The brand-new Sony Bravia A95K QD-OLED TV faces tough competition in the Samsung S95B (Image: Sony)
Although Sony’s brand-new A95K Quantum-Dot OLED TV shows some promising results in a first-impression video by a popular YouTuber, it remains questionable if the high-end 4K HDR television can actually outperform the closely related Samsung S95B.
Just like its South Korean competitor Samsung, the reputable Japanese manufacturer Sony is ready to jump on the QD-OLED bandwagon with its 2022 Bravia lineup. While the novel panel technology certainly offers some distinct advantages over the traditional WRGB OLED panels that are utilized by the market leader LG, the new Sony A95K QD-OLED faces tough competition in the closely related Samsung S95B (from US$1,997 on Amazon).
Since Sony does not manufacture its own television panels, the Sony Bravia A95K is equipped with a QD-OLED panel made by Samsung. For that reason, there are quite a few similarities between the Samsung S95B and Sony’s counterpart, but the UK-based television expert HDTVTest has now elaborated on the slight differences between the two competing 4K HDR sets.
Most notably, the Sony Bravia A95K is equipped with a heatsink layer that allows the QD-OLED TV to beat its direct competitor in terms of temporary image retention, also known as afterglow. However, the corresponding YouTube video also shows that the Sony Bravia A95K features an HDR peak brightness of around 960 nits in a 10% window, which means that it can’t get as bright as the Samsung S95B. But in theory, this rather conservative peak brightness setup could also result in a better longevity of the QD-OLED panel.
The Sony Bravia A95K also seems to be a good choice for PC gamers, since the first test results indicate that the TV supports the rather unusual refresh rate of 144 Hz, but unlike the Samsung S95B it may skip some frames in this unofficial mode. With an input lag of 16 ms at 4K60, Sony’s QD-OLED TV is also a few milliseconds slower than its exceptionally quick competitor from South Korea. Overall, the Sony Bravia A95K appears to be off to a promising start, but only further testing can reveal if it can truly outmatch the well-performing Samsung equivalent.
Enrico Frahn – Tech Writer – 966 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2021
My fascination for technology goes back a long way to the Pentium II era. Modding, overclocking and treasuring computer hardware has since become an integral part of my life. As a student, I further developed a keen interest in mobile technologies that can make the stressful college life so much easier. After I fell in love with the creation of digital content while working in a marketing position, I now scour the web to bring you the most exciting topics in the world of tech. Outside the office, I’m particularly passionate about motorsports and mountain biking.