Sony Bravia XR TV 2023 range (AV)

There are three new models in the Sony BRAVIA XR TV 2023 range: X90L Full Array LED, A95L QD-OLED and A80L OLED.

The Mini-LED X95L are yet to be released. We don’t have any firm release dates (expected May 2023) or prices. All are 4K, Dolby Vision/Atmos/HDR capable, and have Google TV. Note that ‘L’ means 2023 models.

• A95L, MASTER Series, QD OLED (using Samsung QD-OLED panel) in 55/65/77”
• A80L/A83L/A84L OLED (likely using LG Evo OLED panels) in 55/65/77/83”
• X95L, Mini LED, 4K, Unknown size range
• X90L/X91BL Full Array LED (FALD) in 55/65/75/85”

What do the screen variants mean?

• Full-Array Local Dimming (FALD) – Back-lit with more LEDs and more granular control with 30-100 dimming zones to reduce ghosting. FALD is generally not able to do Dolby Vision.
• FALD Pro – as above but with dozens of LCD dimming zones to further reduce ghosting. Can begin to display HDR and Dolby Vision content.
• Mini-LED – as per FALD but with thousands of mini-LEDs, usually with dozens to hundreds of dimming zones. Capable of greater brightness for HDR10+ or Dolby Vision.
• OLED – each 4K (33M) pixel is self-emissive (light a light bulb) for extremely granular light control. LG uses WOLED-CF with four white OLED subpixels with colour filters on top (W+RBG).
• QD-OLED blue OLED backlight (self-emissive) for 100% dimming zones and pure blacks (off). It overlays a Quantum Dot layer (instead of a colour filter layer) that is excited to produce red, green, blue and almost every colour or tone in between. Read The difference between OLED and QD OLED TV explained).

More at Confused about TV tech? That’s just what they want! (Guide updated 2023).

Sony Bravia XR TV 2023 range features (note Sony is a master at inventing marketing terms)

• Cognitive Processor XR, featuring the XR Clear Image technology, improves noise reduction and clarity with motion and reduces blur (Motion), Enables better backlight control of local dimming zones, increased brightness, and decreased blooming.
• Acoustic Centre Sync allows the use of the TV speakers and Sony soundbars (‘A’ denotes 2023 models – HT-A9 Home Theatre System, HT-A7000, HT-A5000 and HT-A3000 soundbars) together for a wider sound field.
• The A95L and A80L feature Acoustic Surface Audio+ with actuators (speakers) that vibrate to produce sound from the entire screen.
• PlayStation 5 gaming features, including Game Menu, HDMI 2.1 4K@120Hz, eARC, VRR/ALLM, Auto HDR Tone Mapping and Auto Genre Picture Mode.
• BRAVIA CORE app is a pre-loaded movie service that allows up to 10 current release or catalogue feature films and 24 months of unlimited streaming of dozens of more Sony movies.
• BRAVIA CAM option: Detects the viewer’s position to optimise the picture and sound according to the room environment and viewing distance.
• Eco Dashboard keeps all user settings in one place.

CyberShack’s view – Sony Bravia XR TV 2023 range is the last major TV maker to release new models

We like Sony because it (and TCL) uses the Google TV OS with the largest App and streaming support. That is not to take away from LG webOS, Samsung Tizen, or Hisense VIDAA, but there may be some compromises with other TV OS. Samsung does not support Dolby Vision movies at all.

Sony is well made, perhaps costing a little more but still has a 1-year warranty (On-site Service/Pick up within 25km of Sony Authorised Service Centre) that we believe needs to be improved. ACL warranty covers defects found outside of the warranty period. A TV like this should last 5-10 years, depending on security patch updates.

Regrettably, we have yet to review any Sony 2021 or 2022 TVs, a matter that we trust Sony will address as TV reviews are our largest category. As such, we cannot recommend Sony until this is addressed.