We buy and test dozens of TVs each year, including more than 75 Sony TVs. The best Sony TVs are generally a safe bet when looking for the best option for your needs. They tend to have great picture quality, a few extra features, and good color accuracy. Their high-end and mid-range models compete well with other brands, although at a price premium. Sadly, they don't offer many budget-friendly options.
Updates
- 11/11/2024 Sony X90L/X90CL updated
- 08/02/2024 Sony BRAVIA 3 reviewed
- 06/20/2024 Sony BRAVIA 8 OLED reviewed
- 06/14/2024 Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED reviewed
- 05/27/2024 Sony BRAVIA 7 QLED reviewed
Best Sony Smart TVs
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Best Sony TV
Mixed Usage9.2TV Shows8.9Sports9.1Video Games9.3HDR Movies9.3HDR Gaming9.1PC Monitor9.4The best Sony TV we've tested is the Sony A95L OLED. Thanks to its QD-OLED panel technology, this impressive TV delivers incredible picture quality in any viewing environment. Dark scenes look incredible, with perfect contrast and no distracting blooming around bright highlights in dark scenes. Colors are vibrant and lifelike, and the TV can display an incredibly wide range of colors. Thanks to Sony's excellent processing capabilities, the TV delivers an image that closely matches the content creator's intent, with nearly perfect PQ EOTF tracking and fantastic gradient processing, making it one of the best reference models on the market.
It also has impressive gaming features, including HDMI 2.1 bandwidth for 4k @ 120Hz gaming with VRR. It supports a wide range of formats, including Dolby Vision HDR, and it supports eARC audio passthrough and all common audio formats, so you can spend more time enjoying your favorite movies and less time playing with settings and worrying about format support. It's expensive but remains one of the best TVs on the market.
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Best Sony TV For Bright Rooms
Mixed Usage8.8TV Shows8.4Sports8.3Video Games9.1HDR Movies9.0HDR Gaming9.0PC Monitor8.7If you regularly watch TV during the day in a room with all the curtains open, consider the high-end Mini LED Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED. It has superb SDR brightness and reflection handling, meaning it easily overcomes glare in the brightest rooms. What really separates this TV from other LEDs is its impressive local dimming control, which provides very deep blacks with almost no noticeable blooming, although they're still not as deep as what you get from the Sony A95L OLED. The TV doesn't have the same color vibrancy as the A95L, but colors still look excellent.
You still get Dolby Vision and DTS audio support, so it's an excellent option for a home theater. The TV is also loaded with modern gaming features, like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on two of its ports for up to 4k @ 120Hz gaming with VRR. The TV has a slower response time than the A95L, but it's fast enough for a mostly smooth gaming experience. Although the TV's viewing angle is wider than many other LEDs, it's not nearly as wide as the A95L, so it's not the best option if you need a TV to watch content with a big group of friends. Still, the BRAVIA 9 is the best LED currently on the market, so if an OLED isn't for you, it's an amazing option.
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Best Upper Mid-Range Sony TV
Mixed Usage8.9TV Shows8.6Sports8.8Video Games9.3HDR Movies8.8HDR Gaming9.1PC Monitor9.2The best upper mid-range Sony TV we've tested is the Sony BRAVIA 8 OLED. If you want a Sony OLED but the Sony A95L OLED is too expensive, the BRAVIA 8 is a great option. Like the A95L, it displays inky blacks with no blooming, so it looks fabulous in a dark room. Although it looks its best in a dark room, the TV's reflection handling and brightness are certainly good enough to fight glare in a room with some lights on. It's suitable for use in a home theater since it supports Dolby Vision and DTS audio passthrough, and its colors are vibrant enough for an impressive HDR experience.
Like other OLEDs, it has a wide viewing angle, so it's a great option for use in a group setting. The TV is also a great option for gamers due to its HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on two ports for up to 4k @ 120Hz gaming with VRR. Additionally, it has a nearly instantaneous response time, so fast motion is crisp and clear. Unfortunately, the TV isn't as accurate as the A95L, so you'll have to get it calibrated if you want a reference level TV.
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Best Mid-Range Sony TV
Mixed Usage8.4TV Shows7.7Sports7.7Video Games8.6HDR Movies8.9HDR Gaming8.6PC Monitor8.3If you want something cheaper but don't want to sacrifice picture quality much, the best mid-range Sony TV we've tested is the Sony BRAVIA 7 QLED. It's a great TV overall with great picture quality. Like the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED, it uses a Mini LED backlight with excellent local dimming. Blacks are nice and deep on this TV, but there's a bit more blooming around bright objects than there is on the BRAVIA 9. Fortunately, it's an incredibly bright TV that handles glare from pesky lights in a bright room. Colors are as equally vibrant on this TV as they are on the more expensive BRAVIA 9, so HDR content is impactful.
Unfortunately, its viewing angle is very narrow, and the image degrades quickly when viewed from the sides of the screen, so it's not a very good choice for wide seating arrangements. Still, it has Dolby Vision and DTS audio passthrough, and it has advanced gaming features like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, 4k @ 120Hz, and VRR. It's also a very accurate TV in both SDR and HDR, so you won't need to get it calibrated unless you're a color purist.
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Best Budget Sony TV
Mixed Usage7.2TV Shows7.8Sports7.7Video Games6.8HDR Movies6.8HDR Gaming7.2PC Monitor7.8While Sony doesn't offer truly budget TVs like other brands, and you can find cheaper TVs elsewhere, they have some affordable models, like the Sony BRAVIA 3. It's the entry-level TV in their 2024 lineup, so you can save some money if you're willing to give up on the gaming and other higher-end features of more expensive panels, like local dimming. However, its picture quality isn't nearly as good as the Sony BRAVIA 7 QLED, especially in dark rooms, as it has a lower contrast ratio that results in blacks that look gray. Instead, it has a wide viewing angle, making the image remain mostly accurate from the sides, which is ideal for wide seating arrangements.
Since this TV doesn't look very good in dark rooms, it's better suited for use in a room with the lights on since its brightness and reflection handling are good enough to overcome some glare. Fortunately, the TV is quite accurate out-of-the-box, which is great for a cheaper model. Unlike the higher picks, this TV doesn't support Dolby Vision or DTS audio passthrough. You also won't find HDMI 2.1 bandwidth or VRR support on this model, and you're limited to 4k @ 60Hz gaming.
Compared To Other Brands
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Versatile lineup.
Sony is one of a few companies that make both OLED and LED options. It means you can choose either panel if you want to buy a Sony TV, and both their OLEDs and LED TVs provide good picture quality. -
Great upscaling and motion handling.
Sony TVs, even the cheaper models, do better than the competition at upscaling lower-resolution content, and they offer great motion handling. -
Great color accuracy.
Sony TVs are known for their excellent out-of-the-box accuracy, especially the high-end models. You likely won't need to calibrate your Sony TV to enjoy the best viewing experience.
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High price.
Sony TVs are often priced above the competition in their category, meaning you can find better value elsewhere.
Sony vs Samsung
Samsung TVs have comparable picture quality to Sony TVs, and in general, they're pretty competitive. A big difference is that Samsung TVs generally have lower input lag for competitive gamers, but if you don't need that, either brand is a good choice. On the other hand, Sony TVs usually support Dolby Vision, whereas no Samsung TV supports that HDR format.
Sony vs LG
Sony and LG each make OLED and LED TVs. LG is the dominant OLED brand for OLEDs because they have better overall gaming performance and cost less. However, Sony's LED models are far better than LG's because they get brighter, have better uniformity, and usually have better contrast.
As a rule of thumb, it's pretty hard to go wrong when buying a Sony TV. Their TVs do tend to have higher input lag than competing brands, so although their TVs are great for casual gaming, they're not the best for competitive gaming. Their more entry-level offerings aren't great, but any high-end LED and OLED models are a safe bet. Their Google TV smart platform offers many apps to download with an easy-to-use interface. You might pay a slight premium over competing models, but you'll usually have a good TV.
2024 TV Lineup
So, what did Sony change in 2024? Like previous years, it's not all new models; there are a few carryovers. Sony has changed its naming scheme and is focusing more on the BRAVIA brand. For Sony's TV lineup, the biggest improvements are in its mid- and high-end TVs with Mini LED backlighting. The new flagship BRAVIA 9 and the BRAVIA 7 feature significantly improved backlight control, with the BRAVIA 9 integrating the backlight control technology used on Sony's BVM-HX3110 reference monitor.
There's also a new OLED, the Sony BRAVIA 8, which is very similar to the LG C4 OLED. Finally, there's a new entry-level Sony TV known as the Sony BRAVIA 3. This entry-level 4k TV lacks a local dimming feature and is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate, but it's built with a similar design language as the higher-end models and has similar Sony picture processing to the higher-end models, so you'll still enjoy fantastic picture quality that's designed to deliver the creator's intent. You can read more about Sony's 2024 Lineup on the 2024 TV lineup page or in our article covering Sony's announcement event here.
Recent Updates
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Oct 08, 2024: Replaced the Sony X93L/X93CL with the Sony BRAVIA 8 OLED in the 'Best Upper Mid-Range Sony TV' category, the Sony X90L/X90CL with the Sony BRAVIA 7 QLED in the 'Best Mid-Range Sony TV' category, and the Sony X80K/X80CK with the Sony BRAVIA 3 in the 'Best Budget Sony TV' category.
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Jul 12, 2024: We added the Sony BRAVIA 9 QLED to the newly created 'Best Sony TV For Bright Rooms' category and refreshed some text throughout for clarity.
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May 16, 2024: Confirmed the availability of our picks and refreshed some text throughout the article for clarity.
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Mar 18, 2024: We confirmed our current picks' availability and accuracy and condensed the article for clarity.
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Jan 18, 2024: Added information about Sony's 2024 TV lineup.
Conclusion
While they tend not to be the cheapest, Sony produces great TVs. They'll generally be versatile, helping to make them suitable for most people. The smart features can take some time to learn for some people, but the overall package offered by their TVs is still better than average. At this point, it's safe to say that their overall reputation holds, and people who will find themselves disappointed by purchasing one of their TVs are rare.