We have already spotted one big issue with the LG C6 OLED TV, but I’m still tempted by it

CES 2026 is upon us. And, as always, it has brought with it the first wave of new TV announcements for the year.

Some may argue that 2026 been a bit of a damp squib compared with last year’s event, where we saw the launch of cutting-edge RGB Mini LED panels, which Samsung, Sony, TCL and Hisense are all betting on being the next big thing in TV tech. One announcement this year, though, set my pulse racing.

I’m talking about the arrival of the LG C6, which might have flown a bit under the radar, when you consider what has appeared at the top end of the TV market at the Las Vegas show this year.

Two highlights are the new, distinctly lifestyle LG W6 OLED (which our TV and AV editor, Tom Parsons, is already intrigued by) and the Samsung S95H, which has a completely new design more akin to the manufacturer’s The Frame range than last year’s five-star Samsung S95F.

It's the C6, though, that has caught my eye: a key upgrade I had been waiting to trickle down from the flagship models to the step-down C-range has finally made the move.

The brightness and colour volume boosting Primary RGB Tandem OLED tech seen on last year’s flagship LG G5, Philips OLED910 and Panasonic Z95B has found its way into certain sizes of this year’s C6.

From our testing of those 2025 TVs enjoying the tech, we know that it comes with a variety of benefits. It requires a bit of finessing (the LG G5 has a bombastic urge to show how bright it can go all the time, for example, which is a minor annoyance) but there’s no denying the added nit count is a bonus when used correctly.

The major benefit, though, is the improvement it makes to colour volume, especially during low-light scenes. It's an area where LG sets, in particular, have struggled in the past.

Every Primary RGB Tandem OLED set we have tested delivers a far more immersive and holistically better experience than older models. Indeed, every set with the panel tech we had in for review last year earned our top five-star rating.

In contrast to this, we found the C5 series was another in a long line of tepid upgrades to LG’s step-down range, incorporating modest improvements to peak brightness, minor colour temperature tweaks and the like.

Which is why last year, for yet another year, I was put off upgrading my ageing LG C2. While the improvements may be easy to spot in our review environment, where we compare sets side by side, in isolation, many viewers won’t experience a big enough upgrade to justify the investment.

I said as much in a separate op-ed at the end of 2025, my advice at the time being to consider upgrading only to a flagship set if you already own a semi-recent OLED.

Which is why, after seeing the C6 announcement, my heart skipped a beat. And I started constructing a bullet-point list of arguments to make with my partner – who, sadly, doesn’t share my passion for AV hardware – about why we should think about upgrading this year.

Sadly, though, I came to realise there is one big problem that means any surplus income this year will in all likelihood go on a holiday to Verona, rather than an LG C6: only the 77- and 83-inch LG C6H models are benefitting from the new panel tech.

To be clear, I’m not against TVs that size. If my house were big enough and my pockets deep enough, I’d be first in line for one. But they aren’t; and they won't be for many people right now. Any argument I might try to make with my partner for one of the larger models is destined, therefore, for defeat.

As a result, despite my wish finally coming to pass and a step-down OLED being upgraded to a next-generation panel, I can say I’m only partially tempted to upgrade for now.

Here’s hoping the Primary RGB Tandem OLED tech appears on the 55- and 65-inch step-down models as well next year… Then perhaps I might finally win the argument to upgrade.

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