Hot on the heels of announcing the seismic news that it’s joining forces with Chinese brand (and huge TV hardware manufacturer) Skyworth for its TV business from April 1 2026, Panasonic has now also revealed details of its new TV range for 2026.
No doubt keen to show right away that its new partnership deal won’t stop it from being a prolific and serious TV brand, Panasonic’s new range is extensive, features multiple screen technologies and is designed to cater for an expansive range of budgets and needs.
The most premium new Panasonic 2026 models are set to be the Z85C/Z86C OLED series (where the model number difference reflects the fact that the Z86C U.K. editions will get Fire TV smarts while the Z85C models sold elsewhere in Europe will be powered by Google TV). Available in 55 and 65-inch screen sizes, these sets will feature native 120Hz refresh rates, Filmmaker Modes, support for both of the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ premium HDR formats on top of the HDR10 and HLG ‘basics’, Dolby Atmos audio playback, and support for variable refresh rates when gaming.
The Z85C/Z86Cs are designed to be Panasonic’s most affordable OLED TVs to date, giving Panasonic an OLED series able to occupy the same sort of aggressively priced space as LG’s B Series models.
Key to achieving this lower pricing (though exact prices have yet to be announced) is the new OLED SE panel at the new TVs’ hearts, which apparently removes the usual polariser from the screen construction and delivers relatively limited brightness compared with the EX and Tandem RGB Primary screen types found at the higher levels of the OLED world.
The removal of the polarisers will likely make the screen more susceptible to reflections or greyer looking dark areas than we’re used to seeing with Panasonic OLED TVs, but hopefully these issues won’t disguise Panasonic’s decades of experience of working with/designing processing for self-emissive screen technologies.
Panasonic has not at this stage announced new replacements for its outstanding 2025-launched premium Z95B and Z90B OLED series. It was suggested to me at Panasonic’s launch event that there might be further TV-related announcements later in the year, but for now the Z95Bs and Z90Bs will continue as Panasonic’s flagship options.
The rest of Panasonic’s newly announced TVs are all LCD sets, and stack up, from most to least premium, as follows:
W97C/W95C Mini-LED series
These slot in at the top of Panasonic’s 2026 LCD TV offering, thanks to such key features as Mini-LED lighting with more than 1000 local dimming zones, 144Hz refresh rate support, Quantum Dot colour, Google TV smarts and new-to-Panasonic Glare Free Ultra technology. This latter feature, as its name suggests, is designed to reduce glare and reflections without causing the picture to look washed out or soft.
Peak brightness on these sets, which will be available in 55, 65, 75 and 86-inch screen sizes, is claimed to hit around 1,500 nits, while colour coverage is claimed to achieve 105% of the DCI-P3 HDR format most commonly used in creating current HDR video masters. The HDR support extends, too, to Dolby Vision as well as the more basic HDR formats, with the Dolby connection also extending to Dolby Atmos audio playback. There’s a Filmmaker Mode, too, for one-button access to accurate picture settings.
Gamers can expect VRR support from the W97C/W95Cs as well as the high frame rate support, while the model number difference in this instance refers to different colour options available in European territories.
Note that these models will not be available in the U.K.. There the premium new LCD TV option will be the W94Cs described below.
W94C Mini-LED series
Available in both the U.K. and continental Europe, the W94Cs sit just below the flagship Mini-LED series. Available in 55, 65 and 75-inch sizes, they still use Mini-LED lighting, still benefit from Glare Free Ultra technology, still use Quantum Dots for their colour reproduction, still support both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and still support both VRR and frame rates up to 144Hz for gaming.
A Filmmaker Mode is provided again for instant one-button access to accurate picture settings, while smart features are provided by Fire TV – and include the ability to control the TV just by talking to it, courtesy of a built-in far-field microphone. Panasonic wouldn’t be drawn on how much of a downgrade the backlight engine on the W94Cs is versus the W97C/W95Cs, but the fact that Panasonic describes them as sitting just below those modes shows there must be some degree of downgrade.
W92C Mini LED series
We’re back to another continental Europe exclusive (as in, not available in the U.K.) series with the W92Cs. These again illuminate their images using Mini-LED lighting and deliver their colours using Quantum Dots. Their gaming features include support for VRR and 144Hz refresh rates, and Glare Free Ultra technology is on hand again to make pictures easier to engage with even in bright room conditions.
Dolby is again present with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support, a Filmmaker Mode is again present for instant ‘creative intent’ set up, and smarts this time are provided by Google TV. Panasonic isn’t talking at this point about how much of a downgrade the W92C’s backlighting system might be compared with the W94C. These models are available in 55, 65 and 75-inch screen sizes.
W91C Mini-LED series
Another variant on Panasonic’s 2026 Quantum Dot Mini-LED theme, the U.K. exclusive W91Cs step down to 60Hz panels. This makes the 55, 65 and 75-inch W91Cs less appealing to gamers, though they do all support variable refresh rates and low latency HDMI inputs.
Glare Free Ultra is on hand to remove reflections from the screen once more, and you still get both Dolby Atmos sound and Dolby Vision HDR. Film fans can still switch easily to a Filmmaker Mode for accurate picture settings, too, while Smart features this time are provided by Roku.
W90C Mini-LED Series
These look like they’re mostly versions of the W90C for continental Europe (they’re not being released in the UK), except that they swap the Roku TV smarts for Google TV.
The W90Cs are the most affordable Mini-LED TVs in Panasonic’s new range. From here on down we move into regular ‘big’ LEDs.
W83C/W80C series
With Panasonic’s 120Hz W85B series carrying on from 2025 as the brand’s most premium regular LED TVs, the most high end of the newly announced LED models for 2026 are the W83C/W80C series.
While these sets drop down to native 60Hz refresh rates, they still offer Quantum Dot colour, with smart features provided by Fire TV. They also feature a step-down Glare-Free Max technology that suppresses reflections on a slightly less extreme basis than the Glare Free Ultra screens. This series supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ as well as the basic HLG and HDR10 formats; Dolby Atmos sound is still available; and there’s still also a Filmmaker Mode preset option for home cinema purists.
These models will be available in both the U.K. and continental Europe in 43, 50, 55, 65 and 75-inch sizes. Note that the 43-inch model will only get a less potent Glare Free screen treatment rather than the Glare Free Max system used on the other screen sizes.
W60C series
The W60Cs no longer benefit from Quantum Dot colours, but they are still native 4K screens. They will be available in 43, 50, 55, 65 and 75-inch sizes in both the U.K. and continental Europe, with smart features provided by the TiVo platform. All the modes in this range feature the most basic version of Panasonic’s new Glare Free technology, but still support Dolby Atmos audio playback.
S65C Series
The switch to the S model number designation indicates that we’ve moved down here to HD rather than native 4K resolutions. Available in 32 and 40 inch options, the S65Cs offer a full HD pixel count, and bring Quantum Dot colour back into the equation. They use Fire TV smarts, and while Dolby Atmos is no longer supported this far down the range, there is still more basic Dolby Audio support.
S45C/S40C series
The final additions to Panasonic’s 2026 TV range take the native resolution down to HD Ready rather than full HD, and swap the Fire TV smart system for TiVo. They’ve available in 32 and 40-inch screen sizes, with Dolby audio support.
I’ll update this story with pricing details as and when they become available – and it’s also worth keeping an eye on my Forbes channel for potential additional Panasonic TV news later in the year.
—
Related Reading
Panasonic’s TV Division Forges Strategic Partnership With Chinese Brand Skyworth
Sony And TCL To Establish ‘Strategic Partnership’ For Home Entertainment Products
TCL’s 2026 TV Range Swims Against The RGB MiniLED Tide
