It's Finally Here: Sony’s A8H 4K OLED TVs Are Now Shipping
When will yours arrive?
Sony unveiled a new TV lineup at CES in January and announced pricing and release dates for those products last month. Now, the company’s A8H 4K OLED TVs are hitting the market.
The A8H line is available in 55 and 65-inch classes, with pricing at $2,299.99 and $3,099.99, respectively.
The TVs feature Sony’s X-Motion Clarity technology and 2.1 channel sound, and are compatible with Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant and AirPlay 2. It runs on Android TV and is Dolby Atmos-capable. The models also come with a two-way stand, and can be raised to make room for a sound bar.
In a hands-on when the TVs were introduced at CES, Tech Radar praised the line’s “gorgeous 4K HDR performance,” the X-Motion Clarity technology and “ambient optimization,” while listing as drawbacks its “bulky design,” while noting that it’s “not as bright as other OLEDs.”
“The A8H has a couple of significant tricks up its sleeves that potentially make it comfortably Sony’s most all-round appealing OLED TV yet,” the site wrote. “Especially if it turns out that, as we suspect, it’ll be pretty aggressively priced when it goes on sale in the next few months.”
Tom’s Guide calls Sony’s A8H models both “breathtaking” and “surprisingly affordable.”
“The A8H looks superb, thanks to the combination of an excellent OLED panel and Sony’s X1 Ultimate processor. The display pairs the deep contrast and true blacks of OLED displays with 180-degree viewing angles and Sony’s Triluminos color enhancement,” Tom’s Guide, which will publish a full review at a later date, said.
The site also notes that last year’s Sony OLED lines at the same sizes were more expensive, at $2,999 and $3,499.
The A8H is not the highest-end of Sony’s TVs from this year’s line; that is Z8H 8K HDR LED TVs, which arrive this summer. That line will include 75 and 85-inch models, priced at $6,999.99 and $9,999.99, respectively.
The new TVs are available from Best Buy, Amazon and other retailers.
Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
Image: Sony