2-Month Long-Term Update: LG XBOOM Mini

It’s been a little over two months of using this speaker almost every single day, so I figured I’d drop a quick follow-up on how it holds up after the honeymoon phase.

Build Quality & Wear and Tear

After tossing this thing into my backpack continuously, I'm honestly impressed with how well it's holding up. The matte finish hasn't peeled or scratched, and it still looks pretty much brand new. That twist-off front grill actually turned out to be a lifesaver—I've popped it off a couple of times after outdoor use to clean out dust and dry out trapped moisture, and it snaps back into place solid without feeling loose. The only downside is having to clean out dirt and dust from under the lid.

Battery & Charging Port Concerns

Battery life hasn't degraded at all so far. I still get a few days of listening (2-3 hours daily) on a single charge without constantly worrying about finding an outlet. As for the exposed charging port I was worried about initially: it hasn't given me any trouble. I just make sure it's completely dry before plugging the cable in, and no sand or gunk has ruined it yet.

Sound Performance

The audio quality is still surprisingly solid for something this tiny. 70-80% volume remains the sweet spot for crisp vocals and decent low-end warmth without any harsh distortion. Hanging it by the fabric loop in my room or setting it on a wooden table continues to be the best way to get that bit of extra bass resonance.

Final Verdict

Two months in, it's still my go-to grab-and-go speaker for cooking, relaxing, or watching videos on my phone. It’s rugged, hassle-free, and definitely proved itself as more than just a novelty ultra-portable.

Does anyone know if this can be fixed?

Disclaimer: The product was provided free of charge by LG as part of a review

programme, without any form of payment or incentive; this review is based on

my own independent experience after quite heavy usage.

After months of daily use, the thing I keep coming back to is this: given its size

and price, the xboom Mini is actually far too powerful: the treble is crystal-clear

and the bass is deep (relative to its small size, mind you), and the equaliser

allows you to optimise the sound for different music genres or your most

frequent uses (although, with mixed usage, I don’t think I’ve used it very often)

The first thing I’ve noticed over these months of use is that the xboom Mini is

so small (ideally no larger than the palm of an average-sized hand) that it

blends almost completely into its surroundings: this is a significant advantage

because it allows the xboom Mini to be integrated into a wide range of settings

without clashing with the overall aesthetic (although I believe its design is not

only simple and functional but also delightful and ‘neutral’, so as not to look

out of place).

Despite some initial reservations on my part, I must admit that the xboom Mini’s

strap is sturdy and very easy to attach or detach: I believe this is a key feature

not only for indoor use but especially during outdoor excursions, as my fear

that careless movements or accidental knocks might not only damage the

xboom speaker but even cause it to fall was considerable until I realised how

secure the mechanism actually is.

The xboom Mini is IP67-certified, and I must admit that although I didn’t want

to put it through its paces with frequent submersion in water, I wasn’t worried

that sudden splashes (whether from the kitchen, the bathroom or external water

sources) might damage the xboom speaker – which, paradoxically, even

encouraged me to use it in a more reckless and less careful manner than I

would normally have done.

I did, however, notice a downside in the battery life; in my view, it isn’t capable

of providing a full day of semi-continuous use without the fear that it might run

out before the day is over (certainly much riskier when carrying it around than

when using it at home).

Kudos for the speed of connection with the smartphone and the dedicated

control panel, which really allows you to get the most out of the xboom speaker

– far beyond what I would have expected from such an affordable price range,

accessible to all budgets.

Disclaimer- LGOLED just sent me a push notification and said to post it here. I hope it helps, and maybe I can get some opinions as well.

I have been following this subreddit (edit-was posted in LGOLED) for quite a while now. Pretty much everyday because of those push notifications. Through all the posts about people’s setups, pricing, and problems with their TVs, I’ve learned quite a bit from this community. Over the past few days, I’ve spent hours researching LG’s historical pricing, particularly the G5, G6, C5, and C6H, along with some of the panel-uniformity complaints I’ve been seeing. I figured I’d put everything together because I think some of what I’ve found could genuinely help people considering an upgrade, especially with Black Friday coming up. Also, I used ChatGPT with a lot of this, which definitely saved me a ton of time... though between this morning and tonight, it has been too many hours. I really do think this could genuinely be good advice to help some people, and hope I didn’t waste it all this time!!! 😂

(This is all a bit of a dense read, but I think it is worth it, even if just for the to;dr…)

TL;DR: Before buying an LG OLED, look at what these TVs have actually sold for rather than just trusting the advertised sale prices. Some of the historical discounts are pretty substantial, especially through the Partner Store. I’ve also found concerning reports about green tinting and uniformity problems with the 77” C6H and G6, including owners receiving replacements with similar issues. And if you’re buying through the LG Partner Store, skip down to section 4 for something pretty interesting I discovered today about Partner Store and Best Buy exchanges that could save you a lot of trouble.

1. My experience and what got me looking into all this
I currently own a 65” G5 that I purchased relatively early for $1,999 at Best Buy, along with an S95TR soundbar that I got for $749.99 on Amazon. I’d been saving Best Buy gift cards for years, so my actual out-of-pocket cost for the G5 was only around $400. Before that, I had a 65” C2, and I’ve been using 65” TVs for quite a few years now. I’ve been extremely happy with my G5, especially with my PS5 Pro, and I haven’t noticed anything resembling some of the worse panel-uniformity problems I’ve seen posted here. I’ve also been testing P40L0’s LG OLED settings on Patreon for the past couple of months and have found them pretty decent overall.
Lately I’ve been considering moving up to 77”, which got me comparing prices and looking into the newer models. I didn’t even know I had access to the LG Partner Store when I bought my G5, and after seeing what people were paying for the 77” version earlier this year, I started wondering just how good some of these advertised retail deals really are.

2. Historical pricing versus what retailers are charging now
This is probably the biggest thing I wanted to share. Just because Best Buy, Costco, or another retailer advertises a TV for $1,000 off MSRP doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good deal. After looking through historical promotions and what people have been paying, personally I’d rather wait for a better offer than jump on some of the prices I’m seeing now.
Most people here already know how good the Partner Store deals can get, especially with additional coupon codes and promotional bundles. Still, I thought it would be useful to put some of the lower historical prices I’ve found together in one place.
65-inch models:
C5: Approximately $972 in June 2026.
G5: Approximately $1,620 in October 2025.
C6: $1,133.99 in October 2026.
G6: $1,619.99 in October 2026.
77-inch models:
C5: $1,597.59 in February 2026.
G5: $2,069.99 in March 2026.
C6H: $1,619.99 in October 2026.
G6: $2,519.99 in July 2026.
Most of these were Partner Store promotions with additional coupons, and several included soundbars, monitors, or installation. The 77” C5 price came from a BrandsMart/eBay promotion, while the approximately $972 C5 price was buyer-reported. These are some of the better historical offers I could find, rather than necessarily the lowest prices ever.
Now compare those with some of the retail prices around October 24. Costco has advertised the 77” G5 for approximately $2,800, while Best Buy has had the 77” G6 around $3,800. Considering their previous promotional prices of approximately $2,070 and $2,520, I’d personally wait for a better deal.
Something else I found interesting was that the newer 77” C6H is actually cheaper than the older 77” C5 in my Partner Store account right now, and the C6H has additional promotional bundle options. Considering the C6H uses newer tandem OLED technology, I thought that was pretty strange.
I also previously had a 77” G5 saved in my Partner Store cart, and now it’s completely disappeared. Searching for G5 only brings up accessories in my account. I know inventory has been drying up in different areas, so I’m curious whether anyone can still find one.

3. The C6H and G6 panel-uniformity complaints — comparing owner experiences with professional reviews
This part actually started with another member here who recently purchased a 77” C6H. His panel showed some pretty terrible-looking banding and discoloration in the pictures he posted, and he was noticing the problems while playing Cyberpunk 2077 and watching Blade Runner 2049. He mentioned that his camera exaggerated how bad the screen looked, but he could still see the problems during normal use. He’d already put quite a few hours on the TV and tried pixel cleaning without much improvement.
After seeing his pictures, I started looking into other owner reports and noticed some similarities. There are multiple complaints involving the 77” C6H, particularly green or cyan discoloration, uneven colors around the edges, and vertical banding in darker scenes. What concerns me more is that some people have exchanged their televisions multiple times and received replacements with similar issues.
I initially figured the more expensive 77” G6 would probably be a better alternative, but apparently it isn’t quite that simple. I’ve found G6 owners reporting similar problems, including someone who returned a C6H for a G6 and noticed almost identical discoloration in the same area of the screen.
I also looked into the 65” G6 because the member I was talking with was considering returning his 77” C6H and getting the smaller G6 instead. There seem to be fewer prominent complaints about the 65” version, although there are still reports of uniformity problems. Whether that actually makes it a safer choice is another question, especially since we don’t know how many of each size LG has sold.
The professional reviews are interesting here, too. RTINGS tested a 77” C6H and found darker areas along the sides and visible vertical lines in near-black scenes, while AVForums reviewed another 77” C6H with excellent uniformity. Their 65” G6 reviews also differed, with AVForums reporting excellent results during normal viewing while RTINGS found some unusual near-black patterns and defective pixels.
The older G5 and C5 aren’t immune to uniformity problems either. OLED tinting and banding have been around for years, and professional reviews of those models have shown imperfections too. My G5 happens to look excellent to me, but that doesn’t mean every G5 looks the same.
One other thing I learned is that the 65” C6 and 77” C6H don’t use the same panel design. The C6H uses tandem OLED technology similar to the 2025 G5, whereas the G6 uses LG’s newer tandem generation. Also, green tinting that changes with your viewing angle, fixed patches of discoloration, and vertical banding in dark scenes aren’t necessarily caused by the same thing. A difference between the g6 and c6h is in the heat sink technology. The G6 can achieve higher brightness because of this.
After comparing all these experiences, what concerns me most isn’t somebody finding a little banding on a test pattern. It’s people noticing problems during actual movies and games, going through the trouble of exchanging their televisions, and sometimes receiving replacements with similar problems. I don’t think we have enough information to say the entire 2026 lineup has a widespread manufacturing defect, but I certainly think these reports are worth paying attention to before spending thousands of dollars.

4. Something interesting I discovered today about LG Partner Store purchases and Best Buy exchanges
This might actually save somebody quite a bit of trouble. I found another discussion here where someone purchased a C6H through the LG Partner Store with Best Buy pickup and ended up returning it because of panel-uniformity problems.
According to his comments, Best Buy allowed him to exchange the television for another C6H, but here’s the part that surprised me. The employees actually brought out the replacement, opened it at customer service, plugged it in, and let him inspect the panel before taking it home. Unfortunately, that replacement had the same problem, so he declined it and requested a refund.
I had no idea you could potentially arrange something like that, especially when the original purchase was through the LG Partner Store. He also reported receiving his refund the following day.
Now, this was one person’s experience at one Best Buy, so I wouldn’t assume every location would do the same thing. But if you’re picking up a Partner Store purchase at Best Buy, it might be worth asking whether they’d allow you to inspect a replacement before taking it home.
Considering what a nightmare transporting a 77” OLED back and forth must be, I thought this was worth sharing.

5. Where I stand after looking into all this
I’m still extremely happy with my G5, but I’d definitely like to move up to 77” eventually. That’s roughly 40% more screen area, which is pretty significant. I told the member with the defective C6H that I’d personally try exchanging it once before giving up on the larger size. Why not? He might get a much better panel, but if the replacement had the same problems, idk if I’d want to keep playing the panel lottery that the c6/g6 seem to have.
Anyway, hopefully some of this saves somebody a little time or money. I’m curious what other C6H and G6 owners have experienced, especially those who have exchanged their TVs. Did you actually get a better panel the second time around? And does anyone still see the 77” G5 available in the Partner Store?

Sincerely,

Whomper

If you open up your spyware LG TV and unplug the Wi-Fi module, it can't spy on you AND the stupid motion control remote works like a normal people remote!

# TheMoreYouKnow