PHILIPS 55OLED856/12 55inch 4K UHD OLED SMART TV WiFi Dolby Atmos Ambilight

Product Information

Other than the underlying panel technology, Philips' new MiniLED models seem to match their OLED siblings, so it will be fascinating to see which TVs deliver the best overall performance when we test them later in the year. HDMI 2.1 and gaming features Despite those quibbles, the Philips 805 OLED is a worthy successor to last year’s 804. The 24p film motion handling and HDR10 tone-mapping are a big boost, and its video processing has also undergone some positive tweaks. Crucially, overall HDR performance is exceptional, and Dolby Vision content really shines. With superb performance at a supremely competitive price, this is the OLED TV bargain of the year. Gaming wise the input lag was measured in the Game mode at 33ms, which is not quite as fast as its OLED peers and, while most casual gamers will probably never notice that level of lag, if you are the more competitive type you may well notice it. It is certainly an area Philips can improve for future TVs. Memory size (Flash): 16 G, the actual available disc space may differ (dependant on e.g. (pre-)installed apps, installed operating system, etc.) In that time, she has covered the highs and lows across the breadth of consumer tech, and tested everything from smartphones and stereo speakers to robot lawnmowers and electric cars. She has a particular interest in audio and TV, however, which means she has spent a lot of time watching movies and listening to music and passing it off as work.

The Philips PUS8506 aims to please with its easy-to-accommodate design. It’s no huge departure from the design we’ve seen in this range for the past couple of years, meaning it has similarly good and bad points. Unleashed on PS5 and Xbox Series X games as well as a wide range of video sources, the 55OLED806 proves to be a truly outstanding performer. Smart TV is Android TV (version 9) which was fast and stable with a good line-up of apps. We didn’t have any issues with crashes or hanging. We did, however, have issues with the BBC iPlayer where we didn’t have any sound. No matter what we tried we couldn’t fix this issue (it is also the same on the OLED+934). The menu system of the 2019 Philips TVs are complex, expansive and get in the way of the user. We also didn’t like the UI for using the TV's in-built tuner. None of the interfaces are intuitive for users and could do with a redesign to simplify. Sizes:43-inch (43PUS8506), 50-inch (50PUS8506), 58-inch (58PUS8506), 65-inch (65PUS8506), 70-inch (70PUS8506), 75-inch (75PUS8506)Most will be buying smaller than that, but the important thing is that it fits into your room and will be a comfortable size for viewing. Dimensions, weight and color Information about the dimensions and the weight of the specific model with and without stand as well as the colors, in which it is offered to the market. Width Auditioned here in 55in guise (there are also 48in, 65in and – new for this year – 77in options) this is a TV that boasts a lengthy feature list, familiar smarts, a tidy design and, naturally, Philips proprietary Ambilight illumination system (now four-sided, the iteration previously reserved for the company's range-topping tellies). It has serious kerb appeal. What's more, this Philips still records a startlingly high 940 nits (albeit in Vivid mode) on a white 10 per cent HDR window, which is in the same ball park as those aforementioned new high-brightness sets. Crucially, however, the TV only sustains its peak brightness momentarily before dropping to around 770 nits, suggesting that Philips is briefly 'overdriving' highlights to deliver a punchier HDR experience without damaging the panel.

Turning to new video features, at the top of the tree is the fifth-generation of Philips' P5 AI Intelligent Picture Engine. This applies a dizzying roster of separate processing elements to what Philips sees as the five fundamental parts of picture quality: colour, source detection, contrast, sharpness and motion. Unlike some mid-range competitors, the central stand here is made from metal with a brushed matte finish. It swivels 15 degrees on either side to allow you to adjust your viewing angles with ease, which helps with placement. The fact that the stand is located in the centre also makes it easy to accommodate on smaller TV units (though it’s worth noting that the 70-inch and 75-inch models are pictured with a two-feet stand, which will require something larger). Approximate width of the display. If the manufacturer does not provide such information, the width is calculated from the diagonal and the aspect ratio.

Design, Connections and Control

The former of those, as the name suggests, measures ambient light levels and adjusts contrast algorithms to deliver a more 'comfortable' viewing experience in darker rooms. Film Detection, meanwhile, can switch automatically either to the UHD Alliance's ultra-accurate Filmmaker Mode when the appropriate content flag is detected (although no such content seemingly exists), or to Philips' own Home Cinema Mode, which has been concocted to deliver an image that's sort of a mid-point between Filmmaker Mode and the heavily saturated, high-contrast Vivid preset. The 43- to 65-inch models get a T-bar stand for support, with the sizes up to 58-inches getting swivel action. The biggest models in the range switch to feet at either side that can adjusted to narrow or wide configurations. Each of these sets has a plastic enclosure bolted to the rear of its super-slim OLED panel, but Philips’ Ambilight tech, combined with a surprisingly large rear-firing subwoofer, make this enclosure both wider and deeper than that of most rivals. For the time being, the OLED+935 continues through to 2021 with its successor likely coming in the second half of the year. The OLED+935 has the 4th Gen P5 AI processor with its dedicated AI Machine Learn Sharpness function, and improved versions of the AI Smart Bit Enhancement system and Perfect Natural Reality (PNR) function for upscaling sub-4K images and handling motion. Upscaling is well handled on the PUS8506, and HD content watched on Sky is sharp and largely clear of noise. You might spot some creeping in on streamed content, but it’s minimal and doesn’t distract from an otherwise accomplished picture that shares the same qualities as its 4K performance – superb colour handling, excellent detail levels and impactful contrast.

Philips’ video processing tech has also improved and looks cleaner and crisper than on any previous Philips OLED. Upscaling quality for 720p and 1080p content is decent so long as the sharpness controls aren’t dialled up too high – doing so can result in unwanted ringing and visual noise. Note that pixel shifting, an automatic function that reduces the risk of OLED burn-in, still can’t be disabled on the Philips 805. However, the horizontal leeway (the distance that the video frame moves) has been halved so it likely won’t be an issue for most users. As with the 986, it still comes with all the features and modes that Philips can muster this year. That includes HDMI 2.1 ports, HDR10+ Adaptive, four-sided Amblight and the all-new Philips Home Cinema picture preset. Android App offerings vary per country. For more details please visit your local Google Play Store. There’s greater dynamics and punch to the Philips’s sound, and a crispness and clarity that ensures you miss little. The Sony A8’s actuator arrangement ensures that audio and video are better spatially linked, but the OLED805 sounds better than most. VerdictPhilips TV Remote app and related functionalities vary per TV model, operator and country, as well as smart device model and OS. For more details please visit: www.philips.com/TVRemoteapp. The downside of OLED is its potential longevity, as it's an organic material that can decay and it's typically can't reach the peak brightness of LED panels - which means that HDR effects can be greater from a LED-based panel. Google TV is on board as the smart UI, having finally switched over from the less intuitive Android TV, with a simplified menu structure to make it less overwhelming to set up. The OLED856 has a more advanced version of the P5 AI Engine, now onto its 5th incarnation. The new processor has a Film Detection mode for identifying movie content, and boosts its HDR support with the inclusion of the HDR10+ Adaptive format, optimising brightness levels of HDR10+ content in sync with room levels so the viewer can catch more detail and see the impact of HDR at its best.

With the OLED805, Philips has put itself in the running for a top prize in our 2020 Awards. It produces stunningly crisp and detailed pictures from all sources, delivers far more accomplished audio than most rivals, adds awesome Ambilight to the mix, and has a lower price tag than its LG, Sony, Panasonic and Samsung equivalents. We do, and it remains a big strength in Philips’ corner. The three-sided Ambilight here works wonders with TV, movies and games. Don't buy it if... Philips has for a long time used the Android TV platform for its TVs, so it's little surprise that its 2021 models get the most recent 10 version. What is a little surprising, is that there's so far been no mention of Google TV integration. This new UI launched with the latest version of the Google Chromecast and is already confirmed to be coming to Sony's 2021 TVs, so we had expected Philips to announce the same. As with all of the OLED+ sets, the 937 comes with a Bowers & Wilkins sound system attached to the bottom of the set, and also utilises LG's brighter OLED EX panel that we really liked in the OLED+ 907.The interface is clean and easy enough to navigate. It’s not the most intuitive, nor the most clearly laid out but it’s really not the clunky experience that you may have seen before – it’s much smoother and faster than the Android TV of yore. The OLED856/806 also comes with a version of Philips’ anti-burn in technology that detects static logos and reduces the light output to avoid burn in. Where the OLED856 differs from the 806 is its T-bar stand, which will give it a higher profile in a room. In the mean time, at least Philips has combined Android TV with Freeview Play. Together with a fairly impressive selection of streaming apps (there’s no Apple TV, but at least you do get Disney+), you should never be short of something to watch. Twin TV tuners help on that score, too. Bloat is an issue for many OLED TVs. As surely as night follows day, many mainstream sets swell in the area where they keen their electronic hardware – and the OLED806 is no different. To be fair to the Philips, it features a bigger area of OLED super-skinniness than quite a few rivals. But where it isn’t slim, it’s very nearly 7cm deep, which could be problematic if you’re keen to hang it off your wall.