(Image credit: Samsung)
Samsung or Sony? If you're considering either of these two top TV brands, we wouldn't be surprised if you're finding it difficult to decide which one 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 alike. After all, both offer a mix of 4K and
8K TV
at a number of different price points, right?
But the truth is, they're both different. While most buyers will likely be happy to buy from both, there are distinct differences in terms of the premium technologies that drive them (
OLED
vs.
QLED
), how their sets produce sound, what format support you'll find, their processing power, and more.
Best Samsung TV
:
Your guide to buying Samsung in 2021
Sure, every TV you buy these days tends to offer the same basic display functionality. Beyond that, there's usually not too much variation if you're buying on a smaller budget. But individual specs can have a big impact - and that Difference might not be too obvious when you're skimming product pages for a brand new TV.
That's why we've put together this in-depth Sony vs Samsung comparison to make sure you know what you're getting - or forfeiting - when you choose one.
After that, of course, there's more to do. You still have to choose a model from the
Sony TV 2021
and
Samsung TV 2021
enough – but it's certainly a good start.
If you're still thinking
LG TV
,
Panasonic TV
,
Hisense TV
, or
TCL TV
, you might like our guide to
best tv 2021
instead across all brands.
However, if you have a Samsung or Sony heart, the guide below will help you tell the difference between Samsung and Sony TVs and hopefully help you figure out which one is right for you.
Samsung Q60T QLED TV (2020)
(Image credit: Samsung)
Sony vs Samsung TV: Overview
Before we look at the technology, let's explore the brands. Samsung is a South Korean manufacturer and is by far the largest maker of TVs in the world, followed by LG and TCL.
Sony isn't far behind though - and the Japanese manufacturer is still a force to contend with.
Sony and Samsung serve budgets of all sizes and manufacture everything from 32 inches
small TVs
up to massive
75 inch screens
(with even a few
85 inch models
also), with an annual product cycle updating most of these sets each year. The majority is
4K TV
, although you can find the odd cheap HD display from both brands. Together, Sony and Samsung are making some of the
best tv
s on the market.
They sell TVs worldwide and have a presence in both the UK and the US - unlike Panasonic or Philips who don't have licenses in North America.
Both brands also make many consumer products outside of TVs. You wouldn't have a shiny new one
PS5
or a
PSVR
without Sony. Also, rest assured that Sony is making TVs capable of showing everything the PS5 can - and both TV manufacturers offer flagship TVs with
8K resolution
also.
Sony and Samsung are also fighting over territory in the highly competitive smartphone market: both manufacturers
Android phones
, although we don't compare their handsets in this particular guide. (We have separate pages for the best
Sony phones
or
Samsung phones
, if you are interested.)
Sony's Android TV smart platform
(Image credit: Sony)
Smart TV: Tizen vs Android TV
It tends to be different
Smart TV
Platform for every TV brand nowadays, each with their own unique flavor.
Samsung relies on Tizen OS for its mid-range and premium TVs. Tizen is quick to navigate and generally uncluttered - with a constantly updated "recents" box that allows you to keep track of your most used apps. Overall a fairly competent experience, although the universal search function isn't as good as LG's webOS platform.
Sony, on the other hand, is going for Android TV, which offers a bit more content and menu areas than its competitor. It's a bit more cluttered, but that also means you have more to choose from. It's entirely down to your preferences - although Android TV is known for that too , being a bit more buggy and prone to crashes than other smart TV platforms.
But what about voice assistants?
Advanced Sony TVs come with Google Assistant integration
– which makes sense since 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 allows you to control third-party smart home products and speakers through some basic Alexa functions control - such as
Amazon Echo
, or Ring security cameras — and use Alexa voice commands for TV power and volume functions.
Samsung's
Bixby voice assistant
can be found on mid-range devices and higher, although it's known to lag behind Alexa or Google Assistant in terms of smarts or voice recognition. However, it's more than enough for the minimal TV controls you're likely to use Bixby for - and you can always connect your TV to an Alexa speaker if you really want to.
OLED TVs - like those used by Sony - are characterized by superior contrast and incredibly deep blacks
(Image credit: Sony)
QLED or OLED?
Today's premium television market is divided into two panel technologies:
OLED
and
QLED
(basically a LED LCD screen with quantum dots).
QLED is only really used in Samsung TVs and the brand has been pushing its QLED screens for a number of years, known for their bright 1,000-2,000 nit screens, enabling vivid HDR scenes and immersive TV images.
They're certainly a lot brighter than the OLED (organic LED) displays used by Sony on its higher-end sets, which struggle to get brighter than around 800 nits - although that's not an entirely fair comparison.
While OLED screens tend to be dimmer, they achieve a much more natural color contrast due to the organic film used in production. OLED displays are also self-emissive, meaning each individual pixel emits its own light, allowing for incredibly precise control of light and darkness on the screen Screen allows. Blacks truly look like black, and while overall brightness suffers, the bright areas also don't bleed into the surrounding areas of the screen (as LEDs often do).
Image "burn-in" on OLED screens is often talked about, but a lot of this is anecdotal and you probably need to work very hard on set for this to become an issue.
We have dealt with this debate in more detail in our
QLED vs OLED
Guide, although for now it will suffice to say that OLED is generally good for high-quality video formats in dark environments, while Samsung's sets lag behind on contrast (comparatively), but make up for it with a bright and impactful display. Keep in mind, though, that it both are very impressive premium panel technologies and most people will be very happy with both.
What are the
best OLED TVs
from 2021?
Dynamic HDR
(Image credit: Dolby)
Dolby Vision vs HDR10+
If you're buying a mid-range to one of the top-of-the-line sets, chances are it will have a high dynamic range (
HDR
), but you may not know that HDR comes in different forms.
A base HDR10 format is supported on every HDR TV, which offers a wider color space and improved contrast compared to traditional SDR TVs. Most TV content is still in SDR these days, but every year more films, shows and Programs produced in HDR.
But beyond that, there are two HDR formats that add "dynamic metadata" to enhance TV pictures by changing the TV's picture settings depending on the scene you're watching and the type of images on screen.
The first was
Dolby Vision
, which is supported by both Sony and LG and can be found in TVs from Vizeo, TCL and Hisense, among others. Then there's
HDR10+
, which is supported by Samsung and Panasonic - although the latter has now moved to offering both formats on its mid-range and premium TVs.
The fast version?Samsung TVs have HDR10+ and Sony TVs have Dolby Vision.
Dolby Vision is really the more advanced format with 12-bit color space instead of the 10-bit HDR10+ and is also more commonly found (both
Google Chromecast with Google TV
and
Apple TV 4K
Use Dolby Vision).
Granted, the preferred HDR format is only an issue at the higher end of the price range, but those who spend big bucks 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 with its Acoustic Surface Audio technology for a number of years, which makes the TV panel itself vibrate to emit sound. It sounds like a clever solution on the surface, although glass isn't typically the best material for channeling audio - and the sound can be a little imprecise. Nonetheless, you'll find it in most premium Sony TVs these days.
Samsung's competing TV sound system is OTS (Object Tracking Sound) which, like Acoustic Surface Audio, adds directionality to movement on the screen. It uses software linked to tiny conventional drivers to achieve the effect.
However, these features are very high-end - mainly for 8K QLEDs for Samsung and 4K OLEDs for Sony - and there's far less variation between the average 20W speakers from mid-range TV brands.
For more read our
Sony Acoustic Surface Audio vs Samsung OTS
Manual.
Read our thoughts on OTS here
Samsung Q950TS 8K QLED review
Samsung Q800T 8K QLED TV (2020)
(Image credit: Samsung)
Samsung vs Sony TV: Which should you choose?
Not sure either? Both Sony and Samsung are capable mainstream TV makers, and you're unlikely to be fooled by a purchase from one or the other. Most of our complaints about Sony and Samsung's premium sets revolve around them about format support - picture quality is generally brilliant either way. And sticking with Dolby Vision or HDR10+ as your HDR format might make your decision for you.
Samsung's QLED sets go big when it comes to brightness, and if you're more of a daytime viewer than a rumble-in-the-dark cinephile, the brighter displays might be what you're after. Otherwise, Sony's OLEDs offer a crisp picture with incredible contrast better suited for your late-night movie sessions.
It's worth noting that Samsung's 2019 QLEDs brought new Ultra Viewing Angle technology, which makes for vastly improved off-axis viewing. Sony, on the other hand, is usually pretty competent at upscaling low-resolution sources and handling motion fast-moving shots.
Samsung sets will also generally be a bit cheaper for what they offer - which is why Samsung has managed to overtake Sony despite being a newcomer to the TV market not too long ago. OLEDs in particular cost more than an equivalent QLED, even
if that could change in the next few years
.
And while Sony tends to play around with TV casings and stand designs more than most - with some ill-considered tilted screens, like the otherwise incredible
AF9 OLED
– it's since come to its senses. The A8H is a brilliant mid-range OLED, new for 2020, and its towering A9G OLED is now sized at 48 inches, putting more reasonable budgets within reach.
Samsung's push in 2020 is aimed at 8K TVs, with the Q800T, Q900T and Q950TS all offering high-end 8K pictures - although that means its flagship 4K set, the Q95T, doesn't benefit from the latest processing, like the 8K models that get the goods.
So, is Sony or Samsung right for you? Here are some TV deals from both manufacturers that you might want to choose from:
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Henry St Leger
As a home theater editor, Henry lives and breathes TV, which is bad for the lungs but great for his content addiction. He also covers VR, video games, smart speakers and home entertainment.
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