LG G4 OLED evo TV review

Over the last decade, LG has been a leader in the high-end OLED TV space and for good reason.  Their latest offering, the 2024 LG 4K UHD HDR OLED evo G4 webOS Smart TV continues this trend of excellence. I wanted top-tier picture quality when looking for a new TV to support my ultra-HD gaming, movies, and sports. The LG G4 OLED evo completely delivers on all fronts with stunning picture quality, excellent smart features, and robust performance. After extensive testing with multiple movies, games and sports events I can confidently say the LG G4 evo is one of the best TVs I’ve ever experienced. Let’s dive in and look at what makes the LG G4 OLED one of my top TV picks for 2024.

LG G4 OLED evo design and build quality

When unboxing and setting up the LG G4 OLED evo, one of the first things I noticed was just how sharp-looking the TV’s design is. The set features a slim profile that makes it look stunning whether mounted on the wall or its included stand. In fact, mounted on a wall, it looks like a piece of art encased in a metal frame. It has a very slim profile without the stand; the depth of the TV is approximately 1.8 inches (about 4.6 cm). The bezel is wrapped in a thin metallic band, taking the screen to practically the edge of the frame. Overall, the TV’s build quality is excellent; it feels solid and well-built despite being so thin.

In my testing, I opted to mount the set to the stand. Its sleek rectangular design also reflected the TV’s minimalist look. Stand mounting the G4 evo was relatively straightforward; it only required a single Philips head screwdriver to assemble. Due to its size and weight, it takes two people to set up, but the process isn’t too onerous. From unboxing to stand assembly and mounting, I was set up in just over 20 minutes.

Versatility with input options

Not only does the LG G4 OLED look sharp, but it also has a future-ready set of ports and connectivity options. The G4 has four HDMI 2.1 inputs, three USB ports, a Digital Optical Audio Out, and a Tuner (Cable/Ant) connection. The HDMI 2.1 ports support an impressive 48Gbps bandwidth, allowing for extreme transfer rates that display 4K resolution at 120 frames per second. This makes the G4 an excellent choice for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series consoles, and high-end PCs. As an avid gamer, I was thrilled to have multiple ports capable of seamlessly handling all my gaming consoles. In the past, I’ve had TV sets with 4 HDMI ports but only 2 of them were 2.1 inputs. This made for some hard decisions, but the G4 comes fully loaded for your all your UHD needs.

Seamless connectivity and smart features

The TV also supports Wi-Fi, wired ethernet connectivity, and Bluetooth 5.1. This offers compatibility with a wide range of devices like Bluetooth headsets and speakers. The TV features built-in Amazon Alexa and is compatible with Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit. With AirPlay 2 support and built-in Chromecast, streaming content from various devices to your TV is seamless and straightforward. As an Apple user, I found it easy to stream content from my MacBook to the TV.

The G4’s Magic Voice Remote Control

If you’ve owned an LG TV before, you are likely familiar with the included Magic Voice Remote Control. I found the Magic Remote quite versatile, making it easy to access the TV’s smart features. It supports voice function, allowing you to interact with your TV using LG Voice Search, Google Assistant, and Alexa. It was incredibly convenient (and accurate) to use voice to control the TV and access various features hands-free. I enjoyed switching HDMI inputs or accessing my favourite streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix by just asking.

An intuitive, yet imperfect remote

Another standout feature is the remote’s mouse-like pointing and wheel-control navigation. Selecting with the floating cursor is very intuitive, albeit a little finicky. I did find the pointer sometimes inaccurate, but it could be realigned with a quick flick of my wrist. The remote buttons are a little cluttered in comparison to some competitor’s more streamlined designs. Sometimes, less is more, and I think the remote could do with fewer buttons. The remote does what you need, but it looks a little cluttered from a design standpoint. On the topic of buttons, I found the presses on the remote give off a loud “clicky” sound. Other TV and monitor remotes I’ve tested have a much softer and quieter press. Outside of those critiques, the remote is versatile and makes navigating all the TV’s features a breeze.

G4 evo’s smart features and user interface

The LG G4 is powered by the webOS operating system, which runs buttery smooth on the hardware. It’s a very responsive, user-friendly interface I really enjoyed using. The factory default streaming apps include Netflix, Disney+, and Apple TV, all of which were snappy and had no noticeable lag. The user interface is intuitive, making it easy to navigate through different apps and settings.

LG G4 OLED evo picture quality

The LG G4 offers absolutely stunning performance; it’s one of the best TVs I’ve ever tested when it comes to picture quality. The panel has 8.3 million independently lit pixels that output incredible colour accuracy, contrast, and black levels. Testing ultra-high-definition films like Avatar and The Avengers: End Game, the colour accuracy was dazzling. Everything was vibrant, offering hues that created a cinema-like experience in my living room. If you have large viewing parties, you’ll be happy to hear the wide viewing angles provide everyone the same stunning picture quality.

LG G4 evo offers incredible contrast and black levels

The G4 is a top tier performer in contrast range and black levels. In a dark room, the LG G4 can produce stunningly inky blacks. Rich dark levels are a strength of OLED technology, but the G4 has near perfected it with its level of performance. Gone are the “grey tones” replaced by rich true black tones. It looks so good that it also creates a “3D effect” around characters and objects highlighted against a dark background. Because OLED technology can completely shut down each pixel not in use, the deep black tones it can achieve are incredible. Everything “pops” off the screen, and I went back to watch some of my favourite movies to experience them on the G4.

Advanced alpha 11 AI processor

The G4 also has advanced processing capabilities thanks to its alpha 11 AI Processor. The a11 uses machine learning to optimize picture and sound dynamically. At first, I wasn’t sure how AI would help with my picture quality and audio experience, but after putting the TV through its paces, the difference is clear. The G4 uses AI to help it sense the lighting conditions in the room; whether bright sunlight or darker conditions are present, the TV makes adjustments on the fly. This works to give you the best viewing experience day or night. Whether gaming, watching movies or sports the TV could sense my in-room light levels and compensate to provide the picture.  

The a11 also easily handles fast-moving scenes, making it a top performer for action games, movies and sports. Overall, the LG G4 is a top-tier choice for anyone looking to elevate their home entertainment experience.

Onboard speaker performance

The G4 has 60W 4.2-channel “down firing” speakers, which deliver clear audio with a good balance of midrange and treble levels.Unlike many other thin-profile TVs, it even produces a little bass which is a nice, unexpected touch. For such a thin profile, the TV’s down-firing speakers put out big sound. It isn’t comparable to a full home theatre audio setup, but it’s still impressive sound “out of the box.”

The sound also gets an added boost from the α11 AI Sound Pro feature, which automatically adjusts sound settings based on the type of content being played. The audio can be virtually up-mixed to 11.1.2 channels using the α11 “AI Sound Pro” feature. This advanced audio processing technology does a great job of enhancing the sound experience in your space. Turning the feature on and off made a clear difference in how the sound was transmitted in my family room.

Advanced sound capability and processing

The LG G4 supports various audio formats, including Dolby Atmos, which provides a three-dimensional sound experience, putting you in the middle of the action. It also supports DTS:X and Dolby Digital formats, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of audio content. I really appreciated this with gaming content like Spider-Man 2 on the PS5, which supports “Tempest 3D” audio. The TV could handle simulating surround sound incredibly well, adding “height” to the sound profile from the game. Hearing audio coming from different directions like helicopters flying from above, to clearer character dialogue added to the immersion of the experience. This was also true for Hollywood action movies like Top Gun Maverick, where explosions rumbled in multiple directions and had excellent bass.

Gaming performance and features

The LG G4 evo is a fantastic choice if you are a gamer, it’s now my clear favourite for gaming in 2024. I’ve never seen my games look better on a TV set, period. The evo supports a host of “must have” options like Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), which help to reduce screen tearing and input lag. In my play testing, games like Spider-Man 2, Gran Turismo 7 and Forza Horizon 5 were a joy to re-experience. Animations looked smoother, with fluid motion and no noticeable controller input lag.

Blazing fast HDR gaming

I also played through darker horror games like Alan Wake II, and the new level of detail in the shadows and environments was stellar. The G4 offered incredible HDR performance with no hits to input timing. This means games were vivid, high contrast and still extremely responsive.

On many TVs, you usually need to make trade-offs in visual fidelity for greater input response time, but this isn’t the case with the G4. You get the best of both worlds. The TV offers a dedicated gaming mode, but you won’t need it as its regular baseline inputs and AI processing do such a stellar job. The TV handles motion incredibly well, showing no blurry trails behind fast-moving objects. This is a major plus if you are an FPS player or a big action game fan; the G4 handles on-screen chaos beautifully. These features ensure that the TV can keep up with the demands of modern gaming consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

Final thoughts on the LG G4 evo

Overall, the LG G4 OLED evo is an outstanding television that excels in almost every aspect. Its stunning picture quality, advanced AI processing capabilities, and robust smart features make it a top contender in the high-end TV market. The picture quality alone is my “gold standard” when I want to experience my games, movies and TV shows at their very best.

The TV’s design is sleek and modern, and its performance in both gaming and movie-watching is exceptional. While the remote could use some refinement, and onboard audio isn’t perfect they don’t detract from the overall experience. I highly recommend the LG G4 OLED evo to anyone looking to upgrade their home entertainment setup. It’s a pricey investment, but if you want to elevate your viewing experience to new heights, the G4 is one of the best OLEDs on the market today.

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