Philips' next-gen Ambilight TV goes on sale this month – for a price that may surprise

Once upon a time, specialist TVs would launch at price points so wildly out of reach that they remained a niche prospect. But Philips' next-gen Ambilight Plus TV, the Philips OLED 959, is actually priced competitively for one of the best OLED TVs that doesn't require one of the best soundbars purchased separately. 

That's because the Philips OLED 959 wraps together the most up-to-date OLED panel – a Micro Lens Array ('MLA') Meta 2 panel – for the brightest picture quality, paired with astonishing sound from its Bowers & Wilkins partnership and integrated sound system, and is the first to feature Philips' Ambilight Plus system too. 

I got to experience the now ready-for-market Philips OLED 959 TV – having seen it earlier this year with Ambilight Plus in a less final state – and think its £3999 cover price (it's not available in the USA) is reasonable in context. After all, a 65-inch Sony Bravia 9, for example, is £3000 alone – and an additional soundbar in the high-end range will set you back a further £1000 or more. 

In a similar way to the Philips OLED 909, which I recently reviewed (and can be seen pictured above next to its bigger brother), Philips is one of the only TV makers that can deliver a full sound and vision package in one. 

The OLED 959, however, steps up in the sound department – although it drops the 'floating' soundbar-like styling of the earlier OLED 986 model – for an integrated design that's freestanding and doesn't require additional A/V furniture. Bowers & Wilkins handles the acoustic design and, in a single word, I can confirm it sounds nothing short of 'stunning'.

Picture quality gets a boost, too, with the brightest panel that Philips offers (3000nits peak), plus a dual processing engine (one P5AI Advanced and one P5AI chip) that's able to eke more sharpness out of picture processing while negating jugger in fast-moving images to an improved degree. I've seen the sets side-by-side and it's clear the OLED 959 is a step up. 

I'm not saying that £3999 is small change for a 65-inch TV. But if you're looking at buying a standalone set that looks and sounds incredible – the upgraded Ambilight Plus system is fascinating too – as a living room centrepiece, there's little else out there which can compete. It'll go on sale in the UK from mid-October, exclusively via Richer Sounds.