Sony vs Samsung TV: Choosing the Right TV Brand for You
(Image credit: Samsung)
Samsung or Sony? If you're considering either of these two big TV brands, we wouldn't be surprised if you struggled to decide which is right for you.
Sony and Samsung are two of the biggest TV brands in the business. That means we wouldn't blame you for thinking they might look similar. After all, they both offer a mix of 4K and
8K TVs
at a number of different prices, right?
But the truth is, they're both different. While most buyers will probably be happy to buy from either, there are distinct differences in terms of the high-end technologies they offer. (
OLED
vs.
QLED
), how their sets generate sound, what format support you'll find, their processing strengths, and much more.
Best Samsung TV
:
your guide to buying Samsung in 2021
Of course, all the TVs you buy these days tend to offer the same basic viewing function. Also, there's usually not too much of a difference when buying on a budget. But individual specs can have a huge impact – and the difference might not be too apparent when you're browsing the product pages for a brand new TV.
That's why we've put together this in-depth comparison of Sony and Samsung, to make sure you know what you get – or lose – by choosing one over the other.
Of course, there is more work to do after that. You will still have to choose a template from the
2021 Sony TV
and
Samsung TV 2021
ranges - but it's definitely a good start.
If you are still considering
LG Televisions
,
Panasonic Televisions
,
Hisense TVs
, Where
TCL TVs
, you can read our guide to the
best tvs 2021
across all brands instead.
However, if you have your heart set on Samsung or Sony, the guide below will help you tell the difference between Samsung and Sony TVs and hopefully find which one is right for you.
Samsung Q60T (2020) QLED TV
(Image credit: Samsung)
Sony vs. Samsung TV: Overview
Before we dive into the tech, let's explore the brands. Samsung is a South Korean manufacturer and by far the largest TV maker in the world, followed by LG and TCL.
Sony, however, isn't far behind – and the Japanese manufacturer is still a force to contend with.
Sony and Samsung fit budgets of all sizes and make everything from 32-inch
small televisions
to the massif
75 inch screens
(even with a few
85 inch models
too), with an annual product cycle refreshing most of these sets every year. The majority are
4K TVs
, although you can find the cheap HD display with either brand. Between them, Sony and Samsung are among the
best tv
s on the market.
They sell TVs globally, with presences in both the UK and the US, unlike Panasonic or Philips, who don't have a license in North America.
Both brands also make many consumer products outside of televisions. You wouldn't get a shiny new
PS5
or one
PSVR
without Sony. Also rest assured that Sony makes TVs that can show off everything the PS5 can do – and both TV makers offer flagship TVs with
8K resolution
too much.
Sony and Samsung are also vying for territory in the fiercely competitive smartphone market: both manufacture
Android phones
, although we're not comparing their handsets in this particular guide. (We have separate pages for the best
sony phones
Where
Samsung phones
, if you are interested.)
Sony's Android TV smart platform
(Image credit: Sony)
Smart TV: Tizen versus Android TV
It tends to be different
Smart-TV
platform for every television brand these days, each with its own unique flavor.
Samsung opts for its Tizen operating system for its mid-range and high-end TVs. Tizen is quick to navigate and generally uncluttered – with a constantly refreshed “recent” box that lets you keep track of your most-used apps Overall, a pretty competent experience, although the universal search feature isn't quite as accomplished as LG's webOS platform.
Sony, meanwhile, uses Android TV, which offers a bit more content and menu panes than its competitor. It's a bit more cluttered, but that also means there's more choice at your fingertips. It really depends on your preference - although Android TV is also known to be slightly more buggy and crash-prone than other smart TV platforms.
But what about voice assistants?
Advanced Sony TVs will come with Google Assistant integration
– which makes sense, given that Android TV is a platform developed by Google.
However, Sony has now added an Amazon Alexa Music, Cameras and TV Control app to its newer TVs and some mid-range models from previous years. This will let you control third-party home products and speakers. smart with some basic Alexa features, like
Amazon Echo
, or Ring security cameras – and use Alexa voice commands for TV power and volume functions.
that of Samsung
Bixby voice assistant
can be found on midrange sets and above, though it's been known to lag behind Alexa or Google Assistant in intelligence or voice recognition. However, that's more than enough for the minimal TV controls you'll probably use Bixby for - and you can still connect your TV to an Alexa speaker if you really want to.
OLED TVs, like those used by Sony, offer superior contrast and incredibly deep blacks
(Image credit: Sony)
QLED or OLED?
Today's premium TV market is split into two panel technologies:
OLED
and
QLED
(essentially an LED-LCD display with quantum dots).
QLED is only really used in Samsung TVs and the brand has been offering its QLED screens for a few years now, known for their 1000-2000 nits bright screens, enabling vivid HDR scenes and high impact TV pictures.
They're certainly a lot brighter than the OLED (Organic LED) displays Sony uses for its high-end sets, which struggle to get brighter than around 800 nits – although that's not quite a fair comparison. .
While OLED displays tend to be darker, they achieve much more natural color contrast, given the organic film used in production.OLED displays are also self-emissive, meaning each pixel emits its own light, allowing incredibly precise control of light and dark on the screen. Blacks really do look like blacks, and while overall brightness suffers, the bright sections also don't bleed into the surrounding areas of screen (as is often the case with LEDs).
We often talk about 'embedded' images on OLED screens, but that's largely anecdotal and you'll probably have to work really hard on the whole thing for it to become a problem.
We explored this debate further in our
QLED versus OLED
guide, but for now suffice it to say that OLED is generally good at high quality video formats in dark viewing environments, while Samsung's sets lag behind in terms of contrast (comparatively) but make up for that with a bright, punchy display. Keep in mind though that both are very impressive high-end panel technologies, and most people will be very happy with either one.
What are the
best OLED TVs
of 2021?
Dynamic HDR
(Image credit: Dolby)
Dolby Vision versus HDR10+
If you buy a mid-range TV up to one of the high-end TVs, it will likely support high dynamic range (
HDR
), but you might not realize that HDR comes in many different forms.
There is a base HDR10 format supported on every HDR TV – which has a wider color gamut and improved contrast compared to a regular SDR TV. Most TV content these days is still SDR, but every year, more and more movies, shows and programs are made in HDR.
But beyond that, there are two HDR formats that add "dynamic metadata" to enhance TV pictures by changing TV picture settings depending on the scene you're watching and the types of images on display. 'screen.
The first was
Dolby Vision
, which is backed by Sony as well as LG, and found in TVs from Vizeo, TCL, and Hisense, among others. Then there's
HDR10+
, which is backed by Samsung and Panasonic – although the latter has now pivoted to offer both formats on its mid-range and high-end TVs.
The fast version? Samsung TVs have HDR10+ and Sony TVs have Dolby Vision.
Dolby Vision is really the most advanced format, with 12-bit color gamut instead of 10-bit HDR10+, and is also the most widespread (both the
Google Chromecast with Google TV
and
Apple TV 4K
enjoy Dolby Vision).
Admittedly, the preferred HDR format is really only a concern at the higher end of the price bracket, but those spending big should think carefully about which services they're likely to want HDR content on.
Sony A8F OLED (2018)
(Image credit: Sony)
OTS vs Acoustic Surface Audio
Sony and Samsung are also increasingly at odds over the best solutions for integrated audio.
Sony has been shipping sets for a few years with its Acoustic Surface Audio technology, which vibrates the panel of the TV itself to emit sound. channel audio - and the sound can be somewhat imprecise. Still, you'll find it in most high-end Sony TVs these days.
Samsung's rival TV sound system is OTS (Object Tracking Sound), which, like Acoustic Surface Audio, adds directionality to on-screen movement. It uses software allied with tiny conventional drivers to achieve the effect.
These features are very high-end though – largely for 8K QLED for Samsung and 4K OLED for Sony – and there's much less of a difference between the average 20W speakers of mid-range TV brands. .
To find out more, read our
Sony Acoustic Surface Audio vs. Samsung OTS
to guide.
Read our thoughts on OTS in this
Samsung Q950TS 8K QLED review
Samsung Q800T 8K QLED TV (2020)
(Image credit: Samsung)
Samsung vs. Sony TV: which one to choose?
Not sure either? Sony and Samsung are both capable consumer TV makers, and you're unlikely to be fooled by a purchase of either. Most of our complaints about the sets premium from Sony and Samsung are all about format support – picture quality is generally excellent either way. you.
Samsung's QLED sets will have great brightness, and if you're more of a daytime viewer than a movie buff huddled in the dark, brighter screens may be more what you're looking for. Otherwise, Sony's OLEDs will deliver a crisp picture with incredible contrast more suited to your late-night movie sessions.
It's worth noting that Samsung's 2019 QLEDs have introduced new Ultra Viewing Angle technology, allowing for vastly improved off-axis viewing. Sony, on the other hand, is generally pretty good at upscaling from sources at low resolution and movement management in fast shots.
Samsung TVs will also generally be a bit cheaper for what they offer - hence how Samsung managed to overtake Sony when it was something of a rookie in the TV market a while ago. not that long. OLEDs in particular will cost more than an equivalent QLED, even
if that could change in the years to come
.
And while Sony tends to play with TV boxes and stand design more than most - with misguided angled screens, like the Incredibly Incredible
AF9 OLED
– it's come to its senses since then. The A8H is a brilliant mid-range OLED new for 2020, and its towering A9G OLED now has a size of 48-inches that hits more reasonable budgets.
Samsung's push in 2020 is towards 8K TVs, with the Q800T, Q900T and Q950TS all delivering top-end 8K pictures - although that means its flagship 4K set, the Q95T, doesn't get the latest treatment, like this are the 8K models that get the goods.
So, is Sony or Samsung right for you? Here are some TV deals from both manufacturers you might want to choose from:
The best 43-inch Samsung Q60T QLED TVs, Sony Bravia A8 OLED TV, Samsung Q95T, 65-inch Sony Bravia A9G OLED, Samsung Q950TS 8K QLED TV and deals
SAMSUNG 43 inch Class QLED...
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Sony A80J 55-inch TV: BRAVIA...
Sony Bravia A8 OLED TV
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$1,899.99
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Sony Bravia A9G 65-inch OLED
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Samsung Q950TS 8K QLED TV
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Henri St Leger
As a Home Cinema Editor, Henry lives and breathes televisions, which is bad for the lungs but great for his content addiction. He also reports on virtual reality, video games, smart speakers and the home entertainment.
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