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Need-to-knows
- New ANC H800E headphones at a mid-range level with graphene-coated drivers
- Suite of OLED+ Ambilight TVs also revealed including budget-friendly MLED models
- Soundbars also unveiled to match the TVs
Philips just released a bunch of new products at the TP Live event in Barcelona. From OLED+ Ambilight televisions to some pretty swish-looking soundbars, there is a lot to unpack. We’ve picked out the most interesting announcements and summarised them here for you.
Amongst all of the products were the H8000E headphones which are Philips’ new mid-range ANC cans that look set to offer some great value for money if the promises are all present and correct upon release.
H8000E headphones
Straight in with those headphones then. The first thing to note is that the H8000Es aren’t a studio-grade, high-end headphones. Instead, these are Philips’ new mid-range offerings which makes them instantly more interesting in my opinion.
It’s always fun to see how much value these companies can cram into their devices at lower prices.
The H8000E headphones are wireless, over-ear devices with adaptive Adaptive Noise Cancellation (ANC). Inside, there are some sizeable graphene-coated 40mm drivers that allow for high-resolution playback and Spatial Audio functionality.
Graphene-coated drivers are not that easy to come by in mid-range devices so it’s a good bit of value thrown in. If you didn’t know, graphene is a super thin material that reduces audio distortion and improves battery efficiency.
There are five mics on the H8000E headphones; two for calls, and four to support the ANC capability. You can select from five levels of ANC strength in the Philips Headphones app.
Beyond that, Philips claims these cans have 70 hours of playback time with ANC turned off which is very impressive if true. A lot of more expensive headphones like the Bose QC 45 only have around 20-30 hours of battery life, so 70 hours would be huge. A quick charge of 10 minutes gives you eight hours of playback time.
Something that really caught my eye was the ability to easily replace internal batteries to extend the lifespan of the H800E headphones. Something we need much more of in the world of tech!
OLED+ Ambilight TVs
Philips also unveiled a bunch of new TVs at their event in Barcelona. Here’s a brief rundown of all the models, all of which have Ambilight technology included (more on that later):
• OLED+950 launching in September in 65” and 77” screen sizes and is Philips’ premium performer. New 9th Gen P5 AI Dual Engine processor with META Technology 3 OLED panel.
• OLED+910 available in June in 55”, 65” and 77” screen sizes and features 9th Gen P5 AI processing, META Technology 3 OLED panel and a Bowers & Wilkins 3.1 sound system.
• OLED810 – launching in June 2025, comes in 42”, 48”, 55”,65” and 77” screen sizes featuring 9th Gen P5 AI processing, new higher-output OLED_EX panels.
• OLED760 – launching in May in 48”, 55”, 65” and 77” screen sizes featuring 7th Gen P5 AI processing, improved OLED_EX panels and the updated Titan OS.
• MLED950 – high-performance, Mini-LED model to be launched in September in 65” and 75” screen sizes. 7th Gen P5 AI processing and a 4.1 sound system with the updated Titan OS.
• MLED910 – mid-range Mini-LED set launching in May in 55”, 65”, 75” and 85” screen sizes featuring P5 processing and Titan OS.
• PUS9000 ‘The One’ premium DLED TV available in April in 43” 50” 55”, 65” 75” and 85” versions featuring P5 processing and the updated Titan OS.
Now, there are a lot of words and numbers there. OLED stands for Organic Light-Emitting Diode and is currently the premier technology in displays and monitors. If you want the best colour representation, then you need an OLED TV. MLED stands for Micro Light Emitting Diode and is a more standard technology that comes in at a lower price.
Ambilight is Philips’ own technology developed in-house. As a simple explanation, Ambilight uses LEDs on the rear of the TV to project light onto the wall behind it. This is intended to give an immersive viewing experience as the lights respond to what is happening on the TV to create a relevant ambient mood.
It’s a nifty addition that makes watching a movie, or especially playing a game, feel more special and cinematic than a normal TV. I’m particularly interested in the OLED+910 model purely because of the integrated Bowers & Wilkins sound system. If you’ve ever used their audio stuff before then you’ll know how excellent B&W is, so a TV with that quality built-in is really exciting.
Sound Bars
Lastly, the sound bars. Philips unveiled three new sound bar setups: the B6100, B8200 and B8500.
Out of these, the B8500 looks the most interesting. It is a full-width soundbar that is designed to fit neatly within the central stands of Philips TVs. It is only 65mm tall which means you won’t have anything blocking your screen.
The main drivers are 2.25” whilst those in the side-firing channels are 2”. Each of the main drivers receives 30W of power. Of course, the 8500 is compatible with Dolby Atmos and has 4K 120Hz pass-through.
In all, it’s a very capable sound system that goes nicely with the Philips TVs. Oh, and they look very swish too with added LED lights to mirror the Ambilight stuff.
