It’s been a rollercoaster ride in the world of OLED TVs in 2024, and we’ve only just reached the halfway point of the year. We’ve seen big news from LG, Samsung and Sony, with many already taking their place among the best TVs. But there was also some surprising and unfortunately unwelcome news regarding what we expected to be some of the best OLED TVs around.
Keeping up with the latest OLED TV news can be difficult, so we’ve compiled a list of all the major releases and reviews from the past six months. This list follows along with our thoughts on OLED technology as it aims to maintain its place as arguably the most popular TV choice.
The largest OLED TV launched in 2024
The Samsung S95D is one of the flagship OLED TVs of 2024. Samsung’s flagship QD-OLED (a combination of brightness-enhancing QLED technology with a contrast-rich OLED panel) has taken over what made its predecessor the Samsung S95C great – a stunning picture. , unbeatable gaming performance – but adds the company’s new OLED Glare Free technology, which eliminates reflections. It performed incredibly well during our testing, and the S95D earned every bit of its five-star review from us.
Next up is the LG C4. The C4’s predecessor, the LG C3, was a bit of a disappointment in 2023 as it didn’t improve significantly on the fantastic LG C2 apart from a slight increase in brightness. Fortunately, the C4 changed that, surpassing 1,000 nits of brightness, improving HDR work and introducing a 144Hz refresh rate, making its 42-inch model ideal for PC gaming. It’s one of the strongest OLED TVs of 2024 so far and will offer stiff competition in the mid-range.
The LG B3 was my personal dark horse OLED TV in 2023, so when LG unveiled its 2024 OLED TV lineup, I was drawn to a few key specs for the new LG B4 lineup: a new 48-inch model, four HDMI 2.1 ports and LG’s new Alpha 8 AI processor, which LG says will mimic the performance of the LG C3. This pretty much ticks all the boxes, and while we haven’t fully tested it yet, the B4 is my most anticipated OLED TV of 2024.
And we haven’t forgotten the LG G4, one of LG’s OLED flagships for 2024. From what we saw at CES 2024, it offers a significant increase in brightness over its predecessor, the LG G3, and features a 144Hz refresh rate and a new Dolby Vision Filmmaker Mode (available on most LG 2024 TVs). It certainly looked as impressive as expected and we’re looking forward to trying it out, even if it doesn’t quite capture our imaginations like the C4 and B4.
One of the biggest TV stories of 2024 was Sony’s decision to abandon OLED as the panel technology for its 2024 flagship TV, the Bravia 9, in favor of mini-LED instead. One of the main reasons is the company’s new BVM-HX3110 professional monitor, which can be used to control movies with up to 4,000 nits of brightness – something Sony says is only possible with mini-LEDs. His decision paid off, as we were duly impressed in our review of the Bravia 9 with its brightness, refined local dimming and OLED-quality black levels and contrast. But Sony OLED fans needn’t worry, as its 2024 TV line-up includes the new Bravia 8 OLED (the successor to the Sony A80L). The Sony A95L QD-OLED will also continue to be available.
Unfortunately, it’s not all good news for OLED in 2024. The Samsung S90D, TechRadar TV’s eagerly anticipated successor to the Samsung S90C in 2023, has proven controversial due to reports of a “panel lottery,” something Samsung doesn’t have. t denied. The panel lottery means you can pay QD-OLED-level prices but end up with a TV with either a QD-OLED or a standard “W-OLED” panel. Samsung has confirmed that the 42-inch and 48-inch S90D models only come with a W-OLED panel.
More OLED TVs to look forward to in 2024
While every major OLED brand has revealed their TV lineups for this year, models from Panasonic, Philips and Loewe that aren’t available in the US have yet to be announced. We haven’t had a chance to fully test any of these TVs, but we’ve already seen some of them in action.
Panasonic’s 2024 TV lineup includes a total of five OLED models. The new flagship Panasonic Z95A follows on from the phenomenal Panasonic MZ2000 from 2023, one of the best TVs for sound. It will still come with an MLA panel, but promises even higher brightness and a 144Hz refresh rate for gaming. The Panasonic OLED (and all its TVs) will come with the Amazon Fire TV smart TV platform, which will replace my rather slow Screen8.0, which I found to be the MZ2000’s biggest drawback when I reviewed it. The Z90A, one of my three most anticipated Panasonic TVs of 2024, will also include an external “soundbar” in its smaller 42-inch model. Could it finally be a 42-inch OLED rival to the LG C4?
Philips’ popular 2023 range of Ambilight TVs, including the brilliant Philips OLED808 and Philips OLED908, which made me feel like a kid at Christmas when I tested them, are hard to follow. But when Philips announced its 2024 TV line-up, it made headlines by saying its flagship OLED+959 and OLED+909 would be the first OLED TVs to reach 3,000 nits – a brightness level rivaling mini-LEDs televisions. They will also feature 144Hz gaming and 5.1.2ch and 3.1ch speaker systems in the OLED+959 and OLED+90 respectively, in an effort to rival the built-in audio prowess of Panasonic and Sony TVs.
Finally, Loewe, whose TVs are as much about design as performance, is about to release its OLED dr+ range (some of which are available now). These are panels owned by Loewe with glass supplied by LG. Loewe will also launch its Stellar OLED range, which will cost significantly more than the LG G4 OLED TV, but will have a concrete back and a massive 200W sound system.