It’s that time of the year when Trusted Reviews rolls its sleeves and starts testing TVs. Starting from April, it’s usually the time when TVs roll off the production line and into test rooms for a closer look.
Samsung’s flagship models have already been looked at, while I have started to look at LG’s G-series OLED (with the C-series coming soon). Sony has announced a couple of its lower-tier sets, while I’ve also started testing at Hisense’s RGB Mini LED screens, and hopefully TCL’s new models will follow suit later in May.
But there are two brands I haven’t yet covered. One is Panasonic, which I suspect will enter the market later in the year after the seismic changes that have been made with its TV and home cinema division. The other is Phillips, who announced forthcoming sets back in February, but it’s been whisper-quiet on any review samples.
Phillips tends to launch its TVs in waves, but I do wonder whether it’s leaving out of sync with other launches.
Out of sync
Every TV brand has its launch cycle. Sony tends to be in 18-month cycles (sometimes even two years for its more premium TVs), LG, Samsung, Hisense and TCL are yearly, Panasonic appears to be moving to a different, longer cycle.
Philips launches flagship TVs almost every six months to eight months.
This can get confusing, as by the time I’ve received a review sample for one telly, it’s almost time for the other to go on sale. From my perspective, this can be hard to ingest, especially when it comes to reviewing, as there’s always another model on the horizon; a TV that’s likely to be better specc’d and offer better performance.
But the current TV is likely to have come down in price and offer better value. How do you judge it? In the end, the TV has to be judged on its own merits and now in light of what’s coming down the line.
I think the Philips OLED+910 is an absolute cracker of a TV. The picture quality, aside from a few problems, is one of the best I’ve seen from an OLED in recent years; while the sound quality trounces that of LG and Samsung, and it does so fat a price that’s less expensive than most of its rivals.
But do you stick and go for the OLED+910, or decide to wait for the OLED+911 that’s set to launch in June? Philips is very consistent in terms of quality – it’s rarely delivered a stinker of an OLED TV – but launching these premium TVs on a six-month cycle has to cause them some pain. You can get the OLED+910 but if you find out that the OLED+911 is even better (and costs similar), would that lead to a sense of buyer’s remorse?
The quality of the TVs themselves may lead to people simply being satisfied with their purchase, but perhaps it’s not really how often Philips updates its premium models that’s the problem; it’s a case of when they launch that’s the biggest issue.
Overshadowed by other TV brands
By now, LG and Samsung TVs will be available in stores, while Sony seems to have put some effort into getting most of its TVs into stores around the same time. Hisense and TCL will soon be available if not already available online and in stores, and this leaves Philips at a disadvantage because obviously, it’s launching later than others.
Some will have already planned their purchases and made them. If you’re waiting on reviews, it could be some time before they’re published, as I’ve found that it does take some time for Philips to get their ducks in a row and distribute review samples. We could potentially be looking at September for reviews, by which time, that’s a long time if you’re itching to purchase a new TV.
It doesn’t help that other manufacturers will be lowering their prices (in fact, that doesn’t help them either), but at least it gives them a competitive advantage because if you have been waiting for a price for an LG or Samsung OLED, you’re likely to be more eager to get it once the price has dropped. Philip takes the approach of undercutting the likes of LG, Samsung and Sony, but in some cases that undercut isn’t as strong once prices have gone down across the board.
It also means that Philips isn’t really involved in the discussion when it comes to new developments in TV technology. The innovations it drives tend to be lost among the marketing campaigns of others. Conceivably, if they launched at the same time, that could still be a problem – but rather than being separate from these announcements, it’d be grouped as part of the whole.
Right now Philips feels like an island off to the side, while there’s a continent of stuff happening elsewhere that’s casting a shadow over Philips.
An ace up its sleeve?
Philips will be launching with a feature that others seem to be skipping, and that is Dolby Vision 2 HDR.
Samsung doesn’t support Dolby Vision and came up with its own rival in HDR10+ Advanced. LG isn’t supporting it, and Sony hasn’t announced anything as of yet, and neither has Panasonic, leaving Chinese brands such as Hisense and TCL with the field to themselves. Philips is the only European TV brand to announce its interest in Dolby’s new HDR format.
But how much of an ace will it be if there’s nothing in Dolby Vision 2 to watch? Dolby has said that it can upscale original Dolby Vision content in some ways, but some upgrades are locked to Dolby Vision 2.
There’s still no word on when it will launch other than later in 2026 (which might suit Philips’ release dates more) but perhaps with the launch of the HDR format, that’s a conversation that Philips can be a part of and drive.
But who’s to say whether the addition of Dolby Vision 2 will drive people’s interest and sales? It may take time for the format to find its groove and appeal.
Philips isn’t likely to change its approach anytime, but one wonders whether it should. A new TV season generates interest and discussion, and Philips being a part of it rather than away is a positive. That the brand would be compared with others and featured in round-ups should only strengthen the brand rather than weaken it. Its flagship TVs are more than a match for the likes of Samsung and LG – why not take them on in a head-to-head?
I reckon Philips would triumph more often than people might think. But in order for that to happen, that release schedule needs some more finesse.
