I tested the LG B6 and LG B5 OLED TVs side by side — and it was a mess that’s mostly just given me a fresh appreciation for the LG C6

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I tested the LG B6 and LG B5 OLED TVs side by side — and it was a mess that’s mostly just given me a fresh appreciation for the LG C6

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The LG B5 was one of my favorite OLED TVs of 2025. It offered detailed, contrast-rich picture quality and came with a full suite of gaming features that made it one of the best gaming TVs on the market. Its launch prices may have been too close to those of its more premium sibling, the LG C5, but as 2025 progressed, the B5’s prices fell and it became a great value option and arguably the star of Black Friday.

Naturally, its successor, the LG B6, has big shoes to fill. Before the B6 was released, it was shrouded in mystery. We’ve received tons of details about the LG G6 and LG C6, both of which earned five stars in my respective reviews, and are poised to become two of the best OLED TVs of 2026 – but we’ve heard almost nothing about the LG B6.

An increase in brightness… sort of

The LG B6 (left) and LG B5 (right) showing a photo of a mountainside on the screen. The B6 has a more accurate color profile and higher maximum brightness than the B5

In some photos, the B6 (left) shows a clear improvement in brightness compared to the B5 (right). (Image credit: Future)

LG’s B series has been producing the same level of brightness measurements for years, despite LG’s C and G series counterparts reaching new heights.

That seems to have changed for the B6, at least in one area. The B6 had a measured maximum HDR brightness of 895 nits in Cinema Home and 835 nits in Filmmaker mode. This is a very healthy jump from the B5’s peak HDR brightness of 668 nits (measured in Cinema mode).

There have also been changes to full-screen brightness, both in SDR and HDR. The B6 was about 20 nits brighter in Cinema Home than the B5 in SDR and HDR – it’s not a lot, but it’s all welcome.

How did this translate into the real world? In some scenes, peak areas were noticeably brighter on the B6. When John talks to the hotel receptionist Dark citythe desk lamp highlights the brighter highlights of the B6, as it appears more impactful and creates a stronger perceived contrast.

The B5 still offered strong contrast with arguably deeper black tones, but the B6 had the advantage of brightness and punchier overall contrast.

The LG B6 (left) and LG B5 (right) showing Lawrence of Arabia on screen, with a photo of Lawrence and his guide standing in the desert. The white desert sand appears much brighter on the B6.

The B6 (left) was significantly brighter than the B5 (left) with the white desert sand in Lawrence of Arabiabut something seemed odd about the color of the sand on the B6… (Image credit: Sony Pictures / Future)

I then moved on to the desert scenes of Lawrence of Arabia. As Lawrence and his guide fetched water from a well, the white sand around them had more of an impact on the B6. Although the B5’s brightness was still solid, the B6’s improved maximum brightness levels were noticeable.

However, as the scene progressed, I noticed that the white sand in the scene had a greener tint in some shots. In other shots, the green tint appeared on the B5, but overall it was more obvious on the B6.

The green tint is sometimes an issue with WOLED panels and has been discussed at length online, particularly with LG’s OLEDs. I talked about this during my comparison of the LG C6 and LG C5, where I was happy to see that the C6 had eliminated this, giving the C5 a greener look. I decided to see if it was obvious on other content.

Green tint

The LG B6 (left) and LG B5 (right) showing The Batman on screen, with a photo of Batman in a subway fight. The B6 has a green tint that affects accuracy, with the B5 appearing more accurate

Unfortunately, this dark scene of The Batman revealed how bad the green tint was on the B6 (left) (Image credit: Warner Bros./Future)

I completely changed my scene type and opted for The Batmanin order to see if the green tint was evident in the darker scenes: damn, wasn’t it.

In the subway fight scene, as Batman stands over his defeated foes, the green tint was very evident on the B6. Light reflected from the left side of the screen (from the subway exit) took on a green tint, whereas on the B5 it was much closer to the accurate tones I expected.

The same was true in later scenes, as the green tint was noticeable against the brown tones of the brick walls in an aerial shot of Gotham and as Batman walks down a dimly lit hallway.

I decided to try a few scenes with lots of pure white, including snow scenes from Benchmark Spears & Munsil UHD Blu-ray, viewed in HDR10 and mastered at 1000 nits.

I was surprised to see that the B5’s white tones were more vibrant and impactful, delivering higher perceived brightness than the new B6, despite what the measurements above said. Although I can’t confirm the physics, I suspect that the green tint of the B6 had an effect on the perceived “pop” of white tones.

Colors

The LG B6 (left) and LG B5 (right) showing Wicked on screen, with Elphaba standing under a tree with pink flowers. Both TVs boast excellent color reproduction, but the B6's colors are a bit bolder.

While the B6 (left) had its drawbacks with the green tint, its color reproduction was very good, as evidenced by the bright pink flowers in Wicked (Image credit: Universal Pictures / Future)

It was time to try out some colorful scenes. In some shots of Spears and Munsil In images such as an orange butterfly, the B6 showed richer, deeper colors than the B5. Another photo of a cliff with the rising sun above it showed that the B6 had a more accurate color profile and a nice touch of extra brightness.

Put the The Wizard and I scene of Wickedboth TVs offered bright, vivid colors that looked accurate. The pink flowers on top of Elphaba’s head appeared nicely on both screens, while the green of Elphaba’s skin looked equally true on both TVs.

The yellow stone of the walls and pillars appeared brighter on B6 and took on a darker shade on B5. Upon closer inspection, the B5 actually bordered on that green tint, but it wasn’t as obvious.

This was true for other scenes throughout Wickedthe B6 and B5 doing a great job with Glinda’s bedroom and pink dresses, while also faithfully replicating the rich emerald green and gold of the train as it arrives in Emerald City. Sometimes the B5 displayed flashes of a green tint; other times the B6 would.

An additional issue I found is that the B6’s measured HDR color gamut coverage in the BT.2020 and DCI-P3 color spaces decreased compared to the B5. It recorded 72.5% BT.2020 and 97.4% DCI-P3, where the B5 measured 74.85% and 99.5% respectively.

Even though the B6’s latest DCI-P3 result is still above the 95% threshold we really want to see, it was still strange to see it drop and may be related to the colors sometimes looking inconsistent.

See the full measurements of B6, B5 and C6 below. A quick note: I used Film mode for the B5’s HDR brightness when I tested it last year, but I’m sticking with Filmmaker mode for the B6 and C6.

A new appreciation

LG C6 with a field of red flowers and a single yellow flower in the center of the field on the screen

I’ve come to appreciate the LG C6 (pictured) even more after comparison (Image credit: Future)

Overall, I find this comparison frustrating, but illuminating. Viewed in isolation, these are two very good TVs, but it’s hard to ignore the issues I spotted once I saw the two side by side.

The green tint on the B6 unit I own was concerning, and while it’s possible I was unlucky and had a panel particularly prone to this, it would have implications for the uniformity of panel quality, so that would be its own issue to discuss. I contacted LG about what I was seeing and the company declined to comment without a representative being able to see the screens in person.

While it’s not confirmed if the B6 uses the new OLED SE panel, the increase in brightness makes me think it’s likely. These may be teething problems with a new panel, but I can’t be sure.

If I had to recommend a TV between the two, I’d go with the B5. Not only was it the more consistent of the two overall, but it’s also much cheaper. A 65-inch B5 costs $999 / £1,199 / AU$2,199, while the recently launched 65-inch B6 costs $1,999 / £2,399 / AU$2,495.

It’s worth noting that there is a better value B6E model available in the UK that costs £1,799, and LG told me the only real difference is aesthetics and the lack of HDR features Precision Master Pro and Precision Sound Pro, which I don’t like using anyway based on my testing so far.

But really, my main takeaway is a renewed appreciation for the quality of the LG C6. Not only does it have a new processor, which seems to have fixed the green tint issue, but it’s much brighter with better detail and contrast, earning it all five of its stars.

Although it’s more expensive, with a 65-inch model costing $2,699 / £2,599 / AU$3,995, it’s worth the investment in my opinion, thanks to its upgrades – especially in the UK, where the difference is so minimal.

As last year’s stock of LG OLEDs appears to be dwindling rapidly at several retailers, I suspect the C6 will become the most expensive LG OLED of 2026, and for now, I think I’ll strongly recommend OLED buyers spend the extra to upgrade.