Televisions · Review
LG NanoCell 65NANO81A (65", 2025)
The sensible all-rounder telly - webOS that just works, picture that's good rather than stunning.
No BS summary
A 65-inch NanoCell set - LG's enhanced-LED tech, a step below Mini LED and well below OLED. The picture is genuinely good: natural colour, clean 4K HDR, easy to live with. What it won't do is deep dark-room contrast - it's a regular LED, so blacks lift to grey in the dark next to a Mini LED or OLED. The real reason to buy it is webOS and the Magic Remote, which together make it the slickest, most fuss-free smart telly of the two we test on. A sensible, fairly-priced all-rounder.
Score: 7.5/10
Kudos for
- webOS - the best built-in smart platform here, all the apps
- The Magic Remote: point-and-click and a scroll wheel
- Natural, easy-on-the-eye colour
- Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support
- Usually keenly priced
Dropped the ball
- NanoCell LED contrast - blacks lift in a dark room
- No standout wow factor
- It's an entry-mid panel, not a Mini LED powerhouse
The picture
Better than its modest price suggests, with honest caveats. Colour is natural and well judged, daytime telly and bright HDR look clean and bright, and for everyday watching it's a thoroughly pleasant set. The limit is contrast: as a standard LED without a Mini LED backlight, dark scenes don't get that inky depth - blacks read as dark grey in a properly dim room. In a normally-lit lounge you'll rarely think about it; for serious dark-room film nights, our Philips Mini LED is the better watch.
webOS and the Magic Remote
This is the LG's real win. webOS is the slickest built-in smart platform of the two tellies we test on - fast, every app present, sensibly laid out. And the Magic Remote is a proper point: wave it and a cursor appears on screen, click what you want, spin the scroll wheel to fly through long lists. After a Philips clicker or a Fire stick remote, it feels like a generation ahead. It's the one telly here we don't immediately reach for a streamer with - though we still plug one in out of habit.
The remote
The 11pm test - find it in the dark, hit the right button? The Magic Remote still isn't backlit, so finding it is the same fumble as everyone else. But once it's in hand, the point-and-click cursor means you don't have to find the right button by feel - you just wave and aim. That alone makes it the best remote across our whole test rig. And the usual bugbear: the hardwired app-shortcut buttons (Netflix, Prime and the like) are far too easy to knock by accident and bump you clean out of whatever is playing - some people love the one-press access, I would happily bin them.
What's missing
The Philips' Mini LED contrast and its Ambilight, no contest. Give this LG those two things and it'd be close to the perfect mid-range all-rounder. As it stands you're trading some picture punch for the better software and remote - a fair swap at the price.
Who should buy this
Anyone who wants a fuss-free, slick smart telly at a sensible price - apps built in, a lovely remote, no faffing about. For everyday family viewing in a normally-lit room, it's an easy, sane choice.
Who should skip it
Anyone chasing best-in-class contrast for dark-room cinema. If that's you, the Philips Mini LED (or an OLED, if budget allows) is the better picture - you'll just give up a little smart-platform polish to get there.
Specs at a glance
| Screen | 65" 4K NanoCell (enhanced LED) |
|---|---|
| Smart platform | webOS (2025) |
| Remote | LG Magic Remote (point-and-click + scroll wheel) |
| HDR | Dolby Vision, HDR10 |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos |
Where to buy
Pick your country. We may earn a small commission on some links once our affiliate programmes are approved - you pay the same.
| UK | Amazon UK · Currys |
|---|---|
| US | Amazon US · Best Buy |
| CA | Amazon CA · Best Buy CA |
Links go live as each affiliate programme is approved.
Final word
A likeable, sensible telly that nails the everyday and is honest about its limits. You're buying it for the slick software and that point-and-click remote, not for dark-room contrast. At its usual price, that's a perfectly smart trade - and it's the set we reach for when we just want something on without thinking.