Panasonic Z95B: an OLED revolution with tandem technology?

At this year’s CES, Panasonic caused a stir with its new flagship TV (article in German). The classic Japanese brand – known for its high-quality OLED TVs – is breaking new technological ground with the Z95B.

Let’s take a closer look.

What is the RGB tandem OLED panel?

The heart of the device is its so-called RGB tandem OLED panel. It’s an innovation that’s not only challenging the competition, but also raising expectations among tech enthusiasts.

What makes the panel so special is its unique structure: a two-layer design where two organic light-emitting layers – tandem structures – are placed on top of each other to create the image. Each of these layers contains red, green and blue (RGB) subpixels. This should ensure more efficient light output and extremely high peak brightness without a significant increase in energy consumption. At the same time, the panel has a better lifespan because the brightness is distributed over two layers and individual areas are subjected to less stress.

Compared to the OLED panels Panasonic has sourced from LG Display in the past, the tandem design is a substantial technological advancement. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether Panasonic’s new panel really is as unique as the manufacturer claims. After all, LG just unveiled its own innovation from LG Display at CES 2025: the quad-layer OLED panel.

ComparingPanasonic and LG

For years, Panasonic’s used OLED panels from LG Display – the world’s leading manufacturer. And the RGB tandem OLED panel’s no different. But the technology differs in a few key areas.

LG Display claims that its 2025 panels will use a quad-layer OLED design, in which four organic layers are stacked on top of each other. LG is aiming for brightness up to 3,700 nits – a level that was previously reserved mainly for high-end LCDs. Panasonic, however, has said it’s concentrating on an optimised combination of brightness, colour accuracy and energy efficiency. According to the manufacturer, the RGB tandem OLED panel’s designed to achieve peak brightness of 4,000 nits, which not only matches the LG panel but exceeds it – and all this with lower energy consumption.

The heart of this concept is the ThermalFlow cooling system, which uses the chimney effect with air openings at the top and bottom back of the TV to efficiently dissipate the heat it generates. This maximises the panel’s performance without affecting its lifespan. This innovative cooling system addresses a central, often underestimated problem with modern OLED panels. With increased brightness comes more heat, which leads to burn-in over the long term.

So, the real challenge isn’t so much to make OLED panels brighter than their LCD counterparts, but to minimise heat generation to ensure longevity.

New standards for gamers and home cinema lovers

In addition to the Z95B’s image quality, Panasonic also places value on features specifically designed to appeal to gamers. With Game Mode Extreme, it promises drastically reduced input lag as well as support for HDMI 2.1 functions such as VRR (AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync) and 4K 144 Hz. Dolby Vision and HDR10+ compatibility also optimises HDR gaming.

Home cinema aficionados can also look forward to an integrated soundbar developed with Technics. The sound system’s designed to provide powerful sound specifically tailored to Dolby Atmos content. Together with the improved panel, Panasonic aims to offer a truly all-round package.

What does this mean for the market?

The RGB tandem OLED panel shows Panasonic’s increasing focus on setting itself apart from other manufacturers. While LG Display continues to provide the technical base as a supplier, Panasonic’s reinterpreting the technology and combining it with in-house innovations such as the ThermalFlow cooling system. The success of this strategy won’t just depend on whether the Z95B impresses technically; it also has to stay competitive in terms of value for money.

LG Display is a strong competitor with its quad-layer OLED panel. This is particularly true as LG supplies panels alongside its own TVs such as the G and M series – considered OLED benchmarks. Whether Panasonic can make a lasting difference with the Z95B will become clear in the coming months when the first products go on sale and can be scrutinised.