Earlier this year, Sony made a radical decision by changing direction and technology for its high-end televisions. The standard bearer will therefore not be a QD-Oled TV like the A95L, but a Mini-Led model. To better understand this change, we recommend that you read our article, but remember that the manufacturer is banking on this technology for its greater brightness and undoubtedly for reasons of cost and availability of the panels.
A new nomenclature
Bye complicated names based on letters and numbers in all directions as many manufacturers do, Sony has decided to take advantage of this new start on Mini-Led to simplify everything in 2024. Rather than an A95L we will now find the Bravia 9 at the top of the high-end pyramid, then the Bravia 8 and the Bravia 7. Please note, the A95L, QD-Oled “flagship” model of the brand that we tested in 2023 remains in the catalog for this year and will sit next to the Bravia 9.
Unfortunately, it would have been too easy to stick to a simple and effective Bravia 7, 8, 9 series: the Bravia 9 (top of the range) benefits from Mini-led technology – just like the Bravia 7 which will be less well equipped but also less expensive -, but the Bravia 8 does not have much to do since it has a panel… (White) Oled.
Before a possible complete transition of the series in 2025, we can therefore summarize things like this:
- Bravia 9 and Bravia 7 in Mini-Led
- A95L and Bravia 8 in (QD) and (W) Oled
The Bravia 9 for the best possible experience
The Bravia 9 will therefore constitute the very high end of the brand and will benefit from all of Sony’s know-how. We will obviously find the new Mini-Led panel presented in recent months coupled with a new XR processor. The brightness is announced to be 50% brighter than the previous X95L, which should give a peak around 2200 cd/m² which would be simply enormous. Only TCL has gone higher so far with its giant ultra high-end X955 with a peak light that we measured at 2400 cd/m².
In any case, we can count on the brand’s new 22 controller which should make it possible to display a huge number of shades of color and brightness for very good rendering, particularly in HDR scenes. The demonstrations we saw at Sony in Los Angeles were convincing, but only in-depth tests will allow us to judge. Small addition this year, new calibration modes will be available to adapt to content from certain streaming platforms, notably Amazon Prime and Netflix.
The Bravia 9’s Mini-Led backlighting system (right) appears precise and efficient.
Finally, the Bravia 9 has a complete sound system with speakers dedicated to Atmos effects and if the result was already very convincing on the A95L, we can obviously add one of the new sound bars Theater of the brand. THE gaming will also be in the spotlight with a 120 Hz refresh rate, and VRR and ALLM compatibility.
Bravia Theater: Sony wants to put you at the heart of the action with its new home cinema systems
The Bravia 9 will be available in 75 and 85 inches only, XL sizes which risk charging a lot for the service. That Sony is ignoring a 55-inch model is understandable, but it must be admitted that it is difficult to imagine that the 65-inch is absent.
The Bravia 7 and 8 for more affordable TVs
The Bravia 8 models benefit from Oled panels to display infinite contrasts, but they will obviously be much less bright than the Bravia 9. The audio system will undoubtedly also be less well equipped, but we should maintain a high-end experience. Sony has in any case accustomed us to good calibration out of the box, the unknown remaining the maximum brightness.
This television will be available in 55, 65 and 77 inches.
Just like the Bravia 9, the Bravia 7 are based on Mini-Led technology, but the performance will of course be lower, again in terms of light peak, number of backlight zones and audio quality.
This series includes three sizes, 65, 75 and 85 inches.
Unfortunately, we don’t know more about the prices of the different Sony ranges or their arrival dates on the market, but we will update this article as soon as we learn a little more.