The 2024 line-up presented by Philips in Barcelona.
Philips didn’t show up at CES in Las Vegas, but it only took two weeks for the manufacturer to talk about its future television. All new products for 2024 were announced during a presentation in Barcelona, including an OLED 809, 909 and a new, even more high-end 959.
More brightness, a new processor and still Ambilight
The Philips OLED908, the manufacturer’s top-of-the-range model, especially won us over in 2023 with a bright and well-calibrated OLED Meta panel, friendly Ambilight lighting for better immersion, and an integrated soundbar. The 909 that will logically follow in 2024 doesn’t fundamentally change the formula, with the same sizes of 55, 65 and 77 inches.
The OLED909 now offers Ambilight on all sides.
In terms of design, the height of the integrated soundbar at the bottom of the television (still from Bower and Wilkins) has been reduced, good news for integration, especially when you want to mount the TV on a wall. Compared to just three on the 908, we will of course rediscover the Ambilight with four lighting zones that cover all sides.
The soundbar is much thinner than the 2023.
The Oled Meta 2 panel presented by LG Display at CES will of course be present and promises to be brighter, which will further improve HDR rendering. A new 8th generation P5 AI Dual Engine processor is also included and promises to improve image sharpness in addition to handling HDR content better depending on ambient light.
Finally, for video game enthusiasts, refresh rates go from 120 to 144 Hz like many competitors, but remember that only PC players will be able to take advantage of this, consoles are limited to 120 Hz. The gamebar has also been improved and FreeSync Premium is still present to prevent image tearing.
Renewal of the main series
In addition to the OLED 909, Philips will apparently renew its mid-range 809 which will benefit from a new processor and 144 Hz. Like last year, it won’t benefit from the latest Oled Meta panel, and will work with Oled Ex. From a slightly older generation (as seen on 2022 television). The OLED809 will be available in sizes from 42 to 77 inches.
The 809 should provide good value for money.
Finally, a small addition, an OLED959 was introduced, and it integrates all the high-end technologies of the manufacturer. Placed on a stand (unfortunately fixed at the moment, but probably adjustable by the time of publication), the television can also be mounted directly on the wall. It obviously benefits from an OLED Meta 2.0 panel, a more complete sound system with three front speakers in addition to a woofer at the back, two on the sides and two on top for other Atmos effects. Finally, it benefits from Ambilight Plus, the manufacturer’s latest in-house lighting innovation.
The back of the TV is flat and uniform.
Ambilight Plus, for more colors
2024 marks the 20th anniversary of Ambilight and for the occasion, Philips has unveiled Ambilight Plus, an improved version of its ambient lighting system. The brand advertises four times more LEDs on the back and therefore better precision in reproducing colors around its TVs. Also, the color of the material projected on the walls is no longer just related to the pixels a few cm at the edge of the panel, as it includes colors coming from much further into the center of the screen.
New Ambilight Plus LEDs
The effect is successful in some cases, especially when the landscape is displayed, but the cluster of displayed colors can be confusing when viewing very diverse content (football match audience, video game, etc.). Ambilight more conventionally if needed, or even turn it off as desired. Unfortunately, Ambilight Plus will only be available on the brand’s flagship model, the 959.
Lighting integrates more information than ever before.
New OS to replace Google TV?
On the interface side, we expect a change since Philips ditched Android TV this year in favor of an operating system called Titan OS. Finally, for the moment only certain mini LED models and flagship Oled models of the Google TV brand remain. So the transition will probably be smooth in the upcoming series.
No release date or pricing has been announced for the moment, but we should see the 809 and 909 OLED arrive in early summer 2023 for similar prices. We may have to wait until next school year to see 959. OLED, cross your fingers that the price isn’t too steep.
