Featuring a powerful TV chip and four-sided Ambilight
(Image credit: Philips)
Not one to be left behind, Philips has introduced its own range of Mini LED TVs for 2021.
The Philips 9000 series consists of two distinct lines, the 9639, where each Mini LED TV is fitted with an integrated Bowers & Wilkins soundbar, and the 9506 which is more of a traditional range with normal built-in speakers.
Both lines are available in either 65in or 75in screen sizes and use Philips's very latest TV chip, the fifth generation P5 processor. They both also feature four-sided Ambilight technology.
They're designed to offer close to the top-end picture quality of Philips's OLED TVs (its 2021 OLED models have also been unveiled) but at a more affordable price point. Their Mini LED-backed VA panels are split into an impressive-sounding 1000 dimming zones with the 9506 boasting a 1500 nit panel and the 9639 elevating peak brightness to 2000 nits.
As ever, Philips is agnostic about HDR support, meaning that customers can benefit from both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ given compatible disc and streamed source material. Also included is HDR10+ Adaptive which combines real-time ambient light information with the HDR10+ metadata to optimise screen brightness on a scene-by-scene basis.
The 9000 series TVs also support a number of HDMI 2.1 features on certain inputs, including eARC, ALLM and VRR for 4K content from 40Hz to 120Hz.
Gamers will also appreciate the AMD FreeSync Premium Pro anti-tearing compatibility. Philips is claiming a lag time of less than 18ms, which is apparently quicker than the blink of an eye.
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(Image credit: Philips)
Both TVs come with an Android TV 10 OS which includes Google Assistant built-in, as well as compatibility for Amazon Alexa. They're also compatible with the DTS Play-Fi
multi-room platform.
As we've already touched upon, one of the key differences between the two lines is the 3.1.2 Bowers & Wilkins sound system. Like the Philips OLED+935 from its 2020 range, the soundbar on the 9639 combines Dolby Atmos height speakers with B&W's isolated tweeters and Tweeter-on-Top technology.
Philips's Mini LED launch will start with the 9506 series, which is set to arrive in stores in June 2021.
Dan is a staff writer at What Hi-Fi? and his job is with product reviews as well as news, feature and advice articles too. He works across both the hi-fi and AV parts of the site and magazine and has a particular interest in home cinema. Dan joined What Hi-Fi? in 2019 and has worked in tech journalism for over a decade, writing for Tech Digest, Pocket-lint, MSN Tech and Wareable as well as freelancing for T3, Metro and the Independent. Dan has a keen interest in playing and watching football. He has also written about it for the Observer and FourFourTwo and ghost authored John Toshack's autobiography, Toshack's Way.
