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As every year TV manufacturers offer us a new lineup of TVs that offer more or less some improvements over the last year. In 2017 Sony made a few waves equipping some of their models with 4K OLED technology. The A1 series was their top of the line model that won several awards and was praised for it’s extraordinary quality. Fast forward in 2018 and Sony showed off some of it’s offerings in CES 2018 in January and what they showed was a blend of last year’s models with some new ones that we analyze below.
Before i present you with all the models on this year’s Sony lineup there are two key points that you immediately realize from looking at all the specifications. The first one is that all models, from the top premium ones to the bottom low end Full HD ones, offer some kind of HDR (High Dynamic Range). Either it be only HDR10 which is the most basic HDR protocol supported by the UHD format or a wide range of HDR formats like HLG and Dolby Vision each and every model support some of them which makes things very interested because this is a feature that until now was mostly offered from medium tier 4K UHD models and up. Now everyone will be able to enjoy this.
The second key point that need to be mentioned is that 3D is out of the game completely. Sony has completely stripped this feature and there is not a single model from the 2018 lineup, even the top-tier ones, that support this feature anymore. I can safely say that from 2018 and onward 3D for home use should be considered dead and although there will be material coming out in 3D for some time I have a small idea that studios will slowly start to reduce the amount of content that we will be seeing in the future. Unless of course some extraordinary development in 3D technology occurs that will bring it back into the game.
So with these two points in mind lets see the Sony TVs for 2018. I am writing both the US and UK models as most TV manufacturers tend to give different coding for each country. Some of these models I am going to review during the year so stay tuned for updates. Also some of these models are not in the market yet so I will be updating this article accordingly in the near future.
Before closing this part we should mention that you can check our New Product Lineups section for more reviews and articles which we will update as we manage to get our hands on these new releases.
4K UHD OLED TVs
A1
Dimensions : 55″, 65″, 77″
The A1 was Sony’s 2017 OLED flagship model. It turned out to be so good that Sony decided to keep it for this year also as the top of the line model they offer and to tell you the truth they cannot go wrong with it.
Specifications
- 4K UHD OLED
- HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG
- 4K HDR X1 Extreme processor (Super Bit Mapping 4K HDR, Object-based HDR remaster, dual database processing)
- 4K X-Reality Pro
- Triluminos (expanded color space)
- Acoustic Surface technology
- Android TV
- Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa compatible, YouView (BBC iPlayer, All 4, Demand 5, ITV Player)
- Standless design with 5 degrees tilted screen
Cheapest Places to Buy :
A8F (US) – AF8 (UK)
Dimensions : 55″, 65″
The AF8 is the second OLED offering from Sony. Specification wise there is no difference than the top of the line A1 model. They both offer Dolby Vision, they have the same 4K HDR X1 Extreme processor, they both have the same 4K X-Reality Pro technology and even have Sony’s Acoustic Surface technology. So what’s the difference? In the design as the AF8 is offered with a stand like most TVs. The A1 had a standless design with a 5 degree angle and although it was different from what we were used, not everyone liked it. So Sony decided to offer an alternative more common design. The only other difference is the remote as the A1 has an aluminium and rubber remotes while the A8F has a rubber remote only. You can read our detailed review HERE.
Specifications
- 4K UHD OLED
- HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG
- 4K HDR X1 Extreme processor (Super Bit Mapping 4K HDR, Object-based HDR remaster, dual database processing)
- 4K X-Reality Pro
- Triluminos (expanded color space)
- Acoustic Surface technology
- Android TV
- Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa compatible, YouView (BBC iPlayer, All 4, Demand 5, ITV Player)
- Upright screen with rectangular stand
4K UHD LCD TVs
Z9D (US) – ZD9 (UK)
Dimensions : 65″, 75″, 100″
The ZD9 is not actually a new model. It was announced in the later half of 2016 and it was the first model to use the X1 Extreme chip. Sony has decided to keep this model as the top of the line LCD TV they have in their arsenal. It’s the only model to support 3D and this happens only because it’s actually a 2016 model. So if 3D is a must for you this is the only Sony model you should be looking at.
Specifications
- 4K UHD LCD display with full-array LED backlight
- HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG
- 4K HDR X1 Extreme processor (Super Bit Mapping 4K HDR, Object-based HDR remaster, dual database processing)
- 4K X-Reality Pro
- Triluminos (expanded color space)
- Backlight Master Drive
- X-tended Dynamic Range Pro
- 3D (active)
- Android TV with built-in Chromecast
- Rectangular stand or feet stand options
Cheapest Places to Buy :
X900F (US) – XF90 (UK)
Dimensions : 49″, 55″, 65″, 75″
The XF90 is a new 2018 model and is the successor to last year’s XE90 as well as XE93 and XE94. It’s the only new 2018 model to have full-array local dimming as well as technologies that the higher tier model has as the X1 Extreme processor. You can read our opinion on this TV in our extensive review HERE.
Specifications
- 4K UHD LCD display with full-array LED backlight
- HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG
- 4K HDR X1 Extreme processor (Super Bit Mapping 4K HDR, Object-based HDR remaster, dual database processing)
- 4K X-Reality Pro
- Triluminos (expanded color space)
- X-Motion Clarity
- X-tended Dynamic Range Pro
- Android TV with built-in Chromecast
- Stand design
X850F (US) – XF85 (UK)
Dimensions : 43″, 49″, 55″, 65″, 75″, 85″
My guess for the XF85 is that this TV will be the one Sony hopes to sell the most and that’s the reason they offer it in so many dimensions. Most of them will be edge-lit except the 85″ model which will be direct-lit due to it’s big size where edge lighting gets worse. But there is no full-array local dimming and no X1 Extreme processor in this lineup. We also loose support for Dolby Vision. The panel will be 100Hz which helps keep the motion smooth.
Specifications
- 4K UHD LCD display with LED backlight
- HDR10, HLG
- 4K HDR X1 processor
- 4K X-Reality Pro
- Triluminos (expanded color space)
- Android TV with built-in Chromecast
- Stand design
Cheapest Places to Buy :
X830F (US) – XF83 (UK)
Dimensions : 60″, 70″
The XF83 seems to have exactly the same specs as the XF85 only offered in less dimensions. Couldn’t find any other differences between the two models.
Specifications
- 4K UHD LCD display with LED backlight
- HDR10, HLG
- 4K HDR X1 processor
- 4K X-Reality Pro
- Triluminos (expanded color space)
- Android TV with built-in Chromecast
Cheapest Places to Buy :
X800F (US) – XF80 (UK)
Dimensions : 43″,49″, 55″
Basicaly the XF80 is the same model as the XF85 with only two differences. It looses the aluminium chassis and swaps it’s panel for a 50Hz one making motion not so good. Everything else remains the same.
Specifications
- 4K UHD LCD display with LED backlight
- HDR10, HLG
- 4K X-Reality Pro
- Triluminos (expanded color space)
- Android TV with built-in Chromecast
- Stand design
Cheapest Places to Buy :
X750F (US) – XF75 (UK)
Dimensions : 43″, 49″, 55″, 65″
The XF75 is very similar to the higher XF80 model. What seems to be different are the HDR capabilities that seems to be more limited than it’s higher brother and the different stand.
Specifications
- 4K UHD LCD display with LED backlight
- HDR10, HLG
- 4K X-Reality Pro
- Android TV with built-in Chromecast
X700F (US) – XF70 (UK)
Dimensions : 43″, 49″, 55″, 65″
The lowest of the 4K UHD models the XF70 losses some of it’s HDMI ports offering only two compared to four the XF75 has and also has more limited wireless capabilities.
Specifications
- 4K UHD LCD display with LED backlight
- HDR10, HLG
- 4K X-Reality Pro
- Android TV with built-in Chromecast
Cheapest Places to Buy :
Full HD LCD TVs
W66F (US) – WF6 (UK)
Dimensions : 43″, 50″
The WF6 is one of the two Full HD Sony offerings. It’s a low-end model with no Android but still offers a few apps.
Specifications
- Full HD LCD display with LED backlight
- HDR10
- X-Reality Pro
- Smart TV (Netflix, YouTube, web browser)
Cheapest Places to Buy :
RF45
Dimensions : 43″
The RF45 is the lowest of Sony offerings. Compared to the WF6 it has no android, no apps and no internet.
Specifications
- Full HD LCD display with LED backlight
- HDR10
- X-Reality Pro
- No apps
- No internet
Like the article…I find it can always be very hard to choose a TV with so much choice and quite a lot of terminology that if you are not an expert you may find a bit confusing.
As a result, it’s good to see the detail you have gone into and broken it down a bit more clearly.
Looking at all the articles in the net presenting new digital products from manufacturers what always bothered me was that it was most of the times very confusing to compare the products between them. That’s why I tried to present them in a way that it would be clear and easy for the readers to understand the differences between them.
Sony is my brand of choice for a TV. I am a techy and I love to be on the front end of the latest and greatest. That being said, my current Sony is about 5 years old, and I have been looking at all my options for a new TV. I am liking the 4K UHD OLED TV A1 the best. I have a 55″ right now and want something bigger 🙂
The A1 is the top of the line and the absolute best model you can buy from Sony at the moment. If budget is of no concern to you and you like the standless design then go for it. Otherwise you can go also for the Sony AF8 which is the exact same model but with a more traditional stand design.