At IFA in September, Philips unveiled its new flagship TV in the form of 9600. It would represent Philips’ first step into the world of HDR. However, Philips has decided not to release the TV.
Philips 9600 is not coming
TP Vision, who produces and sells Philips TVs in Europe, usually introduces a new TV line-up in the spring and adds a flagship or two in the fall. In 2015, that flagship should have been the 9600 TV with the most advanced picture technologies out there, including FALD, 4K and HDR.
9600 was unveiled at IFA 2015 in Berlin in September, but was subsequently delayed in order to integrate better HDR support. But when Philips introduced the European 2016 line-in in Brussels last week, 9600 was nowhere to be found. We asked them about it and they told us that launch plans have been scrapped – or in more PR-friendly tones “delayed with no concrete launch date”.
Philips will instead position the new 7601 ("01" for 2016 model) as a replacement. 7601 offers a similar backlit LED system with 128 local dimming zones (144 planned for 9600). 7601 also offers 4K resolution and HDR support.
The good news is that 7601 will be considerably cheaper.
