This LG TV is big on vivid colors but lacks details in the dark

• Price, availability, and specs
• What I liked about the LG QNED85 Mini LED TV
• What I didn’t like about the LG QNED85 Mini LED TV
• Should you buy the LG QNED85 mini LED TV?

The main appeals of mini-LED smart TVs have to do with brightness, color, and value. Quantum-dot TVs are designed with a vivid picture in mind, offering more cost-friendly alternatives to higher-end OLED TVs. These TVs feature a controlled backlight that is supposed to help with LED TVs’ biggest weakness, which is contrast. These TVs don’t have the perfect contrast ratio of OLED models, but they do boast plenty of bright, colorful imagery suited for a wide range of media, especially if you’re watching in a well-lit space.

While LG has long championed OLED models and produced some impressive options, it also offers quantum-dot mini LED TVs. I tested out LG’s QNED85, a mid-range smart TV that definitely leans into the color and brightness as well as new AI features designed to cater the viewing experience to your preference. Here’s what I found out.

Price, availability, and specs

The QNED85 is a 2025 mini LED 4K smart TV featuring a 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, Filmmaker Mode, ALLM, and VRR, making it suitable for varied media enjoyment, including live sports, blockbuster films, and console gaming. It includes four HDMI 2.1 ports and a pair of USB ports as well.

With an initial retail price of $1,300 for a 65-inch model, it’s now often on sale and can be found for $750 from LG, Amazon, and Best Buy.

What I liked about the LG QNED85 Mini LED TV

Big, bold colors and easy setup

LG aims to make setting up your TV both quick and personal. Popular apps are available from the start, while others can be easily downloaded and added to your home page. As this is an LG TV, it features webOS, a comprehensive interface that features hubs for entertainment, gaming, and productivity mixed in with carousels of various suggested media.

This model, like other recent LG TVs, boasts advanced features to create a visual experience catering to your individual preference. You can create your own personalized picture setting through an AI-assisted process where you choose from a selection of images that determine color, brightness, and sharpness.

Overall, this is a smart TV designed for those who enjoy big, bold colors and peak brightness. It shines in a dark room and holds up effectively in a well-lit space with lots of ambient light when the appropriate settings are turned on. Series and movies that emphasize light and color looked great, especially animated and fantasy titles. Similarly, reality TV, live sports, and other cable broadcasts designed for wide audiences stand out.

It has just about everything casual and serious gamers want in a TV. With 120Hz refresh rate, ALLM, VRR, and a detailed gaming hub that allows specific modifications based on what games you’re playing, anyone with a top console will find an immersive, fast experience. It also allows access to console-less Xbox gaming through its smart system provided you subscribe to GamePass.

I do want to shout out the back panel layout. It’s a small but excellent touch to space out the HDMI and USB ports in such a way that it makes inserting cords easy and more accessible than on other TVs.

What I didn’t like about the LG QNED85 Mini LED TV

Issues with contrast and shadowing

While there is a lot to enjoy for anyone who wants a bright, vivid picture, this LG TV is less supportive of anyone who wants a faithful picture. The TV is simply lacking when it comes to contrast, especially if you’re used to watching TV on an OLED screen. My first instinct with any TV that has it is to turn on Filmmaker Mode while shying away from vivid or dynamic images. However, as I went through the process of personalizing my picture, I was drawn to the more colorful options. My picture recommendation as a result was more vivid images. The alternate options felt muted, dull, and even blurry.

I toggled back and forth between the vivid setting and Filmmaker Mode, which strips away saturated colors and other added processing effects. The difference was stark and disheartening. In Disney Pixar’s Elemental and Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the vivid picture made the colors stand out and the picture pop, but both felt unnatural and distorted. Some images felt too cold, while some parts of the screen were too dark, with shadows hiding detail. Conversely, the movies in Filmmaker Mode felt pale and uninspired by comparison.

You’ll want to try out different picture settings across different types of content to find the best fit. The same settings that work well for blockbuster movies may not be the best for reality TV, and the same for a Netflix subscription may not be the best for titles on Disney+.

There are some lesser, ancillary issues that have less to do with the TV itself and more to do with LG’s webOS and default settings. Namely, sponsored content and automatic videos on the home page are annoying, as is the jump to LG Channels when the TV is dormant for too long. These issues can be toggled off deep down in the settings, but that they have to be changed from the default is tedious.

The remote is still a point of contention for me. While it’s small and sturdy with plenty of quick access buttons, that you have the option to use the remote as a cursor is problematic. That’s mainly because the cursor is easy to accidentally turn on, harder to turn off, and quite sensitive when you’re trying to direct it on screen.

Should you buy the LG QNED85 mini LED TV?

Know your viewing preferences before purchasing

Whether you should invest in this TV comes down to how you enjoy watching titles. If you’re someone who embraces bright, saturated colors and big, bold imagery, then you may enjoy this mini-Led smart TV. If you’re one who watches cable broadcast, live sports, reality TV, and more mainstream films, you’ll likely find this TV suitable.

However, if you prefer watching titles that adherence more to the director’s vision, and especially if you’re someone who wants to see details in shadows, then this isn’t the best model for your viewing interests and habits. It’s not ideal for prestige TV or films by serious, exacting directors. You’ll be better served by an LG OLED TV instead.