
Our Rating:
4.9
LG Smart Electric Dryer
(DLEX8600BE) Review
Ranked #2 (Runner-up)
Best Dryer of 2025!
Authors: Tina S, Evelyn S, David U, Tommy G
Introduction
The LG DLEX8600BE Smart Electric Dryer is a stunning showcase of what a modern appliance can be, blending immense power, forward-thinking design, and a suite of genuinely useful smart features. It’s an appliance that doesn't just dry clothes; it elevates the entire laundry experience into something more efficient, convenient, and even enjoyable. In our exhaustive search for the best dryer of 2025, the DLEX8600BE made an incredibly compelling case for the crown, impressing at every turn with its raw performance and brilliant innovations!
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While it delivers a truly exceptional performance that places it leagues ahead of most of the competition, a few key inconsistencies and a notable design flaw are what ultimately held it back from securing the absolute top spot. Its position as the #2 ranked dryer is a testament to its near-perfect execution, representing a fantastic choice for any home but leaving just enough room for a rival to edge it out for the title!
Design and Build Quality
The physical presence of the LG DLEX8600BE is a statement in modern, minimalist design, feeling both robust and incredibly sophisticated.
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Aesthetic and Finish: The dryer presents a sleek, clean profile that instantly modernizes any laundry room. Available in a deep, elegant Matte Black (DLEX8600BE) or a classic Alpine White (DLEX8600WE), its form is highlighted by a beautiful black tempered glass door. The finish is gorgeous, though we quickly learned that the stunning Matte Black does love to show fingerprints, requiring a quick wipe-down now and then to maintain its showroom look—a tiny price to pay for such a premium aesthetic!
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EasyLoad™ Door: This is, without a doubt, one of the most brilliant ergonomic innovations we’ve ever seen on a dryer. The dual-opening mechanism is a marvel of practical design. You can tilt it open hamper-style, creating the perfect chute for tossing wet clothes in from a top-load washer without dropping a single sock. Or, you can swing it fully open to the side for easy unloading into a basket. During our daily testing, this door system single-handedly transformed the chore of loading and unloading, making it faster and far more convenient. The hinge is even reversible, offering ultimate flexibility for any laundry room layout. It's a feature you don't know you need until you have it, and then you can't imagine living without it.
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Premium Construction: Peeking inside, the dryer’s quality continues to impress. The drum is forged from NeveRust™ Stainless Steel, a material that not only promises years of durability and rust resistance but also provides a snag-free surface that’s exceptionally gentle on fabrics. You can feel the quality in its smooth finish, a clear step up from the aluminized alloy drums found in lesser models. This is a machine built to last, with a premium feel from the steel cabinet to the solid click of the door.
Performance and Key Features
This dryer is an absolute workhorse, built around a core of powerful drying technology and enhanced with features that provide next-level fabric care.
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Drying Power: At its heart, the DLEX8600BE is a master of its primary function. The standard Sensor Dry system is impeccably tuned, using moisture sensors to adjust cycle times automatically and prevent wasteful over-drying. It consistently delivered perfectly dry, fluffy results. We threw everything at it, from heavy towels to massive king-size comforters that would choke a smaller machine, and its massive 7.3 cu. ft. capacity handled it all with ease, drying loads quickly and evenly almost every single time.
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TurboSteam™ and Wrinkle Care: The steam functionality is a true luxury that quickly becomes a necessity. The TurboSteam™ feature is phenomenal for breathing new life into a slightly worn shirt or de-wrinkling a dress that’s been crammed in a closet, refreshing garments in as little as 10 minutes. Complementing this is the Wrinkle Care option, which periodically tumbles the load after a cycle finishes. This feature was a lifesaver for us on busy days, preventing deep-set wrinkles from forming when we couldn't unload the dryer immediately.
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AI Sensor Dry™: Here is where the DLEX8600BE’s ambition slightly outpaces its execution, and a key reason it lands in the #2 spot. The flagship AI Sensor Dry™ feature, which promises to detect fabric texture and load size to select the perfect settings, is a brilliant concept. However, in our hands-on experience, its results were sometimes inconsistent. The AI cycle occasionally ran longer than necessary or left a few items in mixed loads slightly damp. We often found ourselves reverting to the standard 'Normal' cycle, which delivered more predictable and reliable results. While the AI is a fascinating piece of tech, its performance wasn't flawless enough to replace the tried-and-true standard cycles that work so well.
Usability
LG has engineered this dryer to be both powerful and remarkably user-friendly, though its most advanced capabilities are tied to its smart ecosystem.
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Control Panel and Display: The interface is centered around a large, crisp LCD Digital Dial Control and sleek, integrated glass touch buttons. It’s an incredibly modern and responsive system that feels intuitive for anyone comfortable with today’s electronics. The central display is beautiful, even showing subtle animations when idle. Our one minor gripe is that the touch-sensitive power button on the black panel can be a bit hard to spot in low light, a small sacrifice of function for minimalist form.
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LoDecibel™ Quiet Operation: This dryer is astonishingly quiet. LG’s LoDecibel™ system is not just marketing jargon; it’s a reality we appreciated every single day. We often had to check if it was even running, as it operated with just a gentle hum that never intruded on the peace of our home, even with the laundry room door open. It’s a perfect choice for homes where the laundry area is close to main living spaces.
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ThinQ® App Dependency: The Wi-Fi connectivity and the LG ThinQ® app unlock a world of convenience, allowing for remote start, cycle monitoring, and notifications right on your phone. The Smart Pairing™ feature, where a compatible LG washer tells the dryer which cycle to use, feels like the future. However, a significant portion of the dryer's advertised cycles—including specialized settings for Jeans, Blankets, and Wrinkle Prevention—are only accessible by downloading them through the app. This makes the dryer's full functionality dependent on a Wi-Fi connection and a user's willingness to engage with the app, a potential drawback for those who prefer a more self-contained appliance.
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A Critical Lint Filter Concern: In a machine that gets almost everything right, the design of the lint filter is its most significant shortcoming and the primary factor holding it back from a perfect score. The thin, basket-style filter is held by a clip that felt a bit flimsy to us during repeated cleanings. More importantly, we discovered a design flaw in how the filter seats in its housing. A small gap can allow lint to bypass the screen and accumulate below. Worse yet, this imperfect fit allows the top edge of the filter to protrude slightly into the drum, creating a snag point that can catch and damage delicate fabrics. While it performed fine with durable items like towels and denim, we had to be extra careful when drying delicates to ensure the filter was perfectly seated to avoid any potential harm. This oversight is a notable blemish on an otherwise stellar design.
Conclusion: The Runner Up

The LG DLEX8600BE Smart Electric Dryer is a powerhouse appliance and a triumph of forward-thinking engineering. Its cavernous capacity, whisper-quiet operation, and the sheer genius of the EasyLoad™ door make it one of the most capable and user-friendly dryers on the market. For any family or individual who values performance, convenience, and a touch of high-tech luxury, it is an absolutely phenomenal choice that will transform laundry day for the better!
Ultimately, however, it is the perfect runner-up. Its position as the #2-ranked dryer of 2025 is cemented by a couple of key compromises. The flagship AI Dry feature doesn’t quite deliver on its lofty promises, and more critically, the flawed design of the lint filter introduces a risk to delicate clothing that a top-ranked product simply shouldn't have. However, the DLEX8600BE is still brilliant, innovative, and just one small step shy of greatness! ✨✨✨