Sony and Samsung: Pioneers of OLED Display Technology
OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display technology has revolutionized the television and screen industry over the past two decades. With their ability to produce perfect blacks, vivid colors, wide viewing angles and paper-thin form factors, OLED displays represent the pinnacle of display engineering. Two companies that have pushed OLED technology forward the most are Sony and Samsung.
Sony‘s Early Exploration of OLED
Sony has been experimenting with OLED since as early as 2004 when they released the CLIÉ PEG-VZ90 PDA, the world‘s first OLED-equipped personal digital assistant. In the following years, Sony incorporated OLED screens into various other consumer electronics like digital cameras, mobile phones and portable media players.
In 2007, Sony took an ambitious step by announcing the world‘s first OLED television prototype, the Sony XEL-1. This 11-inch model with a 1 million:1 contrast ratio demonstrated the tremendous potential of OLED in reshaping the television landscape. However, high production costs and low yields prevented Sony from pursuing OLED televisions further at the time.
Samsung Leads the Charge on Early OLED Adoption
During the late 2000s, as Sony pivoted away from OLED televisions, Samsung grabbed the baton and ran with it. Leveraging their expertise in display manufacturing, Samsung steadily improved yields for their proprietary active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) technology. By 2010, Samsung had captured over 98% of the global AMOLED market share for mobile displays.
While LG and other brands relied on white OLED (WOLED) using color filters, Samsung‘s AMOLED displays directly lit up individual red, blue and green subpixels. This made AMOLED panels thinner, brighter and more energy-efficient – ideal for battery-powered devices. As a result, premier mobile devices like Samsung‘s own Galaxy S and Note series soon popularized AMOLED screens.
The Triumphant Return of Sony OLED TVs
Despite pioneering OLED televisions in the late 2000s, Sony only re-entered the OLED TV space a whole decade later in 2017. Since then, Sony has quickly made up for lost time by releasing a series acclaimed large-screen OLED TVs under their premium Bravia brand. Powered by the company‘s proprietary X1 image processing chips, Sony‘s OLED TVs are renowned for their phenomenal contrast and color reproduction.
In 2022, Sony and Samsung jointly developed a new breakthrough display technology – Quantum Dot OLED (QD-OLED). By integrating Samsung‘s Quantum Dot light-enhancing film into an OLED panel, QD-OLED boosts brightness by up to 30% over conventional OLED, delivering outstanding HDR performance. For 2023, Sony‘s flagship Bravia A95K model features a dazzling QD-OLED panel made in collaboration with Samsung.
Samsung Returns to the OLED TV Market
Despite kickstarting the modern OLED revolution in smartphones and tablets, Samsung did not release their first consumer OLED TV until 2022. However, the new S95B model makes up for lost time by incorporating the company‘s latest QD-OLED advancements co-developed with Sony. As Samsung‘s first 4K OLED television in over a decade, the S95B series sees the company regain its spot as an OLED TV contender against LG, Sony and others.
Comparing Sony vs Samsung‘s Latest OLED TV Offerings
With both giants of electronics manufacturing now firmly committed to OLED televisions, consumers have an exciting but confusing choice between Sony and Samsung‘s latest offerings. Here is an in-depth feature comparison between their 2023 OLED TV lineup.
OLED Panel Technology
In terms of underlying display technology, Sony relies on WOLED panels sourced mainly from LG Display for most models including the A80K, A90K and A80J. The exception is Sony‘s flagship A95K series which utilizes cutting-edge QD-OLED. On the other hand, Samsung‘s sole OLED television for 2023 is the S95C model (successor to S95B) which also uses QD-OLED.
With finely-tuned color filters and advanced image processing, Sony‘s WOLED models already deliver outstanding picture quality with vibrant, accurate colors and inky blacks. However, QD-OLED panels take this even further with higher peak brightness and better highlight details. So when it comes to display technology alone, Samsung‘s new S95C has a slight edge over every Sony OLED TV except the A95K.
Available Screen Sizes
One distinct advantage Sony maintains this year is more OLED TV sizes to fit every room and budget. Their latest WOLED models are available in 42", 48", 55", 65", 77" and even a cinema-scale 83" option. Samsung‘s S95C still only comes in 55 and 65-inch variants. For those wanting a compact 42/48-inch or giant 77/83-inch OLED screen, Sony is currently the only viable option.
Physical Design & Build Quality
In terms of industrial design and construction, both brands‘ OLED TV offerings are incredibly slick and robust. Premium touches like flush rear panels, thin bezels and sturdy centered stands give them a appropriately high-end yet understated aesthetic.
The QD-OLED powered Sony A95K is only 1.6 inches (40mm) deep, remarkable for a large 82-inch television. Similarly, Samsung‘s 65-inch S95C is a wafer-thin 1.2 inches making it easy to wall mount. There are also no noticeable differences in their border widths. Overall, Sony and Samsung‘s 2023 OLED TVs are extremely evenly matched when it comes to sophisticated, minimalist industrial design.
Image Processing & HDR Support
As world-leading electronics manufacturers, Sony and Samsung both design and fabricate their own display image processing hardware for optimal picture performance. Sony‘s current XR chip leverages cognitive intelligence for unmatched upscaling, contrast and color precision. Samsung‘s latest Neo Quantum Processor 8K uses AI deep learning for similar results.
In terms of high dynamic range (HDR) formats however, there are some differences. Sony OLED TVs support Dolby Vision, baseline HDR10 and broadcast TV standard HLG high dynamic range. Meanwhile Samsung omits Dolby Vision but adds the more advanced HDR10+ format which has dynamic metadata for frame-by-frame adjustments. Ultimately both offer superb HDR video quality for the best source content.
Gaming Performance
For gaming, Sony OLED TVs distinguish themselves by supporting higher maximum refresh rates up to 120 Hz at 4K resolution. Combined with extremely quick response times below 8 ms, Sony‘s 2023 models offer silky smooth animation and low input lag for fast-paced console and PC games.
By contrast, Samsung limits the S95C‘s maximum 4K resolution to just 60 Hz. It does add AMD FreeSync Premium support for variable refresh rate (VRR) gaming. But for the smoothest 120 FPS gaming visuals at 4K, Sony has a clear edge over Samsung‘s current OLED offering.
Audio & Sound Features
Immersive cinematic audio is getting renewed emphasis in premium televisions, and OLED TVs from Sony and Samsung are no exception when it comes to built-in speakers. Both incorporate dedicated bass drivers and amplifiers for more dynamic, powerful sound. The S95C sticks to a straightforward 4.2 channel speaker system while Sony boosts this to a massive 10 drivers plus dual subwoofers on higher-end models.
Further elevating the audio experience, most new Sony OLED TVs now support Dolby Atmos 3D cinematic sound processing. Object-oriented Atmos audio pans soundtrack elements in a 3D space – even vertically – for breathtaking realism. Samsung reserves Dolby Atmos support for their ultra high-end 8K TVs only, giving Sony the edge for surround sound quality.
Smart TV & Connectivity
Being large-screen entertainment powerhouses, OLED televisions from both Sony and Samsung run comprehensive smart TV platforms. Sony handily switches back to Google‘s Android TV OS rebadged as Google TV – simple to use with vast app selection.
Samsung‘s homebrew Tizen OS tries to stand out via deeper integration with Samsung devices. But Android TV/Google TV still gives Sony the ecosystem advantage for streaming media and casting content. Physical connectivity is robust on both though, with multiple HDMI ports supporting modern gaming and audiovisual standards.
Power Efficiency
Despite using self-illuminating OLED technology requiring no separate backlight, these ultra high resolution 4K TV panels still demand significant power. Leading OLED maker LG manages to keep woLED power consumption impressively low – as little as 100 watts for a 65-inch 4K OLED TV. Since Sony sources most of their OLED panels from LG, their TVs enjoy similar efficiency.
In comparison, Samsung‘s debut QD-OLED S95B television averages closer to 150 watts on a 65-inch screen. The addition of Samsung‘s Quantum Dot enhancement layer undoubtedly helps picture quality. But it comes at the cost of increased energy usage compared to plain OLED panels. As a result Sony preserves something of an efficiency advantage by using LG‘s unenhanced OLED material.
Our Final Verdict: Sony vs Samsung OLED TVs
When compared across picture quality, features, performance metrics and value, Sony retains a slight overall edge over Samsung. By adopting LG‘s widely-proven WOLED panels and enhancing them brilliantly via their XR image processor and Google TV software, Sony OLED TVs like the A80K series tick all the right boxes.
Samsung‘s QD-OLED S95C television does show the future potential of adding color-boosting Quantum Dots onto OLED. But with only two premium-priced sizes lacking gaming features like 4K/120Hz, Sony provides OLED buyers better choice and flexibility today. However Samsung promises more QD-OLED models eventually while Sony too will migrate towards this panel technology over time.
As the two brands spur each other‘s innovation in the OLED television space, the clear winners for now are consumers who can enjoy world-leading display technology and value. OLED TV shoppers would do well to audition Sony, Samsung and other competitors in person when possible. Picture quality preferences and viewing room dynamics make personal evaluation important for such a major 4K TV investment. Whichever brand you choose, OLED display advancement shows no signs of slowing down thanks to enduring industry pioneers like Sony and Samsung.
