When LG confirmed off its brand-new G5 OLED TV at CES 2025, I used to be as excited as a child in a sweet retailer. LG promised a next-level display due to a brand new panel sort that may blow earlier fashions, like the wonderful G3 and G4, out of the water.
After spending a few weeks residing with the G5, I can let you know the image high quality is really gorgeous. It would simply be the very best TV I’ve ever laid eyes on.
However together with the shiny new display got here LG’s first main redesign of its Magic Distant in almost ten years. I hoped this might full the right house theater setup. Sadly, it’s left me feeling extra aggravated than impressed.
Let me clarify precisely why the brand new Magic Distant isn’t successful me over, and why typically easy is best than good.
The Good: The G5’s Image High quality Is Out Of This World
Earlier than we dive into the frustrations, let’s give credit score the place it’s due. The G5 OLED TV is a masterpiece in the case of visuals. Colours pop in a manner that appears lifelike, black ranges are deep and wealthy, and there’s an actual sense of depth that makes films and reveals look nearly three-dimensional.
I’ve been utilizing LG OLEDs for years, from the G3 to the G4, and at all times felt they have been high of the road. The G5 someway manages to lift the bar even greater. Watching a darkish, moody film like Blade Runner 2049 is an absolute deal with. The shadows have unimaginable element, and the neon lights virtually leap off the display.
Gaming can also be next-level on this set. The response time is lightning-fast, and the movement stays silky clean, irrespective of how frantic issues get. It’s a improbable all-around show that proves LG nonetheless is aware of the right way to make an outstanding TV.
So what’s the issue? It’s the opposite half of the expertise: the distant management.
The Dangerous: LG’s Magic Distant Misplaced The Magic
When LG introduced they’d fully redesigned the Magic Distant, I used to be cautiously optimistic. A contemporary take care of nearly a decade sounded overdue. However after utilizing it each day, I discover myself lacking the previous model.
The brand new form feels awkward
The previous Magic Distant was lengthy, barely curved, and rested comfortably in your hand. It had a bit of groove on the again that made it simple to grip with out considering. The brand new one is extra of an oblong slab.
Certain, it seems to be extra trendy and doubtless pictures higher for advertising and marketing, however in actual life, it simply doesn’t sit as properly within the hand.
Small grievance? Perhaps. However once you’re holding it on daily basis, typically for hours whereas bingeing reveals, these ergonomic variations begin to matter.
The pointer continues to be awkward
LG has saved its signature pointer characteristic, the place you wave the distant to maneuver a cursor across the display, like a Wii distant. Some folks swear by it. I’ve at all times discovered it clunky and slower than merely clicking by means of menus with the directional buttons.
That’s why I normally disable or ignore the pointer and simply use the arrows. That also works, fortunately. However one refined change bugs me: the middle choose button nonetheless clicks and spins (performing as a scroll wheel), nevertheless it feels softer and fewer exact.
On the previous distant, there was a reassuring click on. On this new one, it’s simply not as satisfying or correct.
The Ugly: Ineffective New Buttons, Lacking Previous Favorites
The most important frustration is what LG determined to placed on and take off the distant.
AI and good house buttons I’ll by no means use
The brand new distant has a outstanding button for LG’s AI Chatbot. In principle, this allows you to converse naturally to your TV. For instance, you may say “the image’s too darkish,” and the TV will pull up brightness settings. Sounds neat, proper?
In observe, it’s been unreliable. Generally it really works, typically it bizarrely launches the media participant. Once I requested “What’s new on Netflix?” it simply searched the phrase “new” inside Netflix, pulling up random titles with “new” in them, as a substitute of exhibiting me just lately added stuff.
Asking non-TV questions like “what’s 2 + 2?” opened an online browser, which labored, however a trivia query like “which nation has essentially the most time zones?” gave me a gallery of wallpapers. Not precisely useful.
There’s additionally a devoted button for LG’s ThinQ good house hub. You probably have a bunch of LG-compatible good gadgets, you would possibly like it. I’ve loads of good lights, however I management them with my iPhone and Apple Residence. It’s sooner and less complicated. I can’t see myself ever turning on my TV simply to dim a lamp.
The place did my favourite buttons go?
The worst half is that LG eliminated a number of buttons that I truly relied on:
- No enter button: Beforehand, I might rapidly change from my Blu-ray participant to my Nvidia Defend with a single press. Now, I’ve to hit the ThinQ button, navigate to inputs, and decide it from a menu. It’s additional steps for no cause.
- No mute button: Need to rapidly mute a loud industrial? Too dangerous. There’s no devoted mute anymore. You need to press and maintain the amount button for a number of seconds to silence it. Why? A mute button is a TV distant no-brainer.
Missed Alternatives: Nonetheless Runs On AAA Batteries
You’d assume with all of the redesigning LG did, they’d take this opportunity to change to a chargeable battery. However nope, the brand new Magic Distant nonetheless wants a few AAA batteries.
That feels fairly outdated in 2025. Samsung’s new remotes have photo voltaic charging, and Apple’s TV distant expenses through USB-C. Each choices are simpler, greener, and doubtless cheaper in the long term. Swapping batteries is old-fashioned in a manner that’s not charming.
Conclusion: The Display screen Wins, The Distant Fails
- If you happen to’re shopping for the LG G5, do it for the unimaginable image high quality. It’s arduous to beat and is perhaps the very best OLED expertise on the market proper now.
- However be ready to get a distant that appears like a step backward. Between awkward ergonomics, lacking buttons, and added AI options that don’t actually work, it finally ends up being extra irritating than useful.
- The lack of fast enter switching and mute is particularly annoying for anybody who switches between gadgets or wants to chop the sound immediately.
- LG missed an opportunity so as to add a built-in rechargeable battery, which might’ve modernized the expertise much more.
- Backside line? The TV itself is totally price it. Simply be able to put up with a distant that’s making an attempt too arduous to be “good”, and doesn’t fairly nail the fundamentals.
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This story was made with AI help and human enhancing.
