When it comes to the best OLED TVs, I'm a big fan of TP Vision-owned Philips TVs and their Ambilight technology - which illuminates beyond the screen's edges onto surrounding walls in real-time - such as the top-of-the-line OLED+937 model and its huge built-in soundsystem.
While that model isn't getting knocked off its top spot this year (I'm predicting a replacement model in a 2024 update), the also-excellent OLED+908 with its built-in Bowers & Wilkins soundsystem and LG G3-rivalling Micro Lens Array (MLA) panel, plus the step-down OLED+808 models have just had their UK pricing revealed.
The OLED+808 series had been announced earlier but had been delayed from its original August 2023 release date owed to a pending agreement to have Freeview Play on the Google TV platform. With that absent for the new launch date, which is now set for October, there will be a future update to follow. The OLED+909 series, meanwhile, will launch in the same month of October - the assumption being just weeks apart - also on the Google TV platform.
Philips OLED 808 UK pricing:
- 42-inch Philips 42OLED808: £1400
- 48-inch Philips 48OLED808: £1600
- 55-inch Philips 55OLED808: £1800
- 65-inch Philips 65OLED808: £2100
- 77-inch: Philips 77OLED808 £3800
Philips OLED 908 UK pricing:
- 55-inch Philips 55OLED908: £2999
- 65-inch Philips 65OLED908: £3499
- 77-inch Philips 77OLED908: £4999
Above I've listed the Philips OLED+808 and OLED+908 sizes and retail prices for their respective launch dates in the UK. Do note, however, that TP Vision has a strong history of discounting its sets for the best Black Friday sales, so you may contemplate biding your time, adding four to six weeks onto your purchase plan and hoping that there's a welcome discount come mid-to-late November.
Waiting might be a great shout, too, as the OLED+908 sounds like it's in the run for being one of the best TVs of 2023 (and 2024, really) given that MLA panel. I've already reviewed the Panasonic MZ2000, for example, which is a clear contender at this price, but that lacks the unique prospect of Ambilight which makes the Philips proposition all the more dynamic and fun.
I'm yet to review the new Philips OLED TVs by treating them as my own sets at home in the living room, too, but that will happen in the near future and - based on my time previewing the sets at a European launch event in Barcelona, Spain in mid-September - I'm already mighty impressed with what I've seen. The future is Ambilight plus a brighter panel - and that can only be exciting.
