An OLED work of art

The high-brightness panel at the heart of LG's G1 OLED proves a feast for John Archer’s HDR-hungry eyes. His inner interior designer loves the Gallery style, too

- John Archer

LG’s DECISION TO call the new higher-brightness panels in its 2021 G1 OLED TVs ‘Evo’ seems a bit odd. LG’s regular annual OLED updates feel like evolutions; using a radically different panel design for the first time in years, like the G1 series does – with a new green layer for improved colour purity, and new high-efficiency materials to deliver a tangible brightness boost without using more power – feels more like a potential revolution.

On the OLED65G1, the Evo panel is housed in a ‘Gallery’ design similar to 2020’s GX range. This means it has a slim (2cm or so), flat profile specifically designed for wall hanging. There’s even a recess in the rear for the supplied super-slender wall mount to slot into, so that the TV’s back panel fits snugly against your wall. You can place the G1 on desktop feet or LG's tripod 'Gallery Stand', but these are optional extras.

Connection inspection

The forward-thinking when it comes to next-gen connections that LG started with its 2019 C9 OLED TVs continues with the OLED65G1. All four HDMIs can handle everything today’s new gaming sources can throw at them, such as 4K HDR at 120Hz refresh rates, Variable Refresh Rates (in AMD FreeSync, Nvidia GSync and HDMI 2.1 formats) and the Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM) that allows the TV to switch in and out of Game mode depending on source.