Rotary against foil, at the top
Rotary or foil, when both cost the same?
Philips's best rotary against Panasonic's five-blade foil. This is the clearest comparison on the site between the two shaving mechanisms, because neither is being handicapped by price.
| Compared on | S7887/35 | ES-LV67 |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | Rotary, three heads | Foil, five blades |
| Blade count | 45 SteelPrecision blades | Five blades, inner cutters ground at 30° |
| Cutting speed | 90,000 cuts per minute | 70,000 cutting actions per minute |
| Head movement | Fully flexible, 360 degrees | 16D multi-flex, sixteen directions |
| Density sensing | SkinIQ | Beard density sensor |
| Runtime | 60 minutes | Not published |
| Charge time | 1 hour, with a 5-minute quick charge | 1 hour, with a 3-minute quick charge |
| Blade life claim | Two years of self-sharpening | Five years, tested against artificially aged units |
| Warranty | Five years | Not published |
| In the box | Charging stand and travel case | Not published |
| Listed on amazon.com | No | Yes |
A tick marks the better answer on that line only. Counting ticks does not decide the page — the two verdicts below do, because these products answer different questions.
No amazon.com listing was found for this one. We hold references for other markets but none for the United States, so it may not be buyable here — which is the first thing to weigh against anything below.
Take the Philips if your neck grows in several directions and you shave every two or three days. It also comes with a stand and a case, states its runtime, and carries a five-year warranty, the only warranty published among the shavers here.
Take the Panasonic if you shave daily and your beard is dense. Five blades and a linear motor address the number of passes, the head follows the face in sixteen directions, and the blade-life claim names how it was tested.
Neither listing publishes a figure that answers that, so this page will not either. What is published is mechanism: foils cut in straight lines behind a screen, rotaries cut in circles. Flat surfaces and daily shaving suit a foil; a neck with whorls and a two-day stubble suits a rotary.
Philips publishes two years of blade life and sells its SH71 heads at about $34 on this site. Panasonic claims five years and does not publish a replacement price on this listing. Over five years the arithmetic favors Panasonic on its own figures — which are its own figures.
SkinIQ · 45 blades · 90,000 cuts/min · charging stand · 5-year warranty
Philips's top rotary in this group: 45 SteelPrecision blades cutting 90,000 times a minute, a micro-bead coating stated to add 30% glide, SkinIQ, a charging stand and travel case, and a five-year warranty.
Best for: Shaving daily, on a three-day beard, with the shaver living on a stand rather than in a drawer.
5 blades · linear motor 70,000/min · 16D flex head · beard sensor
Five blades, a linear motor at 70,000 cutting actions a minute, and a head that moves in sixteen independent directions. Panasonic states the steel blades shave as on the first day for five years, tested against artificially aged units.
Best for: A thick beard shaved daily, where the number of passes is the actual complaint.
≈ $185
Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.
