LG G3 Review: The Best OLED TV To Buy?

Is the LG G3 OLED TV the best buy in 2023?

As arguably one of the most sought after TVs of 2023, the LG G3 is without a doubt one to watch this year (excuse the pun). However, with TV manufacturers like Samsung, Sony and more constantly raising the bar of OLED technology, we want to know if the G3 really is the best TV out there right now.

Sitting above the popular LG C3 and below the 8K LG Z3, LG’s flagship 4K OLED is set to redefine the possibilities of TV as we know it.

Featuring a 100Hz Native OLED Evo panel with Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology and Brightness Booster Max, the LG G3 promises cinema-level visuals with up to 70% brighter performance than other traditional OLED TVs like the LG B3 or A3 models.

LG G3 OLED evo 4K Smart TV
Available Sizes: 55” - 83”
Price: £2,599 - £7,499
(See Latest Deals)

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Pros	Cons
✅ Outstanding OLED brightness ✅ Stunning details ✅ Second to none gaming specifications ✅ Exceptionally wide viewing angle and brilliant reflection handling	❌ Sound performance could be improved ❌ Table-top stand comes with additional cost

Why not watch our full LG G3 MLA OLED Review over on our YouTube channel?

LG's OLED Options

Sitting above the popular LG C3, B3 and A3, the LG G3 is the brand's flagship 4K OLED TV.

Offering plenty of size options, the G3 is available from 55 to 83-inch sizes. As a flagship TV, the LG G3 boasts a premium price tag to match, ranging from £2,200 RRP for the 55 inch model all the way to £7,499 RRP for the mammoth 83-inch version. (See Latest Deals)

It is worth noting that the 83-inch variant doesn’t feature the MLA or META technology that we see in the smaller G3 models and will ‘only’ have a brightness boost of around 30% when compared to the other OLED’s in the range.

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Key Tech Highlights

What is Micro Lens Array (MLA) Technology?

Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology is a new display technology that is being used in some of the latest OLED TVs. It adds a layer of billions of microscopic lenses that help to focus and direct light from the OLED pixels, resulting in increased TV brightness, efficiency and better viewing angles.

It’s the latest way TV manufacturers are combating the most common issue with OLED TVs - brightness (or lack thereof). MLA is specifically designed to maximise the brightness output of the panel without requiring any extra power, pushing the OLEDs further and reducing the risk of burn in and image retention.

Want to learn more about the technology behind the TVs? Check out our blog article MLA vs. QD-OLED: The Differences That Actually Matter

Alpha 9 AI Processor 4K (Gen 6)

The LG G3 also features an upgraded processor, the Alpha 9 AI processor 4K, which is now in its sixth generation.

This new processor brings a couple notable upgrades. The first is OLED Dynamic Tone Mapping Pro, which allows for more zones of individual HDR optimisation, providing deeper blacks and brighter whites and improving HDR performance.

HDR Expression Enhancer also helps to sharpen the foreground elements on screen and give extra depth to scenes in your favourite films and TV shows.

In terms of audio, there’s also a new Auto Balance Control feature that is designed to keep certain elements of your TV's audio from overpowering others. For example, increases in bass shouldn’t overpower vocals. It will also enable up-mixing of all sound formats to 9.1.2, an upgrade on 7.1.2 from last year.

Design

Design-wise the G3 looks pretty similar to its predecessor. Of course, new technology is always exciting, but we don’t think a full scale refresh is necessarily needed with this TV. It’s a premium looking model that effortlessly matches its premium flagship title and price point.

As a gallery TV, the G3 has been designed to be wall mounted. LG calls it a ‘wallpaper design’ on their website, as it sits flush with your wall to provide an almost picture frame appearance.

Its worth remembering that to do that, you will need to have a space where you can wall mount a TV, and for the best appearance, you’ll need the power and wiring to be set back in a recess in the wall to allow for it to sit flush. Thankfully, this TV does come with a wall mount that retracts into the TV as standard to ensure a flush and premium finish.

There’s no stand supplied with this one, but you can purchase one separately from LG if you can’t wall mount your TV. Now we’ve not tested the stand yet, but from the reviews we’ve seen online, we’d suggest it’s not quite as sturdy or as premium as you’d hope to match this TV.

The G3 has a nice slim aluminium bezel that echoes this TV's high-end finish and almost replicates something like the Apple Studio display, which we’ve always been big fans of.

They’ve also added a more effective anti-reflective coating to this TV, which keeps its panel glossy while reducing the distracting reflections that have frustrated us in the past.

The remote does feel a bit cheap and isn’t backlit like many of the others on the market, which is something that could’ve been improved. No, this won't be a dealbreaker for everyone, but LG can definitely improve in this department.

Picture Quality

As far as OLED’s go, this is definitely one of the brightest we’ve tested, leaving us genuinely impressed. Your eyes are drawn to the screen, creating an immersive visual experience that is difficult not to enjoy. For context, we initially placed it alongside the Sony A80L, another great OLED option we’ve recently reviewed, and the brightness difference was like night and day.

Now, we typically avoid diving too deep into specs and statistics in our reviews because they can only reveal so much. However, LG has shared some intriguing figures for this TV.

In its HDR Vivid Mode, it should reach a peak brightness of approximately 2040 nits, and in the HDR Cinema Mode preset, it should hit around 1,400 nits. To put that in perspective, last year's G2 peaked at just over 900 nits. Highlighting the huge leap in brightness that's very hard to ignore.

From our testing we’ve highlighted the five key takeaways from our testing that made this TV stand out when it came to picture quality:

✔️ Best OLED for off-axis viewing that we’ve tested

✔️ Brilliant motion processing making it an exceptional performer for sports, gaming and high-octane action scenes.

✔️ Retained detail and clarity impressively in even the brightest scenes

✔️ Great colour accuracy and vibrancy that brings content to life

✔️ Endless options to fine-tune performance to your liking

Despite the positives, of course, there are a few drawbacks that you’ll find with this model that are worth bearing in mind:

❌ Some additional picture mode features feel slightly over-enhanced

❌ Bright and colourful scenes can sometimes feel a little oversaturated

❌ Less accurate image processing than Sony OLEDs

We had concerns that such an emphasis on brightness might come at the expense of overall picture quality. But that's just not the case with the G3. Along with being significantly brighter than some other OLEDs on the market, it delivers a well-balanced picture with impressive black levels and contrast.

Although HDR content is where this TV truly shines, especially with Dolby Vision, almost all of the content we’ve tested on this TV has looked excellent. Even lower-resolution content like live broadcasts was handled really well. Details remained sharp, and the G3's upscaling algorithm did a great job with non-4K content.

In a nutshell, the LG G3 is a visual treat that combines remarkable brightness with balanced and captivating picture quality. Whether you're diving into high-octane HDR content or simply watching your favourite shows, this TV delivers an exceptional viewing experience that will definitely be hard to beat.

LG G3 vs Sony Bravia XR A95K

LG G3 image from Spiderman No Way Home side by side with Sony A95K

One of the models we were keen to compare the G3 with is the Sony A95K. Of course, when the Sony A95L launches later this year, we’ll be sure to update you with our findings, but this initial comparison should be a good gauge of what to expect.

In terms of brightness, the LG G3 was the better performer. However, the detailing was much tighter to judge, and in certain scenes from ‘Spiderman Far From Home’, the A95K did prove slightly more detailed with better sharpness. The A95K also ticked the box when it came to image processing and colour accuracy, feeling more lifelike with a more realistic presentation of skin tones and more nuanced details within scenes.

There was also a sense that the A95K offered slightly deeper blacks and better contrast, which helped the details feel more crisp and refined. That being said, you do have the option to play around with the settings on both of these TVs, and there’s no doubt you’ll be able to get the picture quality you like from either of them.

Sony is promising the A95K’s successor, the A95L, will be their brightest ever OLED to date, delivering up to 200% more brightness. As a QD-OLED we’re also expecting the colours and colour purity to be even more impressive on that model. However, more testing needs to be done when we can get hands-on with that model in our showroom to really make an informed comparison.

Sound Performance

LG G3 OLED with screen playing John Wick

In terms of specifications, the LG G3 features a 4.2 channel speaker system with a total of 60W of audio output.

The sound quality itself is a little underwhelming, especially when compared with the G3’s excellent picture quality. The bass lacks any oomph, and it feels as if it’s not offering the best clarity for the vocals and centre channel either.

In terms of additional audio features, along with the new Alpha A9 AI processor's ability to virtually upmix content to 9.1.2, the G3 (and the model below, the C3) can decode DTS internally, a function that’s been missing from these models since the C9 model back in 2019. We’ve also got Dolby Atmos support, and all of LG’s 2023 OLEDs are also compatible with iMAX enhanced audio too.

Despite the wide feature set, in our opinion, if you're serious about your home cinema experience, you'll still want to add a soundbar or external speaker system to the G3 to really kick the immersion up a notch.

Gaming

If you’re looking for a great gaming OLED TV, then the G3 has got to be one of the best options available right now.

It’s got four HDMI 2.1 ports, which all support 4K/120HZ, ALLM and VRR, which is something we know a lot of people look for in a TV and could be a reason to opt for the LG G3 over something like the Sony A95L, for example, which only offers 2 ports.

There’s also NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility and AMD FreeSync Premium, offering really smooth gameplay across all genres. HGiG support has also been impressively implemented, making the most of the higher peak brightness and enhancing HDR gaming without double tone-mapping in compatible HDR games.

You’ve also got a Blue Light Reduction option, which will reduce the blue light emitting from your panel and be a huge bonus if you’re playing later at night. Plus, there is also a new 4:4:4 pass through option on this TV, making it great for console gaming by reducing posterization when displaying a 4K 120Hz signal.

For any Xbox Series X gamers, then the G3 will be a great option, as there’s support for Dolby Vision Gaming up to 4K at 120 Hz. We are expecting to see this on some Phillips and Sony TVs later in 2023, but they won’t offer four ports with HDMI 2.1 support, making the G3 the pick of the bunch here.

LG also offers a Game Optimiser Menu when you set your TV to Game Mode, providing a variety of settings that can be optimised for a variety of game genres, including FPS, RPG and RTS. If you’d like to go fully in-depth here, watch the gaming section of our LG G3 MLA OLED review over on YouTube.

Of course, the upgrades in picture quality on this TV are the real standout, and they take immersion when you’re gaming to the next level. The brighter picture helps draw out details in the darker areas, and the image is crisp and vibrant across the board. But the feature-set on this model is no slouch and quite frankly asserts this TV as one of the best there is out there for gaming, especially in the OLED category.

is THE LG G3 Worth IT?

The LG G3 is everything you’d expect from a flagship OLED and more. No, it’s not perfect, but it’s captivating to watch and delivers stunning levels of brightness, colour accuracy, impressive viewing angles and brilliant gaming functionality too.

While it’s an expensive model, it’s clear LG is pushing to offer as much bang for your buck as possible, and the improvements in OLED brightness are very commendable. We’ve been thoroughly impressed by MLA technology, and we can’t wait to see it trickle down into the more affordable OLED options in the future. For those of you who have been avoiding OLED technology for a lack of brightness, then this TV is a great way to go, budget providing of course.

Is this the TV to beat in 2023? Yes, it absolutely is. So far, from what we’ve seen and our initial impressions of the competition, we think the G3 has a very, very good chance of being our TV of the year.

Of course, there are some big head to head comparisons still to do, and our hunch is that the A95L will push the G3 very close. However, the A95L will come with a step up in cost, so it’s still likely the G3 will offer better value for money.

Regardless, this TV marks a huge leap for OLED TV’s and has set the bar very high for its competitors. If you’re in the market for the ultimate cinematic TV that’s perfect for movies, TV, Sports and gaming, and you’ve got the budget, this TV needs to be on your shortlist.

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LG META Technology	Heatsink	WebOS 23
LG's META technology is a combination of two things: Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology and a META Booster algorithm. The META Booster algorithm is a smart feature that will make the G3’s images look even better. It works by analysing the image being displayed and adjusting the brightness of each pixel in real time. This ensures that the brightest parts of the image remain as bright as possible without making the darker parts too overexposed. Resulting in a more realistic and immersive viewing experience.	Just like its predecessor, the LG G2, the G3 also utilises a built-in heatsink. This helps to improve the G3’s brightness even further, as it enables your TV to push the OLEDs brighter without putting unnecessary pressure on the pixels and running the risk of burn in.	WebOS 23 is LG’s new entertainment hub, which has had a slight makeover since last year. Most notably, they’ve reduced how many apps and pages there are, so you’re not scrolling for hours to find the app you need. There are some neat features, including some that can improve usability for sports-lovers. You can now select your favourite sports teams and get personalised alerts and quick access to match schedules right from your home screen. You can also use the multi-view feature to watch two things at once if you’re like us and can’t pick which event to watch live.

LG G3 Review: The Best OLED TV To Buy?

We tested the LG G3 OLED TV to see if it’s worth a place on your shortlist.