Ambilight returns to OLED as Philips announces 2017 lineup of TVs

Following hot on the heels of the company's first OLED TV, the Philips 901F, the company has announced its new flagship, the Philips OLED 9002. 

The set is equipped with Philips' trademark Ambilight technology, which illuminates the wall behind the set to create a more immersive viewing experience. 

The set is also packing Philips' new P5 chipset, which the company claims offers a 50% performance improvement over its last-generation Perfect Pixel HD technology. The P5 system condenses last year's three chips into just one, which Philips claims offers a significant improvement in picture quality.

Improved standing

Other changes to the previous OLED model include a redesigned stand, which reduces the set's footprint and makes it easier to mount on a narrow cabinet. 

The set doesn't feature the previous model's front-facing speaker, an omission which a spokesperson implied could result in a lower price, although pricing has yet to be confirmed.

While it hasn't been officially granted the certification yet, Philips is submitting the set to be UHD Premium-certified. With the 901F having met the requirements for the specification, Philips is confident the new set will do likewise. 

The 9002 will be the only one of Philips' new sets to be UHD Premium-certified; its other sets don't meet the peak nit brightness required by the standard. 

Alongside the new set, which was unveiled at a launch event in Madrid, Philips also announced the rest of its 2017 range, which includes the 4000, 5000, 6000 and 7000 series.

The rest of the range

Four other sets were shown off in detail. From the 7000 series we saw the 7502, and from the 6000 series the 6482, 6412 and 6402 models. 

The 7502 (to be available in 49-inch, 55-inch and 65-inch versions) features Philips' new P5 processing chip and a front-facing soundbar with 45W of output. It's running Android TV version M 6.0.1, and supports Netflix with full HDR (HDR10) support. HLG is also supported as an HDR standard. 

Less impressive, however, is the set's use of an IPS panel rather than a more premium VA panel, and a peak brightness output of just 400 nits, which is far short of the 1000 nits required for UHD Premium certification. 

Moving down to the 6482 we still have the front-facing soundbar, but the set loses the P5 chip in favor of the existing Pixel Plus Ultra HD chipset. This set will be available in 49-inch and 55-inch versions. 

The 6412, meanwhile, drops the peak nit brightness from 400 to 350, while its Ambilight system covers just two sides rather than three. It also lacks the redesigned remote the comes with the more premium models, featuring last year's remote instead. 

Finally the 6402 is the Full HD model, for anyone who's less concerned about keeping up with the 4K bandwagon. 

We're looking forward to seeing how these sets perform when we get them in for full testing.

  • For our picks of the top TVs out there right now, check out our guide to the best 4K TVs.
Jon Porter

Jon Porter is the ex-Home Technology Writer for TechRadar. He has also previously written for Practical Photoshop, Trusted Reviews, Inside Higher Ed, Al Bawaba, Gizmodo UK, Genetic Literacy Project, Via Satellite, Real Homes and Plant Services Magazine, and you can now find him writing for The Verge.

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