Sony has announced us awards for his new high-end Sony Bravia 8 II OLED TV-Men as opposed to the UK, where pricing is very competitive with the LG G5, Sony’s American awards are far higher than the G5s.
In fact, they are also much higher than the recently revealed price for the Samsung S95F, which uses the same QD-Oled panel.
When I talked to Sony at the British launch of Bravia 8 II, I was told that the price of the new TV would be lower than for Sony A95L, the company’s former high-end OLED. However, it seems to have only used for Britain because Bravia 8 II is priced higher than the A95L was at the launch in the United States.
|
Size |
Sony Bravia 8 II |
LG G5 |
Samsung S95F |
|---|---|---|---|
|
55-inch |
$ 3,499 |
$ 2,499 |
$ 2,499 |
|
65-inch |
$ 3,999 |
$ 3,399 |
$ 3,399 |
|
77-inch |
Sony A95L 77-inch still available: $ 4,999 |
$ 4,499 |
$ 4,499 |
What we do not know is whether this price factors in expected customs costs or not – it may be that Sony has included them and that LG and Samsung will soon have to raise prices.
However, Sony has a story about its TV and audio products that come with a relatively high price tag for US customers, so this may be the originally planned prices and they can move on in the near future, although we do not yet know what the full effect of tariffs on prices will be.
Sony has not announced a release date for the TV yet, although it is because of a release of early before in the UK.
Sony also released pricing for its new Bravia 5 mini-led middle-class TV, and its budget Bravia 2 II (yes, it’s Bravia 2 Mark II, a terrible name decision) TV.
|
Size |
Bravia 5 |
Bravia 2 II |
|
55-inch |
$ 1,699 |
$ 699 |
|
65-inch |
$ 1,799 |
$ 799 |
|
75-inch |
$ 2,399 |
$ 1,099 |
|
85-inch |
$ 2,999 |
Reach |
|
98-inch |
$ 6,499 |
Reach |
Bravia 2 II is a directly led LED TV and includes Sony’s X1 processor, which was previously in its flagship TV-beautiful without local backlight dimming, not expecting a fantastic contrast.
Bravia 5 is especially a very interesting TV in its larger sizes. I’ve seen it in real life, though only short, and it’s bright, and a decent mini-led backlight must ensure solid contrast. But in larger sizes, Sony’s excellent treatment should help make sure you don’t see the imperfections in streaming or HD video when you look at a cracked 4K screen.
Another uphill for Sony?
In the UK, the pricing of Bravia 8 II is really exciting-the 65 inch Sony is a little cheaper than the LG G5, which can really shake our location of the best OLED TVs there because it means the choice is strongly down to picture quality and Sony is judged really Much there.
But in the US, if Bravia 8 II remains at $ 600- $ 1,000 more than LG’s and Samsung’s equivalents, it will have a very hard time breaking through. Yes, Sony almost certainly has better built -in sound, but it doesn’t come to anything if you can buy a good sound bar for less than the price difference between them.
And I said Bravia 8 II looks like it wants some of the best image quality on the planet from my early demo, but will the difference be big enough to justify that kind of price difference? I have trouble believing it, even though we test the LG G5, Samsung S95F and Sony Bravia 8 II side by side when they all launch to decide what’s the best TV, so watch this space.
