PEAK HOME CINEMA: Philips OLED 959

The pinnacle of Philips’ OLED TV range is a niche statement set with an incredible Bowers Wilkins sound system and all-new Ambilight

- 

The OLED 959 is the very first Philips set to introduce Ambilight Plus the new generation in the company's real-time lighting projection system, which makes images appear as if they're bleeding beyond the screen - plus an upgraded Bowers & Wilkins integrated sound system, and uprated picture processing engine.

This television comes in one size and one size only: a 65-inch model.

That makes sense, as its free-standing nature - the significant stand is included in the box, of course positively demands it be the centrepiece of attention.

However, with the company's OLED 909 a largely similar viewing experience albeit with four-sided Ambilight (the now 'previous-gen' version) - the free-standing nature of the OLED 959 will simply rule it out of the practicality books for most people. And, as we'll get to, that new Ambilight system isn't going to be to everyone's tastes either...

Feature-wise, the general overview is otherwise an echo of 2024's OLED 909, with which it shares a panel: two of the four HDMI ports are the 2.1 standard, with port number two being the HDMI ARC slot not that with this kind of integrated sound system you're likely to ever want an additional soundbar via eARC - and support for 4K at 144Hz (a step up over the usual 120Hz, which PC gamers may appreciate).

The OLED 959 is an upgrade to Philips' older sets in many ways. Its Meta 2.0 OLED panel - that being 'MLA' (Micro Lens Array, complete with heat sink) - is the super-bright type that you'll also see in the Panasonic Z95A and some other competitors. Philips has the uprated 8th Gen P5 Dual Engine AI Processor here, though, which has even more processing potential compared to the OLED 909.

Weight of design