LG NU85 Series 85NU850BPUA 85"

It's a massive 85-inch screen with great smart software and mediocre picture quality. Buy it for the size and the low price, not for the image performance.

The α7 AI Processor Gen9 does decent work with upscaling and scene analysis, but the Direct LED backlight holds it back. No local dimming means blacks look gray in a dark room, and the 36th percentile picture quality score reflects that. HDR brightness is underwhelming too, since the picture category lands below average overall. The 85-inch size is the real performance story here: a screen this big is immersive by sheer size alone. On the gaming side, you get ALLM, FreeSync Premium, and HGIG modes, but the 60Hz native refresh rate means no true 120Hz gaming. Fine for casual play, not for competitive shooters.

The TCL QM8K and Hisense U8 Series are the obvious alternatives, and both will embarrass this LG on picture quality thanks to Mini-LED backlights and real local dimming. The Samsung Neo QLED QN70F also beats it on pure image performance. Where the LG wins is smart software and that massive 85-inch footprint at a potentially low price. If you're a movie watcher who cares about contrast and HDR pop, skip the NU85 and grab the TCL or Hisense. If you just want a huge screen with great software and can find it cheap, the LG makes more sense.

Price is all over the place right now. We're seeing listings from USD 298 up to USD 1,000, which makes this either a steal or a ripoff depending on where you shop. At the low end, grabbing an 85-inch 4K TV with solid smart features for under USD 300 is hard to argue with. At the top end, absolutely not. Shop the spread and don't pay anywhere near four figures for this panel.

The LG NU85 Series 85NU850BPUA is a giant 85-inch 4K TV that nails the smart TV experience but gets dragged down by a mediocre picture compared to what else is out there. You're getting a huge screen with LG's excellent webOS 2026, Google Gemini and Copilot baked in, and surprisingly strong smart features. But the picture quality sits in the bottom half of our database, which is a tough pill to swallow in 2026 when Mini-LED panels have gotten so cheap.

If you're shopping for a dedicated home theater display and care about deep blacks and HDR brightness, this isn't the one. Go grab a TCL QM8K or Hisense U8 instead. They'll absolutely crush the NU85 on contrast and HDR performance for similar money.

The LG NU85 is a big-screen smart TV for people who care more about size and software than pure picture quality. The webOS experience is excellent, and at the right price this is a solid pickup. But most buyers should either wait for a sale or look at a Mini-LED competitor that delivers real HDR punch.