The 55-inch Panasonic Z95B OLED has dropped to £1799 at various retailers, a substantial £700 saving on its £2499 launch price, but we’d still recommend grabbing our latest Best Buy Award-winner instead.
While the Panasonic is undeniably a good TV that we gave a well-deserved five stars, we'd argue that spending an extra £100 on the 55-inch Sony Bravia 8 II (currently £1899, also down from £2499), represents better value for most buyers.
This is because, when we ran the 65-inch versions of both sets side-by-side in our testing rooms, the Sony emerged as the superior performer overall. That's why it just earned a place among the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025 Best Buy winners, over the Panasonic.
The Sony Bravia 8 II excels in areas that matter most to everyday viewing. Its combination of inky blacks and exceptional shadow detail is second to none – you get all the dynamism expected from OLED without missing anything you're supposed to see in the gloomiest of films.
During our testing with Alien: Romulus, all the folds and wrinkles in clothing remained clearly visible in darker scenes, whereas the finest elements were lost on other sets.
But it's the way these elements combine with Sony's XR Processor and new AI scene recognition to produce an image that's sharper, more solid and more three-dimensional than any rival that truly impresses. Objects and people have genuine volume and roundedness, while backgrounds possess depth and purpose.
Getting great results from the Bravia 8 II is remarkably straightforward too. Simply select Dolby Vision Dark for Dolby Vision content or Professional for everything else, and you're set.
Want a bit more pop? Switch to Dolby Vision Bright or Cinema mode. The presets are so well-judged that most owners won't need to make further tweaks. based on our testing.
The Panasonic Z95B, by contrast, requires more time and attention to extract its best performance.
Out of the box in Filmmaker Mode, we found it struggled with shadow detail compared to the Sony – during Pan, captive children standing in the background of a shot were lost within the shadows on the Panasonic.
Switching to the True Cinema preset and dialling up the Resolution Remaster setting to medium delivers a richer, sharper and more balanced picture that does a better job of closing the gap, but this extra calibration work won't appeal to everyone.
Where the Panasonic does shine, though, is in its colour delivery – it treads a careful line between remaining balanced while adding necessary punch, resulting in rich and vibrant hues that don't stray into looking overcooked.
The golden-hued intro of Top Gun: Maverick looks dazzling, with vibrant greens and oranges on the aircraft carrier crew's uniforms.
The TV also features a substantial Technics-tuned Dolby Atmos sound system with 170W of claimed power output, complete with front-firing speakers, side-firing drivers, dual upward-firing units and a dedicated subwoofer with dual passive radiators – all wrapped in tasteful acoustic cloth.
However, the Sony still claims victory in the audio department. The Bravia 8 II's Acoustic Surface Audio+ setup vibrates the screen itself to create sound, tying audio and video spatially in a way rival solutions can't match.
It combines this directness with impressive spaciousness, stretching effects far beyond the screen's edges. Detail levels are excellent, with enough dynamic nuance to convey emotion in an actor's performance, and the impressive lower midrange ensures voices sound warm and full.
While the Panasonic's bass can feel lightweight with uncomfortable distortion when boosted, the Sony's low frequencies remain controlled with only the faintest hint of fuzz in the deepest notes.
The Bravia 8 II is the best-sounding TV of all the flagship OLEDs we've tested this year. Note, of course, that picking one of the best soundbars is still the easiest way to turbocharge your TV viewing experience for extra depth and immersion.
Elsewhere, there are a couple of areas where the Panasonic edges ahead. It supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ dynamic HDR formats (the Sony only supports Dolby Vision alongside standard HDR10 and HLG).
Both TVs also offer four HDMI inputs, but only two on each are full 48Gbps HDMI 2.1 sockets. The Panasonic also supports refresh rates up to 144Hz versus the Sony's 120Hz, though very few people will be able to take advantage of this difference.
For hardcore gamers with multiple current-generation consoles, the dual HDR format support could tip the scales towards the Panasonic.
It's also worth noting that the Panasonic represents the ultimate choice for absolute accuracy purists. Panasonic's TVs are favoured by directors, editors and colourists in Hollywood studios for their commitment to delivering images close to the original artist's intent.
The Bravia 8 II, while still very accurate, does apply some processing. We'd argue, this enhances things in most instances – creating that exceptional three-dimensional quality we praised – but dedicated purists might still prefer Panasonic's approach.
For the vast majority of buyers, though, the Sony Bravia 8 II offers superior picture and sound performance straight out of the box, with less need for calibration tweaking.
At just £100 more than the discounted Panasonic, it represents the smarter investment for most living rooms, as a result.
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Read our Sony Bravia 8 II review
Read our Panasonic Z95B (TV-65Z95B) review
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