LG B6 review: a great budget OLED TV, but not the upgrade I hoped for | Tech Radar

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'A great OLED TV with a few frustrations': I reviewed the LG B6, and it brings some much needed extra brightness to the B-series for HDR punch — but it's a shame a few things hold back it from perfection

A great OLED TV, but not the upgrade I was looking for

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The LG B6 is an overall great OLED TV with a few frustrations. It delivers newfound brightness to the B-series lineup as well as overall superb picture quality, with fantastic gaming performance and features. Next to last year's LG B5 however, it doesn't deliver the full upgrade I hoped for. The step-up LG C6 leads by example as to what an upgrade should look like, and given that it's much more expensive, I'd encourage people to push to that. Still, the B6 is a very good entry-level OLED TV that ticks a lot of the right boxes.

-LG C6 is a bigger upgrade and isn't much more expensive

LG C6 is a bigger upgrade and isn't much more expensive

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The LG B6 is the entry-level OLED TV in LG’s 2026 TV lineup. While it provides a brightness boost over its predecessor, the LG B5, which I rated as one of 2025’s best TVs, the LG B6 doesn’t deliver the full and clear upgrade I was hoping for.

The LG B6 has a full suite of features and still delivers great performance, but as long as the LG B5 remains in stock and is less expensive, the new model is held back from being an unqualified pick by a few issues.

The biggest change over the B5 is the B6’s higher brightness. Bright scenes have more impact, highlights are mostly punchier and colors benefit, looking that little more vibrant. Contrast is powerful and appears stronger thanks to the brightness increase, while textures are crisp, as you’d expect from the best OLED TVs.

However, the LG B6 had more of a green tint than its predecessor when compared side-by-side. This meant that despite its improvements, the B6’s picture wasn’t the full step-up over the B5 that I was looking for — it giveth on one hand, and taketh on the other. Viewed in isolation, the B6 is still a great looking TV, though — the thing about slightly color tints is that your eye gets used to them quickly and then you can just focus on the image.

Much like previous years, the B6’s 2.0 channel speaker system is solid for day to day viewing with clear speech and it is accurate with some solid detail for movies. Bass however is limited and the soundstage is narrow. If you’re after the cinematic experience and want the sound to match the picture, I’d add one of the best soundbars.

The B6 is easily one of 2026’s best gaming TVs. It has a full array of features on all four HDMI ports — 4K 120 Hz, full variable refresh rate options, HGi G, auto low latency mode, Dolby Vision Gaming — and has four HDMI 2.1 ports. An 8.9ms measured input lag means performance is smooth with razor-sharp response time, and the picture looks superb while gaming. If you’re looking for a gaming OLED, this is an excellent choice.

The web OS 26 smart TV software doesn’t reinvent the wheel compared to web OS 25, but it didn’t need to. What web OS 26 does is make navigation easier with a new menu layout, more Quick Cards and more customization. While the banner ad on the home screen is annoying, it’s the only wrinkle in web OS 26, which I rate as one of the best smart TV platforms on offer.

But as I alluded to above, while I think the B6 is a great TV overall, the B5 is definitely the better option while it’s available. The 65-inch B6 I tested costs

While this is a decent price and similar to the B5’s launch prices, the B6 doesn’t change enough to recommend it over the B5 if you're buying around its launch time. If it's a great-value entry-level OLED you want, I'd spend less on the LG B5.

If you have the budget right now, I’d definitely opt for the LG C6 (65-inch model priced at

The LG B6 delivers deep black tones and crisp textures (Image credit: Future)

The LG B6 is the entry level OLED in LG’s 2026 OLED TV lineup, sitting below the mid-range LG C6 and flagship LG G6 and LG W6 (also known as the Wallpaper). The 65-inch model I tested costs

It’s worth noting that in some regions there are two LG B6 models: the B65 and the B6E. I asked LG what the differences between the two are, and it said the B6E does not have the following features: Precision Picture Master Pro, Precision Sound Master Pro, and it does not have the marble effect design on the back.

Other than this they should be the same, making the B6E by far the better deal, because I don't particular rate these features, LG's suggestion is that they have the same panel and Dolby Vision support otherwise. A 65-inch LG B6E model costs £1,999 in the UK, a full £400 cheaper.

The above EOTF graphs show the accuracy of the LG G6 for hitting different HDR brightness levels in grayscale. The closer to the yellow line, the more accurate the TV is. The above measurements were taken with the B6 in its out-of-the-box Filmmaker Mode. On the next slide is the results for Cinema Home mode. (Image credit: Future)

Spectral power distribution refers to the intensity of light that a source will display at various wavelengths of color. It can reveal how accurate a source can show color at different light levels, and can be instructive to understand how a TV's panel handles color. This shows the B6 in Filmmaker Mode, Check the next slide for Cinema Home mode.(Image credit: Future)

The B6 has a good number of features, including four HDMI 2.1 ports (Image credit: Future)

Alpha 8 AI Gen 3 processor is a good mid-range processor

4K 120 Hz, Free Sync and G-Sync across all four HDMI 2.1 ports

The B6 uses a W-OLED panel, much like its predecessor. However, there has been a brightness boost (I’ll get into that below in the Picture Quality section) that would suggest it’s using the new OLED SE panel: a cheaper, brighter WOLED panel that we saw in action in the Panasonic Z86C, which is that company's new entry-level OLED for 2026.

The B6 comes with the Alpha 8 AI Gen 3 processor, which introduces a couple of new picture and sound tools such as the Precision Picture Master Pro and Precision Sound Pro, which both aim to upscale picture and audio respectively. It’s worth noting the B6E, a cheaper B6 model available in some regions including the UK, does not support these features.

The B6 supports Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos for enhanced audio, but it does not support HDR10+ or DTS, the same as 2025. LG says it currently has no plans to support Dolby Vision 2. The B6 also supports Chromecast and Air Play 2.

For audio, the B6 has a built-in 2.0 channel, 20W speaker system: the same as the B5 from last year. This year, much like the LG G6 and C6, the number of sound presets has been reduced to four, including AI Sound Pro, and Clear Voice for dialogue enhancement.

The B6 uses web OS 26, which introduces some refined AI features, such as AI concierge which now uses AI companions such as Gemini for lifestyle uses such as planning trips. The menu layout has also been re-ordered in order to prioritize major settings such as Energy Saving and Network.

For gaming, the B6 carries over the same features from the B5: 4K 120 Hz, full VRR support including both Free Sync and G-Sync, auto low latency mode and Dolby Vision Gaming, all featured on four HDMI 2.1 ports. Game Optimizer returns with additional settings for gaming, including the Prevent Input Delay option.

The B6 has some seriously bold colors, shown best in animated movies like Elemental (pictured) (Image credit: Disney / Future)

Starting with measurements, the biggest difference between the B6 and last year’s B5 is the boost in HDR peak brightness. The B6 measured 835 nits in Filmmaker Mode, 895 nits in Cinema mode and 740 nits in Standard mode. These are big jumps over the B5’s 668 nits in Cinema mode and 637 nits in Standard mode.

For fullscreen HDR brightness, the jump hasn’t been quite as significant, with the B6 measuring 154 nits in Cinema Home, compared to 131 nits of the B5 in the same mode. In fact, there was even a drop in Standard mode, with the B6 measuring 150 nits compared to the B5’s 172 nits.

Moving to real-world testing, I found myself switching between Filmmaker Mode and Cinema Home depending on the content. Both picture modes looked good, but Filmmaker Mode suited darker, more contrast-y scenes, while Cinema Home looked great with colors and animation.

The B6 did a good job with SDR content. Watching an HD stream of Fight Club on Disney Plus, it upscaled textures to give them a crisper look and added some brightness that delivered stronger perceived contrast compared to some cheaper TVs I’d done this test on.

With lower-resolution content, such as You Tube videos, the B6 did a decent job upscaling textures and boosting colors to give them a better look, but ultimately the image didn’t hit 4K levels. There is a Precision HDR Master Pro setting in the main B6 model (not the B6E) which did sharpen textures when activated, but it was too artificial for my liking.

Watching a desert scene from Lawrence of Arabia, the white sands of the desert did indeed look brighter on the B6 compared to the B5 when I compared the two side by side, showing the brightness boost was real.

The B6 has received a brightness boost which is best shown in scenes with a lot of white tones, such as the scene from Lawrence of Arabia (pictured) (Image credit: Sony Pictures / Future)

In Dark City, as John is in the automat, the highlights from the overhead lights and the yellow walls also looked brighter on the B6.

However, during my B6 and B5 comparison, the scene from Dark City was the first to tip me off on a potential issue with the B6: green tint. The yellow walls of the automat seemed to have a green hue on them on both the B6 and B5, but it was more noticeable on the new model.

The B6 demonstrated strong contrast with deep dark tones in high contrast scenes. It also had a higher perceived contrast over the B5 thanks to the brightness boost. In The Batman, as Batman wanders the crime scene in Mayor Mitchell’s house, the balance between the light tones from the lamps on the wall and the dark tones of the dark-panel wood walls was excellent.

Unfortunately, The Batman also exemplified the green tint issue on the B6 compared to the B5. In the subway scene, the rear walls looked more green on the B6, looking like the gray I expected on the B5. Maybe I got unlucky with my review unit, but it was definitely worth noting as green tint has been a criticism of LG’s OLED TVs before.

While the B6 shows strong contrast in The Batman (pictured), this subway scene does show the B6 has a green tint — click to see it compared to the B5(Image credit: Warner Bros. / Future )

The LG B6 (left) and LG B5 (right)(Image credit: Warner Bros / Future )

The B6 delivers bold, rich colors that benefitted from the new brightness boost. A Dolby Vision stream of Elemental on Disney Plus really showcased them, with the blues of Wade and his family, and the oranges and reds of Ember dazzling on screen. As Ember mends a vase, the purples and oranges of the new vase glistened, showing strong highlights.

In the ‘Wizard and I’ scene, as Elphaba stands under a tree with pink flowers, said flowers popped on screen, but still had great color depth.

The B6 delivered a measured HDR color gamut coverage of 97.4% of the DCI-P3 and 72.5% of the BT.2020 color spaces. While these aren’t bad results (we have a 95% threshold for DCI-P3, and are generally happy with a score above this), these numbers were oddly lower than the B5’s. The B5 had measured results of 99.5% and 74.85% in the DCI-P3 and BT.2020 color spaces respectively.

Viewed in isolation, the B6’s colors and contrast were actually very good but it just seemed a shame that I knew how good the B5 looked in comparison in some scenes. With the added brightness, I was hoping for a bigger picture upgrade.

Outside of this, the B6 showcased excellent textures, striking a nice balance between crisp and natural. Throughout my testing, people’s skin looked realistic while finer details such as hair appeared refined.

Much like the G6 and the C6, the B6 benefitted from using the Tru Motion feature. For movies, Cinematic Movement was more than enough, reducing judder in a panning shot of a cliffside cemetery in No Time To Die. With sports, the Natural motion setting worked better, doing more smoothing and judder reduction which worked better.

The B6’s screen is however prone to mirror-like reflections, especially with darker scenes. Even some brighter, more colorful scenes struggled under our testing lab’s overhead lights in Filmmaker Mode. It would be nice to see some more effective anti-reflection measures brought to the B6, as I know it's possible from my review of the LG G6.

The B6's built-in sound is fine for casual viewing, but are lacking for cinematic scenes like the Batmobile chase from The Batman (Image credit: Warner Bros. / Future)

Decent sound overall but definitely benefits from a soundbar

The B6 comes with a 2.0 channel, 20W speaker system and supports Dolby Atmos (but not DTS). LG has reduced the number of sound presets from previous years, dropping the number from eight to four.

These four presets are Standard, AI Sound Pro, Clear Voice Pro and Sound Wizard. As my go-to Cinema preset had been removed, I opted for my backup: AI Sound Pro.

Watching the Batmobile chase scene from The Batman, the B6 showcased accurate image mapping, accurately following the direction of swerving traffic and the bullet sprays from the Penguin’s gun.

The same was true playing Battlefield V, as the B6’s speakers did a good job picking out subtle effects such as the crunching leaves underfoot in a forest mission.

Speech was clear enough throughout my testing as well, with most dialogue easily audible over the rest of the soundtrack.

Due to its limited 2.0 channel speaker system however, the sound doesn’t match the picture in quality. Bass felt very contained and while there was some rumble as the Batmobile ignited its engine, it felt thin in places.

The soundstage also felt narrow, never truly extending beyond the confines of the screen. Atmos effects, such as the rain in The Batman, felt limited too. I’d recommend a soundbar if you want sound impact to match the quality of the visuals.

The B6's feet are made of plastic, a step down from the B5. Although the B6 still feels well built (Image credit: Future)

The 65-inch B6 I tested had a mostly premium build and design. It has a trim frame and near bezel-less screen allowing the picture to be the focal point. While it’s a small touch, the marble effect on the rear panel made it feel a little more premium, although it’s again worth noting this is only on the main B6 model and not the cheaper B6E.

One thing I was disappointed to find was that the B6 unit I was testing had plastic feet, compared to the B5’s metal feet. While the plastic feet were more than sturdy enough, it did detract from the B6’s overall premium design.

LG’s Magic Remote hasn’t had many updates in recent years in the UK other than the re-arranging and addition and removal of certain buttons, with the AI button taking center stage this year, and it could do with a refresh.

The US has the sleeker AI Smart Remote, but again when brands like Sony, Philips and Hisense offer more heavy duty, metal remotes, LG’s offering could be a bit more premium.

LG's web OS 26 is easily one of the best smart TV platforms around (Image credit: Future)

Streamlined menus and more Quick Cards for easy navigation to key options

Ads are annoying, but equivalent to other platforms

The B6 uses LG’s own web OS 26 as its smart TV platform. While web OS 25 was about the introduction of AI features — such as AI Concierge, for content recommendation and information, and AI Search, for advanced content searching — web OS 26 looks at refining menus for easier navigation while adding some new features.

Quick Cards, a place where relevant apps are organized by categories such as Sports, Game and Office, are back and some new ones have been added including Learning.

The Quick Menu, where picture and sound modes can be altered super-quickly without getting deep into menus, continues to be one of the web OS’ standout features.

web OS 26 is also very easy to navigate, with an intuitive menu layout that’s been re-organized for this year to make access to settings such as Energy Saving and Network easier, and these small changes have made navigation even smoother.

Unfortunately, the home page still features a large banner ad space at the very top of the screen which does push down the apps a bit. This is fairly common among modern smart TV platforms however and this is my only real complaint with web OS 26. It’s still one of the best OS on the market.

The B6 is a superb gaming TV, expertly handling fast-paced games like Battlefield V (pictured) (Image credit: Future)

The B6 comes with a full suite of gaming features including 4K 120 Hz, variable refresh rate including both AMD Free Sync and Nvidia G-Sync, HGi G HDR, auto low latency mode, and Dolby Vision Gaming, with all features supported across four HDMI 2.1 ports.

The B6 had a measured input lag time of 8.9ms at 4K 60 Hz (in Boost mode), which is a superb result and up there with the very best gaming TVs. It registered a 4.9ms input lag at 1080p 120 Hz.

Gaming performance on the B6 is excellent. Playing a mission in Battlefield V, the B6 handled the chaotic gunfights which involved a lot of quick movement and targeting with ease, with inputs feeling very smooth. As I flew around the desert in a plane, the sudden changes in flight path felt effortless and intuitive.

Battlefield V also looked great on the B6, delivering some nice brightness during the desert mission, with the sun on the horizon showing the B6’s strong HDR highlights. Textures were crisp with some nice detail in the weapons and environments as well.

The Magic Remote (UK version shown here) could do with an upgrade (Image credit: Future)

B5 is the better option while available, C6 is better when prices are close

The B6 is an interesting TV when it comes to value. The 65-inch model I tested costs

There's a good reason to choose the B6 instead of the C6 in the UK and Aus when you're saving that much, but in the UK I'd absolutely choose the C6 given the close prices. That's complicated by the existence of the cheaper B6E, which a 65-inch costs £1,799: excellent value for a brand new OLED that size.

That being said, the B6 isn’t the full upgrade I wanted over the B5, unlike the C6 which is a superb upgrade over its predecessor, the C5. While the B6 delivers higher brightness and still excellent picture quality, it has some picture inconsistencies (particularly the green tint) so you're trading improvements in one area to steps back in another.

As a result, while the B5 is still available, I’d recommend it over the B6. A 65-inch B5 currently costs

Ultimately if you want a real upgrade, the C6 is the top dog but if it’s not in your budget, the B6 is still a very good TV.

The B6's detail is excellent, with textures like the deer's fur shown looking refined and crisp (Image credit: Future)

Dolby Vision support as well as a full list of smart and gaming features

Dolby Vision support as well as a full list of smart and gaming features

Solid peak brightness, rich color and contrast, but green tint in some scenes

Solid peak brightness, rich color and contrast, but green tint in some scenes

Accurate and clear sound with AI Sound Pro but bass is limited and soundstage is too narrow

Accurate and clear sound with AI Sound Pro but bass is limited and soundstage is too narrow

Good overall build quality but feet feel cheaper than B5 and UK's Magic Remote needs a refresh

Good overall build quality but feet feel cheaper than B5 and UK's Magic Remote needs a refresh

web OS 26 feels intuitive with smooth navigation and a great array if features

web OS 26 feels intuitive with smooth navigation and a great array if features

Extensive list of gaming features including 4K 120 Hz, full VRR support and four HDMI 2.1 ports. Great picture and performance to match

Extensive list of gaming features including 4K 120 Hz, full VRR support and four HDMI 2.1 ports. Great picture and performance to match

A very good TV but B5 is better value and C6 feels like a more worthy upgrade

A very good TV but B5 is better value and C6 feels like a more worthy upgrade

You want an OLED TV for gaming With a full suite of gaming features including 4K 120 Hz and full VRR, razor-sharp performance and great picture quality, the B6 is a superb gaming TV

You want great overall picture quality Strong contrast, solid brightness with punchy highlights and rich, deep colors, the B6 delivers a very good overall picture.

You want an easy-to-use smart TV web OS 26 features a more streamlined menu layout for easier navigation as well as refined smart features, making it one of the best OS' on the market.

You have the budget for an LG C6 The step-up C6 feels like a more worthy upgrade over its predecessor, with better picture accuracy, a significant jump in brightness and a flagship processor. Get the C6 if it's in your budget.

You want to watch in a bright room While its brightness levels have increased, the B6 does have a reflective screen that struggled in our testing lab when lights were on.

You want top-notch built-in sound While the B6's sound is mostly fine, its bass is average and its soundstage is limited meaning a soundbar is recommended if you're a regular movie viewer.

LG B5 The B6's predecessor, the B5 delivers a lot of similar features and performance for a fraction of the cost. While the B6 delivers higher brightness, it's not the big upgrade I was hoping for. The B5 is definitely the better option while it's still available.

LG C6 The LG C6 is the step-up model from the B6 and while it is pricier, it's also a much bigger upgrade, thanks to a new processor, much higher brightness and better accuracy. While the B5 and C5 weren't totally different, the C6 and the B6 are. If you have the budget, the C6 is worth the investment.

LG G6 The flagship LG OLED for 2026, the G6 delivers superb brightness, picture quality and features worthy of a flagship TV. While it is an excellent TV, it is much pricier than the B6 and C6, so if you want the best value, one of those two models is your better option.

Tested in different lighting conditions over a couple of weeks

Measurements taken using Portrait Displays' Calman color calibration software

The first steps for my testing was to do some casual viewing to establish which picture modes were the best for the LG B6. I found that both Filmmaker Mode and Cinema Home worked for movies, depending on the type of movie, whereas Standard worked best for sports.

Once this was done, I started my critical viewing using some reference scenes I use for testing, including HDR (4K Blu-ray and streaming) and SDR (DVD, You Tube, broadcast TV) sources. I also used Prime Video and HBO Max to test sports on the B6.

I used these scenes to analyze the B6's picture, focusing on color, accuracy, contrast, detail, motion, upscaling and more. I also used other scenes to test the B6's built-in speakers.

For 4K Blu-ray, I used a Panasonic DP-UB820 4K Blu-ray player and for gaming I used and Xbox Series X.

Moving on to objective testing I used specizlied equipment to take measurements of the B6. This included a Klein K-10A colorimeter, a Murideo Six G 8K Metal test pattern generator and Portrait Displays' Calman color calibration software to record measurements.

Brightness measurements were taken using both HDR and SDR white window patterns ranging in size from 1-100%, with a focus on 10% and 100% windows, for peak and fullscreen brightness, respectively. I also tested the B6's grayscale and color accuracy, taking an average of the Delta-E values (the margin of error between the test pattern source and what's shown on screen), looking for a result below 3.

I also tested the B5's coverage of the UHDA-P3 and BT.2020 color spaces. Finally, I used a Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI Input lag Tester to test the B5's input lag in milliseconds.

I also recorded the B6's HDR EOTF results with 1,000, 4,000 and 10,000 nits targets. I also used a Jeti Spectral 15a to take the B6's Spectral Power Distribution.

You can read an in-depth overview of how we test TVs at Tech Radar at that link.

James is the TV Hardware Staff Writer at Tech Radar. Before joining the team, he worked at a major UK based AV retailer selling TV and audio equipment, where he was either telling customers the difference between OLED and QLED or being wowed by watching a PS5 run on the LG 65G2. When not writing about the latest TV tech, James can be found gaming, reading, watching rugby or coming up with another idea for a novel.

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• 'A great OLED TV with a few frustrations': I reviewed the LG B6, and it brings some much needed extra brightness to the B-series for HDR punch — but it's a shame a few things hold back it from perfection

• A great OLED TV, but not the upgrade I was looking for