The LG NANO85 2020 is a 4k LED TV in LG's NanoCell lineup. It has decent overall performance with very good out-of-the-box color accuracy, but it doesn't perform well in dark rooms. It has a low contrast ratio, poor black uniformity, and its bad local dimming feature could be very distracting at times. However, with an IPS panel, it has wide viewing angles, and it has impressive reflection handling if you want to place it in a bright room. It has a quick response time, but there's duplication in motion, which could be distracting. Luckily, it has a low input lag, responding to your actions quickly.
Our Verdict
The LG NANO85 2020 is a decent TV for mixed usage. It performs best as a gaming TV or as a PC monitor thanks to its low input lag and good response time. It's not the best choice for watching movies in a dark room since it has a low contrast ratio, poor black uniformity, and a bad local dimming feature. Luckily with its IPS panel, it has wide viewing angles if you want to watch a show or the big game with a big group of people.
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Very good out-of-the-box color accuracy.
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Impressive reflection handling.
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Poor black uniformity and bad local dimming feature.
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Doesn't get bright enough in HDR to bring out highlights.
The LG NANO85 2020 is mediocre for watching movies. It has a low contrast ratio due to its IPS panel and the local dimming feature makes dark scenes look worse by lighting up zones around bright objects. It also has poor black uniformity, but it upscales 1080p content, such as from Blu-ray players, almost as good as native 4k content.
Very good for TV shows. The LG NANO85 2020 has impressive reflection handling and it has decent viewing angles. Unfortunately, it has some uniformity issues as the edges of the screen are darker, but it upscales lower resolution content, such as from cable boxes, properly without any issues.
Good for sports. The LG NANO85 2020 has a good response time, but there's some duplication in fast-moving content. It has impressive reflection handling and the viewing angles are wide enough to watch the game with a group of friends. Unfortunately, there's some dirty screen effect visible in the center, which could be distracting during sports.
The LG NANO85 2020 is a good choice for video games. The input lag is very low, it has a good response time, and there's a black frame insertion feature to help reduce motion blur. However, it's not a great choice for dark room gaming due to its low contrast ratio and poor black uniformity.
Mediocre for HDR movies. Even though the LG NANO85 2020 displays a wide color gamut, it doesn't get bright enough to bring out highlights in HDR. It has poor black uniformity and a bad local dimming feature, so it's lacking in dark room performance. It supports both HDR10 and Dolby Vision.
The LG NANO85 2020 is decent for HDR gaming, mainly due to its great gaming performance. It has a low input lag and quick response time, but HDR content doesn't look good on it. It doesn't get bright enough to bring out highlights and it doesn't have good dark room performance.
The LG NANO85 2020 is great to use as a PC monitor. It has a low input lag, resulting in a responsive desktop experience. The viewing angles are wide enough if you want to put it in a meeting room and it displays proper chroma 4:4:4, which is important for reading text. It also doesn't have the risk of permanent burn-in, so you don't have to worry about the static displays.
- 7.2 Mixed Usage
- 6.5 Movies
- 7.8 TV Shows
- 7.7 Sports
- 7.3 Video Games
- 6.3 HDR Movies
- 7.3 HDR Gaming
- 8.3 PC Monitor
- Updated Nov 20, 2024: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Sep 11, 2024: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Jul 17, 2024: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated May 02, 2024: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Feb 13, 2024: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Dec 05, 2023: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Oct 12, 2023: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Aug 09, 2023: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Jun 07, 2023: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Apr 03, 2023: We uploaded the brightness measurements and uniformity photos after running the TV for four months in our Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Feb 06, 2023: We uploaded the brightness measurements and uniformity photos after running the TV for two months in our Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Nov 17, 2022: We uploaded the initial brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Feb 11, 2022: Firmware update 4.30.10 broke G-SYNC, but it's working properly with the latest update.
- Updated Jul 23, 2021: We've added two new videos demonstrating the local dimming feature with real content.
- Updated Mar 01, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.6.
- Updated Dec 10, 2020: Updated the firmware and retested FreeSync support.
- Updated Nov 09, 2020: Retested the TV with an HDMI 2.1 source.
- Updated Aug 17, 2020: Fixed an error about materials used.
- Updated Jul 27, 2020: Retested the VRR range.
- Updated Jul 27, 2020: Retook motion blur photo and remeasured the brightness.
- Updated Jul 16, 2020: Fixed a mistake with the flicker frequency.
- Updated Jul 07, 2020: Fixed an internal issue that didn't display the HDMI 2.1 inputs.
- Updated Jun 30, 2020: CalMAN has confirmed that the LG NANO85 now supports auto-calibration.
- Updated Jun 17, 2020: We incorrectly stated that this TV uses a PLS panel. It's actually an ADS panel, which is extremely similar.
- Updated May 26, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
- Updated May 26, 2020: Review published.
- Updated May 21, 2020: Early access published.
- Updated May 11, 2020: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Apr 14, 2020: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Mar 16, 2020: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55 inch LG NANO85 2020 (55NANO85UNA) and we expect our results to be valid for the 49 inch (49NANO85UNA) and 65 inch (65NANO85UNA) models too. The European version, the LG NANO86, comes with a different stand, similar to the one on the LG SM8600.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their NANO85 2020 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we'll update the review. Note that some tests such as the gray uniformity may vary between individual units.
| Size | US Short Model Name | US Model | EU Short Model Name | EU Model | Notes |
| 49" | 49NANO85 | 49NANO85UNA | 49NANO86 |
49NANO866NA |
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| 55" | 55NANO85 | 55NANO85UNA | 55NANO86 |
55NANO866NA |
|
|
65" |
65NANO85 | 65NANO85UNA | 65NANO86 |
65NANO866NA |
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| 75" | 75NANO85 | 75NANO85UNA | - | - | Release in Sept. 2020 |
The unit we reviewed was manufactured April 2020 and you can see the label here.
Compared To Other TVs
The LG NANO85 2020 is an improvement from its predecessor, the LG SM8600, and it's a bit better than most low-end LED TVs. Also see our recommendations for the best LED TVs, the best budget TVs, and the best 55 inch TVs.
The LG NANO85 2020 is a bit better than the LG NANO81. The NANO85 2020 has a 120Hz refresh rate and it currently supports HDMI Forum's VRR. It also has a quicker response time, a black frame insertion feature, better out-of-the-box color accuracy, and it gets brighter. However, the NANO81 has a lower input lag, better reflection handling, and it has a more premium-looking center-mounted stand.
The LG NANO85 2021 is the newer version of the LG NANO85 2020, and they have many similarities. The newer TV has many of the same features, including HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, but it's more polished in a few areas. There aren't any issues with its VRR support like on the 2020 model, and it has a quicker response time and much better gradient handling. On the other hand, the 2020 version has much better reflection handling, so glare isn't as much of an issue in well-lit rooms.
The LG NANO90 2020 is better than the LG NANO85 2020. Being a higher-end model, the NANO90 has some more features, like full-array local dimming. It also gets brighter in HDR, has better built-in speakers, and quicker response time. The NANO85 2020 has a better contrast ratio and better out-of-the-box color accuracy.
The Samsung Q60/Q60A QLED and the LG NANO85 2020 score similarly overall but are quite different. The Samsung has a VA panel, while the LG has an IPS panel. The Samsung is better suited for dark rooms due to its higher contrast ratio, and it also gets brighter in SDR and HDR. However, it has worse reflection handling and narrower viewing angles. The LG has slightly higher input lag, but it has better response times, a 120Hz refresh rate, and VRR support to reduce screen tearing when gaming. It also has HDMI 2.1 ports, making it a better fit for the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
The LG NANO85 2020 is a bit better than the Samsung Q60/Q60T QLED, but their differences come down to their different panels. The LG has an IPS panel, so it has better viewing angles, while the Samsung has a VA panel, producing much deeper blacks. Besides that, the LG has better reflection handling and quicker response time, while the Samsung gets brighter and has better out-of-the-box color accuracy.
The LG NANO85 2020 is a bit better than the Sony X800H. Both have IPS panels, so they both have low native contrast and wide viewing angles. The Sony gets brighter, has better out-of-the-box color accuracy, and lower input lag. Meanwhile, the LG has much better reflection handling, can remove judder from any source, and has a higher refresh rate.
The Samsung Q70/Q70T QLED is a bit better than the LG NANO85 2020, but they use different panel types. The Samsung uses a VA panel, so it has a much better contrast ratio, while the LG has wider viewing angles thanks to its IPS panel. The Samsung gets brighter, has a lower input lag, and supports FreeSync VRR, but the NANO85 has a quicker response time.
The Samsung Q80/Q80T QLED is better than the LG NANO85 2020, but they have different panel types with different characteristics. The Samsung's VA panel has a higher contrast ratio, and its local dimming feature is much better, so it's a better choice for watching content in dark rooms. It also gets much brighter in HDR and is a better choice for gaming because its VRR support works, which it doesn't on the LG. On the other hand, the LG has an IPS panel with a bit wider viewing angles, even though the Samsung has an 'Ultra Viewing Angle' layer.
The LG NANO85 is better than the LG UM7300. The NANO85 2020 has improved viewing angles, better out-of-the-box color accuracy, the ability to remove judder from any source, and it displays a wide color gamut for HDR content. The UM7300 has a direct backlight, so it has much better black uniformity and a bit better gray uniformity, but this could be due to panel differences.
The LG NANO85 2020 is a bit better TV than its predecessor, the LG SM8600. The NANO85 2020 gets much brighter, the viewing angles are improved, it has better out-of-the-box color accuracy, it's able to remove judder from any source, and the built-in speakers are better. On the other hand, the SM8600 has a better overall style due to its sleeker, center-mounted stand.
The LG SM9000 is somewhat better than the LG NANO85 2020. They both use IPS panels so they have wide viewing angles and a low contrast ratio, but the contrast is improved on the NANO85 2020. The SM9000 gets brighter, has a slightly lower input lag, and a bit quicker response time, while the NANO85 2020 has much better out-of-the-box color accuracy.
The LG CX OLED is a much better TV than the LG NANO85 2020. The CX is in the high-end of LG's lineup and it has all the features you expect in a premium TV. It's able to display perfect blacks, it has wide viewing angles, great out-of-the-box color accuracy, a very wide color gamut, and near-instantaneous response time. Since the NANO85 2020 has a slower response time, lower frame rate content stutters less.
The Sony X900H is better overall than the LG NANO85 2020, but they have different panel types. The Sony has a VA panel with a much higher contrast ratio and improved local dimming, letting it display deep blacks. The Sony gets brighter, including in HDR, so highlights pop the way they should. It also supports VRR after a firmware update, which the LG doesn't. On the other hand, the LG has an IPS panel with wider viewing angles.
The LG NANO85 2020 and the Sony X80J are entry-level TVs that use IPS panels, although the Sony has slightly wider viewing angles. While the LG has a local dimming feature, it's edge-lit and doesn't perform very well. The Sony, meanwhile, can get a bit brighter, has a slightly faster response time, and has better accuracy out of the box, although that can vary between units. The LG does have better reflection handling and can remove judder from any source. It also has a 120Hz panel and supports VRR; however, the VRR doesn't work properly. In the bigger picture, the two TVs perform similarly.
Video
Test Results
The LG NANO85 2020 has a sleek and modern design, but there's nothing special about it that makes the TV stand out. The stand is two separate feet and it doesn't look as elegant as the stand on the LG SM8600. That said, if you choose to wall-mount the TV, it sits flat and looks nice.
The stand consists of two feet and the left leg (if you're looking at the TV) isn't straight like the right leg. This could be a problem with our unit, so let us know in the discussions if you have the same issue. Overall, the stand supports the TV well but there's still wobble. If you prefer a TV with LG's center-mounted stand, check out the LG NANO81.
Footprint of the 55" TV: 41.5" x 9.1".
Update 08/17/2020: We confirmed the back panel is made out of metal, and not plastic, as we previously stated. The review has been updated.
The back panel is made out of a smooth metal. The inputs are housed on the back and there's no cable management.
The LG NANO85 2020 is thinner than the LG SM8600 and won't stick out if wall-mounted.
Update 08/17/2020: We confirmed the back panel is made out of metal, and not plastic, as we previously stated. The review has been updated.
Overall, the LG NANO85 2020 has an okay build quality. It's made out of both metal and plastic that feels a bit cheap, but it still feels like it won't break and it holds the TV together well. The left leg on the stand isn't straight like the right leg, but we don't know if it was damaged in transit or if it wasn't built properly.
Decent contrast ratio. IPS panels like the one on this TV aren't known to have good native contrast, but this is better than most IPS TVs, and it's similar to the higher-end LG SM9500. Still, blacks appear closer to gray when viewed in the dark, and the local dimming feature only slightly darkens blacks.
If you want a TV with a higher contrast ratio, check out the Samsung RU9000.
Update 07/27/2020: We remeasured the brightness with Local Dimming on 'Medium' instead of 'High'.
Mediocre peak brightness in SDR. It doesn't get bright enough to combat glare and it's not very consistent with small, bright objects. If you want a similar TV that gets a bit brighter, consider the Sony X80J.
We measured the brightness after calibration on the 'Expert (Dark Mode)' Picture Mode with Local Dimming on 'Medium', Brightness set to 'Max', and Contrast to 'Max'.
If you don't care about image accuracy and want to get the brightest image possible, set the Picture Mode to 'Vivid' with Brightness set to 'Max' and Contrast to 'Max'. We were able to get 496 nits on the 10% peak window.
Update 07/23/2021: We've added two new videos demonstrating the local dimming feature with real content.
Bad local dimming. It isn't very effective and makes dark scenes look worse. When there's a bright object that moves across the screen, the dimming zones around the object light up and it's noticeable even during real scenes. Setting the local dimming to 'Medium' helps with this issue, but overall, it gets very distracting. If you want a similar TV with a full-array local dimming feature, check out the LG NANO90.
Update 07/23/2021: We've added two new videos demonstrating the local dimming feature with real content.
Update 07/27/2020: We remeasured the brightness with Local Dimming on 'Medium' instead of 'High'.
Disappointing HDR peak brightness as it can't bring out highlights in HDR. It gets brightest when small objects flash across the screen, but doesn't remain consistent with different content.
We measured the brightness before calibration on the 'Cinema' Picture Mode with Local Dimming on 'Medium', Brightness set to 'Max' and Contrast to 'Max'.
If you don't care about image accuracy and want to get the brightest image possible, set the Picture Mode to 'Cinema' with Brightness set to 'Max', Contrast to 'Max', and Dynamic Contrast to 'Medium'. We were able to get 540 nits on the 10% peak window.
Okay gray uniformity. The edges of the screen are noticeably darker and there's some dirty screen effect visible in the center, which could be distracting while watching sports.
Poor black uniformity. There's visible clouding throughout with backlight bleed in the corners. The local dimming feature only makes it look worse as the entire screen is less uniform as there's clouding at the center where the cross is.
Decent viewing angle, which is expected from an IPS panel. It's not as good as other IPS panels we've seen so far, but it's better than most LG TVs, including the LG SM8600. The image remains accurate when viewed from the side, ideal for a wide seating arrangement.
The LG NANO85 2020 has impressive reflection handling. It handles a moderate amount of light really well but the reflections in a really bright room may be too distracting for some.
Very good out-of-the-box color accuracy. The colors are fairly accurate but the cold color temperature gives colors a blueish tint. The gamma follows the curve well overall, but dark scenes are brighter than they should be.
Update 06/30/2020: We have confirmation from CalMAN that the LG NANO85 2020 now supports auto-calibration.
After calibration, the color accuracy is nearly perfect. There are almost no inaccuracies with most colors or shades of gray, and the color temperature is extremely close to the 6500K target. The gamma follows the curve well, but some dark scenes are still a bit too bright.
Unlike the LG SM8600, the NANO85 doesn't have an auto-calibration feature.
You can see our recommended settings here.
The LG NANO85 2020 upscales 480p content, like DVDs, well without any obvious upscaling artifacts.
Like the LG SM8600, the LG NANO85 2020 upscales 720p content, like from cable boxes, well with no visible artifacts.
Blu-rays and 1080p content look almost as good as native 4k content.
Update 06/17/2020: We incorrectly stated that this TV uses a PLS panel; it's actually ADS, which is technically different from PLS but visually similar.
The LG NANO85 2020 uses an ADS (Advanced Dimension Switching) panel. ADS and PLS panels perform nearly identically to IPS panels.
Good color gamut. It has impressive coverage of the DCI P3 color space used in most HDR content, but has mediocre coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space.
The EOTF curve doesn't follow the curve very well and most scenes are brighter than they should be. In 'Game' mode, it performs very similarly, as you can see here.
If you find HDR too dim, set Dynamic Contrast to 'High' and both Brightness and Contrast to 'Max'. The image is noticeably brighter as you can see the EOTF here.
Decent color volume. Due to its low contrast ratio, it can't produce dark, saturated colors well. This is very similar to the LG SM8600.
Okay gradient handling. There's noticeable banding in the darker shades, and it's noticeable in real content too. Enabling Smooth Gradation improves banding in real content, but doesn't affect the test pattern.
There are no signs of temporary image retention, even immediately after displaying our high-contrast static test image for 10 minutes, which is great.
Although some IPS panels can suffer from temporary image retention, this doesn't appear to be permanent as seen in our long-term test.
Update 07/27/2020: We retook the motion blur picture with the 240Hz flicker. This shows more duplication in motion.
The LG NANO85 2020 has a good response time. There's minimal blur trail but there's still some overshoot in the 0-80% and 20-80% transitions. Also, there's duplication in motion due to the high flicker frequency, which may be distracting to some people.
Update 07/16/2020: We incorrectly stated it flickers at 120Hz in every mode except 'Game' mode, but it actually flickers at 240Hz.
This TV uses Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to dim its backlight at every backlight setting. It pulses at 240Hz on every picture mode, but if a PC is connected and it's not in 'Game' mode, it flickers at 120Hz.
There's a black frame insertion (BFI) to help reduce motion blur. For it to flicker at 60Hz, TruMotion must be set to 'User' with Motion Pro enabled.
The LG NANO85 2020 can interpolate lower frame rate content up to 60fps, which is known as the 'Soap Opera Effect' and it helps improve motion. In real content, it looks good, except there's some visible artifacting during busy scenes.
To enable motion interpolation, set TruMotion to 'User' and set both De-Judder and De-Blur to their max settings.
Even though the response time is quick, there's not a lot of visible stutter, especially with 60fps content.
The TV can remove judder form any source, such as native apps. This is an improvement over the LG SM8600, which isn't able to remove judder from 24p sources via 60i.
To remove judder, Real Cinema must be turned on from the Picture Options page in the settings menu.
Update 02/11/2022: There are a few reports of G-SYNC breaking as of firmware 4.30.10. With the latest firmware, 4.35.03, G-SYNC is working properly.
Update 12/10/2020: We updated the TV to firmware 03.21.10 and checked to see if FreeSync works, and we still experienced some issues with it. With 4k content, it appears to work between 48-60Hz, but there was tearing when we tried to measure the input lag, so we don't consider it properly functional. There's no screen tearing with 1080p @ 120Hz content, but without the input lag test working, we can't confirm if VRR is functional. Lastly, there are many problems with 1440p @ 120Hz as it would switch itself to 4k @ 60Hz and tear constantly.
Update 11/09/2020: We updated the TV to firmware '3.11.20' and retested its VRR support.
Update 07/27/2020: We retested the VRR support and its range.
This TV supports variable refresh rate technology. However, it doesn't properly work, and there's visible screen tearing. It showed up as FreeSync compatible on our Radeon PC and G-SYNC compatible with our NVIDIA RTX 3080 but didn't properly work. We'll retest it if a future firmware update becomes available.
The newer model of this TV, the LG NANO85 2021, doesn't have any issues with FreeSync VRR working properly.
Update 11/09/2020: We updated the TV to firmware '3.11.20' and retested its input.
Really low input lag. It's extremely low at its native 120Hz refresh rate, and it's fairly low at 60Hz, but it might be too high for more serious gamers. Since its VRR support doesn't properly work, we couldn't measure its VRR input lag.
This TV has an Auto Low Latency mode that automatically switches to 'Game' mode when an Xbox is connected, saving you the hassle of switching picture modes. For this to work, Instant Game Response must be enabled.
Update 11/09/2020: We updated the TV to firmware '3.11.20' and retested it with an HDMI 2.1 source.
All common resolutions are supported, including proper chroma 4:4:4 with a 4k resolution at 60Hz or 120Hz, which is important for reading text while using the TV as a PC monitor. For this to work, the icon for the HDMI input must be set to PC. See the full settings here.
Update 11/09/2020: We updated the TV to firmware '3.11.20' and retested it with an HDMI 2.1 source.
Update 07/07/2020: A previous version of this review didn't list the HDMI 2.1 inputs. HDMI ports 3 and 4 support HDMI 2.1, and the review has been updated.
We're able to confirm with our HDMI 2.1 source that HDMI inputs 3 and 4 support HDMI 2.1.
It supports eARC so it can send high-quality Dolby Atmos via TrueHD sound from an external receiver. For it to work, eARC must be enabled from the Sound Output settings. Unfortunately, LG has dropped DTS decoding from their 2020 TVs.
The LG NANO85 2020 has a decent frequency response. It isn't able to produce a very deep bass, but it gets fairly loud and has a well-balanced sound profile in the mid and treble range. This is much improved from the LG SM8600.
Decent distortion performance. There's minimal total harmonic distortion at moderate listening levels, but it gets more noticeable at its max volume. If you want a TV with better distortion performance, check out the Samsung The Sero.
The WebOS interface is smooth and easy to use, like on other LG TVs. There weren't any bugs that we noticed.
Unfortunately, this TV isn't ad-free, as ads appear at different times. We saw ads during testing, but we weren't able to get a picture.
The app store has a great selection of apps available and you can cast content from your device.
The LG NANO85 2020 uses the same LG Magic Remote as other LG TVs. You can use it like a traditional remote or point and press. There are shortcut buttons to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video and it has built-in voice control. You can ask it to change inputs, open apps, search for content within specific apps, and ask for the weather conditions. You can also use it as a universal remote with other devices, even if they don't support CEC.
There's a single button underneath the center of the TV that allows you to turn it on/off, change inputs, volume, and channels.
