A 97-inch Beovision Harmony OLED TV has been unveiled by luxury audio brand Bang & Olufsen, with the shape-changing speaker system that defines this TV range – it’s a huge cut above the design of most of the best OLED TVs.
The 97-inch OLED screen retails for $63,075 / £50,650 (around AU$95,000) and will no doubt be made in rather small quantities, given the price.
Unsurprisingly, this the biggest screen size yet for the Harmony range, which marries an LG-made OLED panel with a host of luxury materials, including motorized speaker covers made out of “expertly-crafted wood and aluminum”, which lower beneath the giant screen when it’s in use, but swivel around to partially cover the large black rectangle when it’s off, making it more of a design piece than most TVs.
Alongside a high-end OLED panel, with the usual deep blacks and rich contrast you expect for that, the hefty built-in speakers makes the 97-inch Harmony a tempting choice for big spenders after a top-tier home theater screen. You can connect it to other Bang & Olufsen speakers wirelessly, creating a 7.1 surround sound system with the TV at its core.
You can buy the Beovision Harmony in three colorways – Black Anthracite, Natural Aluminium, and Gold Tone. For those needing a smaller screen, the Beovision Harmony also comes in 65-inch, 77-inch, 83-inch and 88-inch sizes, but those are also very premium priced compared to the more mid-range likes of the LG C3 OLED.
Here’s a video of how the folding/rotating speaker array works. It really is one of the coolest TVs on the planet.
Second in line
This announcement makes B&O the purveyor of the second-ever 97-inch OLED TV on the market, after the LG G2 OLED that launched last year (and will remain on sale this year – there won’t be a 97-inch LG G3 OLED model). B&O’s model is certainly a step-up with the extras, though, thanks to its luxury finishes and motorized speaker covers. The LG version doesn’t even come with a stand…
Technically, the B&O isn’t the second to be announced – we saw the 97-inch LG M3 Wireless OLED TV at CES 2023, but that has no firm release date, and the B&O will be available to order during May 2023, so the Harmony take the second spot in our books.
Between more TVs at around 100 inches, and it looking like 32-inch 4K OLED TVs are on the way before too long, OLED is truly transcending its former size limitations. OLEDs big and small, we appreciate you.
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