Philips 65OLED806

This is a tough one, but perhaps that’s to be expected. These are three of the best names in the TV manufacturing business, and we’re looking at their flagship or near-flagship models – it’s little wonder that they’re all excellent.

The headline fight, on account of their long-standing rivalry and modern dominance of the global TV market, is Samsung versus LG, and we’re going to bottle it here and not proclaim a winner or loser between the two. Simply put, these TV sets are both brilliant, but in entirely different ways.

The Samsung QE65QN95A uses its new Mini LED backlight to great effect. Not only does the TV go far brighter than either of the

OLED models on test here (and every other OLED TV in existence, for that matter), its close control of contrast also allows it to go almost as black as an OLED. Add superbly vibrant colours and crisp definition, and you’ve got a thrilling picture performance. The QN95A has a great feature set, too, with the redesigned One Connect solution proving not just neat and elegant, but also adding four HDMI 2.1 sockets for next-gen gaming. The operating system is brilliant, too, both in terms of usability and app selection.

The only flies in the ointment are a lack of Dolby Vision and a slight reticence with very bright objects in otherwise black images. It’s currently a little more expensive than its rivals here, too, although those who want Samsung’s flagship picture performance at a slightly lower price can opt for the QN94A, which does without the QN95A’S One Connect box (and three of its HDMI 2.1 sockets).

The OLED65C1 might not be a big step up over 2020’s CX, but it didn’t really need to be. LG has taken the awesome performance of last year’s model and slightly improved the motion processing, made the upscaling even better, and added extra punch to non-hdr content. All told, the picture quality is superb, and the feature set is near-perfect, thanks to spec highlights such as Dolby Vision support and four HDMI 2.1 sockets that can handle all next-gen gaming formats and features.

The only issue for the LG is that it forces you to choose between audio that’s spacious or punchy – you can’t have both. That said, none of the

TVS here boasts amazing sound and all should be partnered by a discrete sound system if at all possible.

While LG and Samsung duke it out, Philips has quietly gone about its business and taken the top spot here. The OLED806 is the punchiest, sharpest and most vibrant OLED we’ve tested and, assuming you don’t mind putting a little effort into tweaking the picture settings, it combines that with impressive realism. Motion is much improved for this year, too, and the presence of two feature-packed HDMI 2.1 sockets means gamers need no longer think twice before buying.

Ambilight, meanwhile, continues to be an absolute delight, and support for both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ means this is the only TV here that has all HDR bases covered.

Without a doubt, these are all great TVS and you can’t go wrong by buying any of them. The best of the best, though, and the winner of our group test, is the Philips 65OLED806.

”The Philips is the punchiest, sharpest and most vibrant OLED we’ve tested… and it combines that with impressive realism”