Panasonic has been a consistent source of top-notch OLED TVs lately, especially its flagship models. The TX-LZ2000, TX-MZ2000, and Z95A (TV-65Z95A) scored Panasonic a hat-trick of five-star reviews, so expectations are expectantly high for the Japanese tech giant's next OLED set. Luckily for you, we have already seen the company's latest OLED TV in action at CES 2025.
To say the Z95B is picking up where the Z95A left off would be a disservice; this appears to be a totally new TV. A refreshed design, new OLED-panel technology, upgraded speaker system, and new processor means that, aside from Panasonic's prestigious picture tuning, this TV is a fresh entry into the aforementioned lineup of excellent-yet-samey sets.
With all this in mind, it should come as no surprise that the Z95B has shot to the top of our most anticipated TVs list for 2025, and a strong first impression has helped it achieve this position. As we always do with these hands-on reviews, we need to remind you that these are not our final thoughts, as the Las Vegas Convention Centre show floor and a dark (yet rather stylish) bar are not the ideal places to test a TV.
Still, this is where we saw the Z95B in action, so here's what we think so far.
Price
Pricing for the Z95B is yet to be confirmed, but taking a look at the 65-inch Z95A might give us an idea of what to expect. That TV launched at £3899 / $3200; compared with competitors such as LG G4 (£3299 / $3299), Samsung S95D (£3599 / $3400), and Philips OLED909 (£3499), we can see that it was one of the most expensive flagship OLED in the UK to be released last year – yet it managed to undercut practically all of the competition in the US.
We would like to see Panasonic drop the price to align better with the competition here in the UK, though that might be wishful thinking. If we're being more realistic, we expect to see another premium OLED with an equally premium price attached.
Build
We have seen the Z95B in all three of its available sizes; 55-, 65- and 77-inches. Instead of recycling the design found on the LZ2000, MZ2000 and Z95A for a fourth year, Panasonic has opted for a fresh design with a few familiar aspects. The circular base with rotation function returns, as does the soundbar below the screen, albeit with the central Panasonic branding shifted from the middle to the bottom left corner, and a stylish new grey acoustic fabric covering the front-facing speaker bar.
The TV is also thicker than its predecessors, forgoing the ultra-slim side profile we see on many TVs in favour of a more uniform width throughout. This means the box-out that housed the upward and side-firing speakers on the previous generations of this TV is no more.
This new design has been partly inspired by a new cooling system, which moves and displaces hot air through the chassis and out of dedicated exhausts on the top and bottom of the device. Panasonic is calling this ThermalFlow, and it reportedly allows the company to push the OLED panel to new heights thanks to improved thermal efficiency.
Overall, we are pleased to see Panasonic opt for a design refresh on this set, especially now that we're in the new era of Z-series OLED TVs from the brand. It has pushed Panasonic's form-over-function ethos further than before, but in our opinion, the TV manages to look slick and premium while remaining functional and feature-packed.
Features
The biggest news regarding the Z95B's feature set is that it uses a new OLED-panel technology, which Panasonic is calling the Primary RBG Tandem Panel. This is LG Display's latest panel architecture that replaces the short-lived Micro Lens Array (MLA) panels, and it can also be found on the LG G5 OLED TV. This new display system stacks four OLED layers on top of each other to achieve much higher brightness than what MLA can manage.
An exact brightness figure hasn't been shared as of yet, but in Panasonic's words, this new display can deliver "unprecedented brightness, high contrast, and exceptional colour volume". That boost in brightness is attributed to the new cooling system, which allows Panasonic to push the panel's capabilities further without the risk of damage or burn-in thanks to the enhanced thermal efficiency. It's also a 165Hz panel, up from 144Hz on the Z95A, which is good news for PC gamers and mostly irrelevant for console gamers.
Speaking of gaming, the Panasonic Z95B is once again burdened by a frustrating limitation in the HDMI department. Sporting just two HDMI 2.1 sockets (one of which is HDMI eARC), the Z95B seems to be using MediaTek's Pentonic 1000 chipset yet again, so those with more than one current-generation console and a sound system will need to make sacrifices. However, the Z95B supports the latest gaming features including VRR, ALLM and Dolby Vision Gaming, so it's not all bad news here.
The Z95B supports a wide range of HDR formats too. Unlike Samsung and LG which will only support HDR10+ or Dolby Vision HDR respectively, Panasonic remains format agnostic, meaning it supports HDR10, HLG, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. Furthermore, the Z95B features Dolby Atmos audio via its built-in Technics-tuned speaker system and supported HDMI eARC devices.
Finally, Panasonic has imbued the Z95B with the power of its latest HCX Pro AI Processor MK II processor, which supports the 4K Remaster Engine. Panasonic claims that, through AI picture processing, this feature will enhance detail levels and reduce noise on streamed content. Speaking of streaming, the Z95B is the second generation of Panasonic TVs to use Amazon's Fire TV platform which, while slightly divisive, features robust support for a wide range of international and local streaming apps.
Picture
Here is where we must remind you that these are not our conclusive thoughts on the Z95B; we'll publish those once we have the TV in our dedicated TV testing facility. Picture-testing conditions were especially tricky in regards to the Z95B, as we had a brief hands-on demo in a dimly lit bar, and another at the busy Panasonic stand at CES. The TV also didn't appear to be in its most accurate picture mode, and the content on display was looping demo material which doesn't properly represent what this TV can do.
That being said, we did see the Z95B side by side with its predecessor, and there are a few things to note about this new model. We'll start off with brightness, and we are inclined to believe Panasonic's claims of a substantial boost here. The Z95B appeared to be tangibly brighter next to the Z95A, with whites appearing dazzling and impactful, especially on dark backgrounds.
Colours also appeared richer and more nuanced, with greater subtlety and variation to be found in the bright reds, greens and yellows as seen on the outfits of dancers in the demo material. Overall, the picture appeared crisp and detailed with punchy colours and deep blacks; though we will need to test this TV with some 4K Blu-ray reference content in one of our preferred picture modes to reach a final verdict.
Sound
Panasonic opted not to demonstrate the sound system at CES, which is understandable considering the conditions. That being said, it did share some information regarding the enhanced built-in speaker system, which is once again tuned by Technics, the company's hi-fi and wireless earbud manufacturing division.
It reportedly features the same 5.1.2 speaker arrangement, though Panasonic has re-positioned the side and upward-firing line array drivers into the chassis of the TV, reportedly allowing for a more "expansive" and "dynamic" sound stage. The dedicated subwoofer has also been upgraded from 20W to 30W, which should result in more powerful low-end effects.
We were very complimentary of the Z95A's sound performance, especially praising its weight, dynamics, spaciousness and detail levels. That being said, we hope that Panasonic has improved the precision of the sound, as we felt some effects weren't tracking their position on screen as well as they could. If Panasonic has tweaked this aspect of the otherwise impressive built-in sound system, then the Z95B could be a real winner.
Early verdict
It's too early to call a verdict on the Panasonic Z95B, of course; the signs so far, however, point to a meaningful upgrade over its spectacular predecessor. A brighter, more powerful and better-sounding TV are on the cards and, while we need to get the Z95B in our AV testing room to substantiate these claims, that combination could point towards another talented flagship OLED.
We called the Z95A "one of Panasonic’s finest flagship OLED TVs to date", so expectations are high; you'll have to wait until our full review later this year to see if the Z95B can outshine its five-star predecessor.
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