Panasonic Came Back For Tv Glory At Ces 2025

Panasonic returned to nan US TV marketplace past year, and only a matter of months later, I’ve convinced myself that its latest flagship OLED is nan champion TV of CES 2025. It’s an awesome resurgence for a marque that galore location theatre enthusiasts retrieve for producing superb plasma sets backmost erstwhile those represented nan crème de la crème of show exertion for nan surviving room. After a agelong hiatus, Panasonic is backmost successful nan crippled and squaring disconnected pinch Sony, LG, and Samsung successful nan very premium (and very pricey) TV category.

The company’s caller OLED, nan Z95B, will recreation successful 3 sizes: 55 inches, 65 inches, and 77 inches. It uses nan latest and apical OLED expanse from LG Display, which is simply a caller four-layer tandem building that thumps retired nan brightness of past year’s LG G4 moreover without nan micro-lens array exertion that squeezed arsenic overmuch brightness arsenic imaginable retired of that TV. Last year’s Z95A from Panasonic too utilized MLA, but nan caller onslaught gets amended results and is cheaper to produce.

So nan expanse is apical tier and should beryllium a formidable replacement to nan QD-OLED show utilized successful Samsung’s respective 2025 flagship, nan S95F. OLED TVs conscionable support getting brighter, overmuch vivid, and dazzling — and consumers really can’t spell incorrect pinch immoderate of them. The Panasonic stopped maine successful my tracks connected nan show level and looked phenomenal. I couldn’t thief but look astatine it for respective minutes. The Z95B too offers support for gaming astatine up to 144Hz, truthful it’s a beardown contender location arsenic well, though immoderate LG and Samsung stepped it up to 165Hz this year.

Another constituent that sets nan Panasonic isolated is its built-in Dolby Atmos speaker array. The drivers and sound capacity personification been tuned by Technics, pinch a badge that advertises arsenic much. I really excavation nan cloth sides of this TV; it’s a prestigious measurement of concealing nan side-firing and upward-firing speakers.

Yes, that audio hardware results successful this being a dense group by 2025 standards — peculiarly for an OLED. Panasonic didn’t clasp backmost successful making nan Z95B a hulking beast of a TV. But nan bully news is that galore group won’t petition to fuss pinch a abstracted soundbar since this strategy will (likely) sound truthful good. As noted by nan fantabulous Caleb Denison astatine Digital Trends, nan institution has too reworked nan TV’s cooling strategy pinch a caller powerfulness dissipation method that should thief support that four-layer OLED expanse successful tip-top style complete nan agelong term.

But location is 1 glaring dilemma pinch Panasonic TVs: they tally Amazon’s Fire TV OS. That’s alternatively unfortunate. It’s my slightest favourite TV level among nan pack, and I’d logic Amazon has crossed nan connection erstwhile it comes to pushing ads connected customers — moreover if nan astir egregious examples tin beryllium abnormal successful settings. Fire TV has immoderate bully ideas coming and there; nan ambient mode widgets are point Google has taken connection of. But I really dream that Panos Panay and nan Fire TV squad return a sledgehammer to this package and recreation backmost pinch point overmuch sleeker, overmuch intuitive, and worthy of a TV that’s definite to beryllium very costly if nan Z95A is point to spell by.

Even so, I cognize plentifulness of group who mostly disregard their TV’s default package and usage an Apple TV, Nvidia Shield, aliases immoderate different streaming subordinate arsenic their preferred intermezo interface. With Samsung and LG immoderate being very fierce pinch nan AI gimmicks this year, I expect seeing moreover overmuch of that. The LG G5 will characteristic an LLM-powered chatbot, has an AI fastener connected its remote, and moreover ships pinch Microsoft Copilot built in. It’s getting to beryllium a mini much, no?

To me, nan “best TV” of CES comes down to what benignant of location theatre acquisition it will provide. And Panasonic is already doing an awesome business keeping gait pinch Sony erstwhile it comes to delivering a surviving room centerpiece that nails immoderate image and sound. I wish nan Z95B (and nan company’s 2025 Mini LED TVs) ran, well, immoderate different TV operating system. But I don’t deliberation Fire TV OS is bad tin to descend this high-end set. If you disagree, astatine slightest it’s comparatively easy to conscionable usage point different astir of nan time.

I can’t clasp to locomotion overmuch clip pinch nan Z95B erstwhile it starts shipping later this year. More title benefits everyone who’s connected nan lookout for a caller TV. Companies for illustration TCL and Hisense personification done a awesome business mounting caller expectations of what you tin get for nether $1,500. And now Panasonic’s return is showing america what’s imaginable for those pinch nan intends to splurge connected their adjacent ample upgrade.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge