You're standing in the middle of a Best Buy or scrolling through a never-ending Amazon list. There it is. The LG UHD AI 65 inch. It looks sleek. The price tag is actually reasonable—maybe too reasonable? You start wondering if you’re getting a steal or just buying a massive, glowing regret.
Honestly, the "AI" branding is where the confusion starts.
People hear "AI" and think the TV is going to do their laundry or predict the stock market. In reality, with the LG UHD AI 65 (specifically the UQ and UR series that dominate the market right now), the AI is mostly just a silent gardener. It’s back there in the Alpha 5 Gen 6 processor, constantly pulling weeds and trimming the hedges of your low-resolution content. If you're watching a grainy 1080p stream of an old sitcom, the AI tries to guess where the pixels should be to make it look like 4K. It's not magic. It's math.
Why the LG UHD AI 65 isn't just another cheap panel
Most budget 65-inch TVs are basically just flashlights behind a piece of glass. They’re bright, sure, but the colors look like a box of melted crayons. LG does something different. They use webOS. If you've ever used a Roku or a Fire Stick, webOS feels like moving from a flip phone to an iPhone. It's fast.
The LG UHD AI 65 relies heavily on its "ThinQ AI" ecosystem. This isn't just about voice commands like "Play Stranger Things." It’s about the fact that the TV actually learns your habits. If you watch sports every Sunday at 1 PM, the home screen starts to shift. It prioritizes your apps. It feels less like a dumb monitor and more like a tool that actually knows who lives in the house.
But let's be real for a second.
You aren't getting OLED blacks here. If you’re a cinema purist who wants "perfect" darkness, you're looking at the wrong price bracket. This TV uses a direct-lit LED system. It’s bright. It’s punchy. But in a pitch-black room, you’ll notice the "blacks" are actually more of a very dark charcoal grey. That’s the trade-off. You get 65 inches of massive screen real estate for the price of a fancy smartphone, but you lose that infinite contrast found in the $2,000 models.
The Gaming Reality Check
Gamers are a picky bunch. I know because I am one.
When you plug a PS5 or Xbox Series X into the LG UHD AI 65, you aren't getting 120Hz. The panel is a 60Hz native refresh rate. Does that matter? For most people, no. If you’re playing Call of Duty competitively and you need every millisecond, you'll feel the difference. But for God of War, Elden Ring, or Madden? It looks fantastic.
LG included something called "Game Optimizer." It’s basically a dashboard that pops up and lets you tweak settings without leaving the game. It toggles the "Low Latency Mode" (ALLM) automatically. This is huge. It means the second you turn on your console, the TV stops trying to do fancy "smooth motion" processing and focuses entirely on speed. No lag. Just instant response. It’s probably the best gaming experience you can get without spending quadruple the money on an LG C3 or G3.
🔗 Read more: Guns in the Sky: Why This Weird Aviation Tech Still Matters
HDR10 Pro: Marketing vs. Reality
You’ll see "HDR10 Pro" plastered all over the box of the LG UHD AI 65.
Marketing departments love big words. "Pro" makes it sound like a Hollywood studio used it to color-grade Oppenheimer. It didn't. What HDR10 Pro actually does is use dynamic tone mapping. Since this TV doesn't have the peak brightness of a high-end Mini-LED, it has to be smart. It analyzes the scene and says, "Okay, this sunset is bright, but I need to keep the shadows from turning into a muddy mess."
It works surprisingly well for Netflix and Disney+. The colors pop. Nature documentaries look vivid. Just don't expect it to sear your retinas like a high-end Samsung. It’s a subtle improvement, not a transformative one.
Sound Quality and the "AI Sound" Trap
Let's talk about the speakers.
They’re fine. Just fine. The TV uses 2.0 channel speakers with 20W of power. LG markets "AI Sound Pro," which virtually mixes the audio to mimic a 5.1.2 surround sound setup.
Kinda.
It definitely makes the soundstage feel wider. Voices are clearer, which is great if you struggle to hear dialogue over explosions. But physics is a stubborn thing. You cannot get deep, rumbling bass out of a TV that is two inches thick. If you buy the LG UHD AI 65, do yourself a favor: budget an extra hundred bucks for a basic soundbar. Even a cheap one will beat the internal speakers every single time.
The webOS 23 Experience
The newest versions of the LG UHD AI 65 come with webOS 23. They redesigned the whole thing. It’s cleaner.
The "Quick Cards" are actually useful. You have one for "Gaming," one for "Music," and one for "Home Office." If you use your TV as a second monitor for work—which, by the way, 65 inches is a lot of spreadsheet space—this makes switching modes effortless. Plus, it supports Matter and Apple HomeKit. You can literally tell your TV to dim the smart lights in your living room.
It’s these little integrations that make the "AI" part of the name feel earned. It’s not just about the picture; it’s about the TV being the brain of the room.
Real-World Longevity
People ask me all the time: "How long will this thing last?"
LG is one of the big three for a reason. Their build quality is consistent. The LG UHD AI 65 isn't built with the premium brushed metal of their flagship lines, but it doesn't feel like "cheap" plastic either. The stands are sturdy. The thermal management is decent, so the panel isn't going to cook itself after three years of heavy use.
One thing to watch out for? The Magic Remote. It’s the one with the little on-screen cursor. You either love it or you hate it. Personally, I think it makes typing passwords ten times faster than clicking a D-pad. If you hate it, you can just use the regular buttons. Flexibility is the key here.
Misconceptions About Screen Size and Resolution
A 65-inch 4K screen is the "sweet spot" for 2026.
At 55 inches, 4K is almost too dense. You can't see the detail unless you're sitting three feet away. At 75 or 85 inches, a budget 4K panel can start to look a little soft because the pixels are stretched so far. But at 65 inches? It’s perfect.
The LG UHD AI 65 hits that resolution-to-size ratio where your eyes can’t see the individual pixels from your couch, but the image still feels massive and immersive. It fills your field of vision without requiring a second mortgage.
Technical Limitations You Should Know
I’m not here to sell you a dream. This TV has limits.
- Viewing Angles: If you have a massive sectional sofa and people are sitting way off to the side, the colors will wash out slightly. This is an LED reality. It’s best viewed head-on.
- Reflection Handling: The screen is somewhat glossy. If you have a giant window directly opposite the TV, you’re going to see your own reflection during dark scenes in The Batman.
- Local Dimming: It doesn't really have it. It’s "frame dimming," meaning the whole screen gets darker or brighter together. You won't get those localized spots of light that more expensive sets offer.
Actionable Steps for New Owners
If you decide to pick up the LG UHD AI 65, don't just take it out of the box and leave the settings alone. Manufacturers ship TVs in "Store Mode" or "Vivid Mode" to make them look bright under fluorescent lights. It looks terrible in a home.
- Turn off Energy Saving Mode. It makes the screen way too dim.
- Switch to "Filmmaker Mode" or "ISF Expert." This gives you the most accurate colors the way the director intended.
- Disable "Motion Eye Care" and "TruMotion." Unless you like your movies looking like a weird soap opera, turn these off immediately.
- Update the Firmware. LG pushes out updates for webOS that often fix "AI" processing bugs or speed up the menu transitions.
- Check the HDMI input settings. Make sure "HDMI Deep Color" is toggled on for whichever port your console or 4K Blu-ray player is plugged into.
The LG UHD AI 65 is a workhorse. It’s for the family who wants a massive screen for Saturday night movies. It’s for the casual gamer who wants a big display for FIFA. It’s not a professional color-grading monitor, and it isn't trying to be. It’s a smart, reliable, and surprisingly capable 4K display that punches well above its weight class because of its software and processing. If you accept its limitations in black levels and refresh rates, it’s arguably the most balanced "big" TV purchase you can make right now.