The LG NANO90 2021 is a good overall 4k TV. It's at the top of LG's mid-range NanoCell lineup and is a slight improvement over the LG NANO90 2020. It's a good choice if you want to use it in a well-lit room because it gets bright enough to fight glare and has impressive reflection handling. Gamers will appreciate features like its 120Hz panel, HDMI 2.1 inputs, and variable refresh rate (VRR) support. It also has a quick response time and low input lag for gaming. It has an IPS panel with fairly wide viewing angles, but it's not as good as most IPS panels because the image starts to look darker when viewing from an angle. It also has low native contrast, so blacks look gray, and the local dimming feature crushes any bright highlights, so it doesn't improve the picture quality.
Our Verdict
The LG NANO90 2021 is good for most uses. It performs best for watching shows or sports because it has fairly wide viewing angles, impressive reflection handling, and good peak brightness. It's also good for gaming thanks to its HDMI 2.1 and VRR support, low input lag, and quick response time. Sadly, it's just okay for watching movies, both in SDR and HDR, because it has a low contrast ratio that makes blacks look gray, and the full-array local dimming feature fails to improve the picture quality.
- Gets bright enough to fight glare in most rooms.
- Impressive reflection handling.
- Quick response time results in smooth motion.
- 120Hz panel and VRR support.
- Low native contrast ratio.
- Local dimming performs poorly.
- Image looks darker at wide viewing angles.
The LG NANO90 2021 is very good for watching TV shows. It has impressive reflection handling and gets bright enough to fight glare, so visibility won't be an issue in most rooms. It doesn't have any trouble upscaling 720p content, like from cable boxes. It has fairly wide viewing angles, but you may notice the image looks darker if you sit at an angle.
- Gets bright enough to fight glare in most rooms.
- Impressive reflection handling.
- Image looks darker at wide viewing angles.
The LG NANO90 2021 is very good for watching sports. Fast-moving content looks good thanks to its 120Hz panel and quick response time. It's a great choice for use in well-lit rooms because it gets bright enough to fight glare and has impressive reflection handling. It has fairly wide viewing angles if you want to watch the big game with a few friends, but it's not suggested if you're going to watch it from wide angles.
- Gets bright enough to fight glare in most rooms.
- Impressive reflection handling.
- Quick response time results in smooth motion.
- Image looks darker at wide viewing angles.
The LG NANO90 2021 is good for gaming. It has gaming features most people are looking for like a 120Hz panel, VRR support, and HDMI 2.1 inputs. It has a quick response time for smooth motion, and the input lag is low. Sadly, it's not a good choice for dark room gaming because it has a low contrast ratio and the local dimming feature performs poorly, so blacks look closer to gray.
- Quick response time results in smooth motion.
- 120Hz panel and VRR support.
- Low input lag.
- Low native contrast ratio.
- Local dimming performs poorly.
The LG NANO90 2021 is okay for watching HDR movies. Its IPS panel has a low native contrast ratio, so blacks look gray, and the local dimming feature crushes highlights. There's also considerable blooming around bright highlights in dark scenes. The HDR brightness isn't anything special, so content doesn't pop how it should.
- Decent HDR brightness.
- Removes 24p judder from any source.
- Low native contrast ratio.
- Local dimming performs poorly.
The LG NANO90 2021 is good for HDR gaming. It has good gaming features like VRR support and a 120Hz refresh rate. It offers a responsive gaming experience due to its quick response time and low input lag. However, HDR content doesn't look good because it has a mediocre contrast ratio, poor local dimming, and low HDR brightness.
- Quick response time results in smooth motion.
- 120Hz panel and VRR support.
- Low input lag.
- Low native contrast ratio.
- Local dimming performs poorly.
The LG NANO90 2021 is excellent to use as a PC monitor. It has fairly wide viewing angles, so the image remains somewhat accurate at the edges if you sit up close. It has low input lag, and it displays proper chroma 4:4:4, which is important for reading clear text when using it as a monitor. Visibility won't be an issue in most well-lit rooms because it has impressive reflection handling and good peak brightness.
- Gets bright enough to fight glare in most rooms.
- Impressive reflection handling.
- Quick response time results in smooth motion.
- Low input lag.
- Image looks darker at wide viewing angles.
Changelog
- Updated Sep 26, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Jul 08, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Apr 17, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Feb 11, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 55 inch LG NANO90 2021 (55NANO90), and for the most part, we expect our results to be valid for the 65 inch (65NANO90), 75 inch (75NANO90), and 86 inch (86NANO90) variants as well. Keep in mind that the LG NANO90 2020 uses similar model codes, but the one way to differentiate between the two is that the 2020 model ends in UNA while the 2021 model has UPA. In Europe, it's sold as the LG NANO91 and has a center-mounted stand instead, but we expect it to perform the same.
| Size | North America | Europe |
| 55" | 55NANO90UPA | 55NANO916PA |
| 65" | 65NANO90UPA | 65NANO916PA |
|
75" |
75NANO90UPA | 75NANO916PA |
| 86" | 86NANO90UPA | 86NANO91PA |
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their LG NANO90 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, like gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.
The unit we tested was manufactured in April 2021 and you can see the label here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The LG NANO90 2021 is a good overall 4k TV. It has gaming features most people will appreciate, like HDMI 2.1 and VRR support. However, it's not a good choice for dark room gaming, and there are better options available with improved contrast, like the Sony X90J. Even if you need wide viewing angles, something like the Samsung Q80/Q80A QLED has better local dimming with a similar panel type.
Also see our recommendations for the best LG TVs, the best 4k TVs, and the best TVs for watching movies.
The Sony X90J is much better than the LG NANO90 2021 for most people. The Sony has much better contrast and a better local dimming feature, so it looks much better in a dark room, and dark scenes look better overall. The Sony is also significantly more accurate out of the box. On the other hand, the LG has better reflection handling and a wider viewing angle, so if you have a wide seating arrangement with a lot of windows, it's slightly better.
The LG C1 OLED is much better than the LG NANO90 2021. The C1 has a near-infinite contrast ratio for perfect blacks, and there's no blooming around bright objects. The C1 also has wider viewing angles, which is great if you have a large seating area, and it has better gaming performance thanks to its nearly instantaneous response time.
The Sony X900H is better overall than the LG NANO90 2021, mainly because they use different panel types. The Sony has a VA panel with a much higher contrast ratio and significantly better local dimming, so it's a better choice for watching movies in dark rooms. The Sony gets brighter, but the LG has much better reflection handling. Each TV has a 120Hz panel with HDMI 2.1 and VRR support, but the LG has FreeSync support. Lastly, the LG has an IPS panel with wider viewing angles, so the image remains accurate when viewing from the side.
The Sony X950H is better than the LG NANO90 2021, but they use different panel types. The Sony is better for dark room viewing because it has a higher native contrast and better local dimming, so blacks look deep and inky. It also gets significantly brighter and displays a wide color gamut, so the Sony is a better choice for watching HDR content. On the other hand, the LG has an IPS panel with wider viewing angles. It's also better for gaming because it has HDMI 2.1 and VRR support, which the Sony doesn't have.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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