Brightness Booster is a marketing term for a set of technologies designed to increase screen brightness. It is most commonly used in LG OLED TVs, but can also be found in some models from other brands.
It is not a standalone technology or feature as presented by LG, but rather a collective name for various hardware and software solutions that enhance display brightness. In theory, the company could have simply referred to display generations, but that approach is less clear and harder for the average buyer to understand. That is why the more appealing and memorable name, Brightness Booster, was created.
Generations of Brightness Booster
| Brightness Booster level | Year | What LG officially claimed |
|---|---|---|
| Brightness Booster | 2022 | Brighter than conventional OLED, in some cases up to ~20% |
| Brightness Booster Max | 2023 | Up to 70% brighter compared to conventional (non-evo) OLED |
| Brightness Booster Ultimate | 2025 | Approximately +45% brightness compared to the previous flagship model |
| Brightness Booster Ultra | 2026 | Approximately +20% brightness compared to Ultimate |
Brightness Booster 2022
The term Brightness Booster first appeared widely around 2022. It was used as a general term to describe the increased brightness of OLED evo compared to traditional OLEDs of previous years. In its marketing materials, LG stated that these panels could be 20% brighter than standard OLEDs. The increase in brightness was achieved by applying a special MLA (Micro Lens Array) layer that reflected light outward from the panel, which was a revolutionary breakthrough in increasing the brightness of OLED panels.
Brightness Booster Max 2023
In 2023, the Brightness Booster Max designation began to be actively used in more expensive models, primarily in flagship series. LG directly claimed a brightness increase of up to 70% compared to conventional OLEDs (not evo). However, this referred to peak values in certain scenes, not the constant brightness of the entire screen. This was not a new improvement, but simply a marketing ploy.
Brightness Booster Ultimate 2025
The next step was Brightness Booster Ultimate, which appeared in 2024. For this level, LG claimed a brightness increase of approximately 45% compared to the previous generation of flagship OLED panels. This was a new generation of OLED panels in which brightness was increased through the use of more advanced OLED materials.
Brightness Booster Ultra 2026
(model year 2026) Brightness Booster Ultra is the latest designation at the moment. LG has announced an increase in brightness of approximately 20% compared to models already equipped with Brightness Booster Ultimate. Despite this statement, it should be noted that this increase is only specified for peak scenes, not for the overall brightness of the panel.
Marketing at Brightness Booster
If we consider Brightness Booster not as a set of marketing labels, but from the point of view of an ordinary viewer, the differences between levels appear gradually and are not equally noticeable in all conditions. There is no single universal way to measure panel brightness. For example, brightness can be measured on a small area of the screen when displaying a completely white image at maximum pixel performance — a scenario that almost never occurs in real viewing.
Marketing materials often emphasize brightness increases expressed as percentages, such as 20% or 75%, but even a 1% increase formally meets these criteria while remaining completely imperceptible in practice. For this reason, claims of higher brightness should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism and understood primarily as relative comparisons rather than guarantees of visible improvement.
