisite images flashing on a bunch of big-screen TVs set to “Retail Mode,” peacocking their 4K beauty. First impressions are always based on appearance. 

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By that criterion alone — picture quality — LG’s 2025 C5 OLED.)

The C5 has a unique construction and a futuristic aesthetic. For one thing, it has one of the thinnest screens I’ve ever seen — at a mere 0.25 inches thick. When lifting it out of the box, my colleague and I were wary of handling the edges of the screen because they seemed so delicate. The lower section of the panel is more substantial, something to grab onto while setting it up. 

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It’s as if LG’s engineers were shooting for “more screen, less panel” in this year’s design, an angle they pulled off successfully. It’s almost four times thinner than the trendy Frame TVs on the market, but that only accounts for about two-thirds of the screen’s surface area. 

While I’m admittedly enamored with the C5’s default visuals, it also comes with a host of features that make calibrating your viewing experience ideal. Right away, it offers two options for setting up: using your phone or the remote. Opting for your phone requires downloading the LG ThinQ app. I did this, and it made life easier, initially asking if your TV is resting on a stand or wall-mounted, which might(?) affect performance.

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Humorously, in response to my ThinQ commands, the TV responded with a female voice that was speaking super fast, as if reading the disclaimer at the end of a Micro Machines commercial. That’s okay, though, because it made the process go by quicker.

Then the C5 invites you to turn on certain AI functions like AI Picture Pro. This segment shows a brief video clip of a baby (doing baby things) with a left-to-right screen sweep. This real-time upscaling demonstration impressed me so much that I enabled the feature (which can be turned off anytime).

How’s the visual performance?

The LG C5, though a step down from the company’s real flagship, the G5, tested for a visual experience that was high up on our performance list.
Besides putting TVs through various systematized calibrations and stress tests at the ZDNET lab, I test TV performance by scrutinizing certain movie scenes with demanding visuals, like “Avengers: Endgame,” with its explosive battle scenes and CGI spectacle. 

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From the darkest moments (like Tony Stark’s soliloquy at the beginning) to the moment Thanos snaps his fingers, the LG C5 OLED delivers an image quality surpassing my expectations. Colors are stunningly vibrant, the contrast is pure and precise, and the image details are spookily definite.

Notably, the remote lacks a very important button on any remote — the Mute button. Streamlined to the Nth degree, the left rocker switch doubles as Mute when you pull it downward, and you must hold down the volume rocker for literally two seconds for the TV to go silent. Further — and this might be peevish of me — I find it disappointing whenever a new TV’s remote is not backlit. All remotes should have illuminated buttons for accessibility’s sake. (And a huge Mute button.)

ZDNET’s buying advice

The LG C5 OLED unit for half the price of the C5.

How it compares

Update log:

• This article was originally published on April 29, 2025, and was updated on October 9, 2025, after a thorough fact check and changes to Prime Day pricing. A specification chart comparing the LG C5 OLED and G5 OLED has also been added to note key differences.