I think that LG and Samsung could learn a thing or two from Panasonic's new flagship OLED TV

Panasonic's 2025 TV range has been officially unveiled, and I was lucky enough to see the range in all its glory at the company's European HQ in Wiesbaden, Germany. The unveiling involved Panasonic touting its latest AV advancements, with dazzling new OLED TVs taking the spotlight.

The Z95B, which I had already seen in action at CES 2025, was the star of the show. It was literally pirouetting on a revolving stand in the middle of the showroom, and while I was getting increasingly dizzy watching it spin around and around, I had a thought.

Compared to its predecessor, the fantastic Z95A, the Z95B is a thicker and less futuristic-looking TV. This might sound like a bad thing, but in reality, it's far from it. If anything, I think Panasonic has made a smart call that other TV manufacturers could learn from.

Don't get me wrong, the Z95B is a good-looking set in its own right, with a new stylish grey acoustic fabric featured throughout that makes it seem a bit softer and less – dare I say – corporate compared to its predecessor.

However, it forgoes that staple super slim side profile that was featured on the Z95A, alongside many other OLED TVs. That form factor has become a popular way to show off the sleek, modern and high-tech nature of OLED displays, as the self-emissive display assembly allows for super-thin TVs that would once have been considered something made from sci-fi fantasies.

While a chunkier TV might not sound quite as appealing, Panasonic seems to be doing it for the right reasons, which is why I approve of the change; well, the concept at least, as we'll have to get the TV into our dedicated home cinema testing facility to decipher if the changes are evident in our full review.

Panasonic has chosen this design change with sound quality in mind, which makes this a performance-based change rather than just a surface-level design modification. It has reconfigured the Technics-tuned sound system within this TV, with new locations for each of the drivers in the hopes of improving sound quality – and in the short demo I had with the Z95B side-by-side with a Z95A, I could already hear a few benefits.

Thanks to the drivers being physically spaced further apart, the Z95B seemed to sound clearer and a bit more spacious, though further testing is required to see if this truly is the case.

And it's not just sound quality that gets a boost with this new design, as Panasonic's new cooling system is also integrated into the upgraded chassis. It directs air from the bottom of the set to an exhaust vent at the top in one motion, allowing for greater claimed heat dissipation.

This was shown off in a demonstration in which vapour was released into the bottom of the TV and, sure enough, it could be seen exiting the vent at the top. The Z95A, on the other hand, seemed to push the vapour out at the mid point, in which it appeared to recirculate into the TV and up towards the top with less vapour exiting the vent, meaning that (theoretically) less heat was exiting the chassis.

These function-over-form design changes are a step in the right direction, in my opinion, and I would like to see LG and Samsung take note. We've criticised the LG G5 and C5 this year for their middling audio quality, and the Samsung S95D received a similarly lukewarm reaction in the sound department last year too.

Ultimately, the super slim OLED design is a nice feature, but how often do you spend time looking at the side of your TV? If ditching that slimness in favour of better sound and thermal efficiency, then I think that's a worthwhile sacrifice.

MORE:

Read our Panasonic Z95B hands on review

As well as our Panasonic Z90B hands on review

And check out our picks for the best OLED TVs