Sony OLED TVs

SONY IS AGAIN ITS OWN WORST ENEMY: MAKING ITS NEW TV FEEL OLD WITH AN EVEN-NEWER, UNAFFORDABLE MODEL.

SONY’S BRAND CACHET isn’t what it used to be. Many Millennials will likely wonder what all the fuss was about, having been too young to remember the company’s 1980s marketcrushing electronics. In recent years Sony’s settled down as something of a highperformance-but-overpriced brand, and the A8F unfortunately fits this narrative.

Like Panasonic, Sony makes use of LG’s OLED panel but adds its own electronics and design flourishes. The A8F is a minor update to last year’s A1 TV – both of which use image processing technology from a generation before that. The main change is the removal of the highly-criticised ‘A-Frame’ stand, which took up a great deal of room at the back. Now the screen still tilts back (slightly) but the base is significantly smaller. The screen is still very low due to the low stand, however, and this will be an issue if you have a soundbar in front of your screen.

Despite using the powerful Android TV operating system – which comes with a multitude of useful apps and supports all of the major streaming and catch-up channels – navigation around the interface is slow and laggy.

Foibles aside, there’s still much to like. As with all OLED screens, picture performance is excellent thanks to vibrant colours and near-infinite contrast. It’s not quite as bright as the other OLEDs but motion smoothing and detail in dark areas is exceptional.

It’s worth mentioning sound as Sony cleverly uses the entire screen as a speaker. This gives the AF9 some of the best native audio on the market. The sub-woofer has moved from the A1’s chunky stand into the back of the screen. It might not offer as much punch, but it helps generate impressive all-round audio fidelity. At launch the A8F did not support Dolby Vision but it does now thanks to a firmware update. Consequently, some Netflix content will look that much better.

A common occurrence with Sony TVs has been that new, minor updates herald price crashes for older, nearly-identical models. As such, if you can find a cheap A1 and don’t mind the stand, you could have a bargain. However, our searching suggests this isn’t quite the case with OLED as the A1 was only $500 less. The A8F itself costs $3,495 for the 55-inch version ($500 price drop since launch) and $4,995 for the 65-inch version ($1,000 drop). However, these prices are still considerably higher than rivals from Panasonic and LG. You’d need to seriously like the Sony’s design and Android TV functionality to want to pay more.

It’s worth noting that Sony has technically launched the successor to this model, the A9F, in Australia. You can buy it on Sony’s website but it costs a staggering $5,799 (55-inch) or $7,499 (65-inch). The A-Frame stand is back but it’s packed with audio-enhancing goodies. The Android OS has finally been sped-up with an update, while the image is much brighter and punchier. We suspect Sony isn’t pushing it to avoid killing A8F and A1 sales, but at this price, few will buy it anyway.

AS WITH ALL OLED SCREENS, PICTURE PERFORMANCE IS EXCELLENT THANKS TO VIBRANT COLOURS AND NEAR-INFINITE CONTRAST. IT’S NOT QUITE AS BRIGHT AS THE OTHER OLEDS BUT MOTION SMOOTHING AND DETAIL IN DARK AREAS IS EXCEPTIONAL.