Sony unveiled its two new Bravia TV series in January. The X9300D and X8500D models are large screen, 4K HDR ready TVs and both come with Android TV. The design is flat including the stand and the back parts. Sony’s design concept is called “Slice of Living” and the objective is to blend the TV and the living room together using clear and simplistic lines. A noticeable difference is that the Sony Bravia X9300D series has no front speakers on the two sides unlike its predecessor X9300C that was introduced last year.

Android TV

The 2016 Sony Bravia TVs run on the Android TV platform. Thousands of apps created for this platform can be downloaded from Google Play. The remote control features a red ‘Google Play‘ button, which makes it super easy to browse the Google Play app store. Voice search is available by using pressing a ‘Voice Search‘ button on the remote control.

Next generation entertainment

Sony strives to integrate both traditional broadcasting and Internet content. The latter is achieved through promoting Netflix and Youtube through a content bar overlay at the bottom of the screen. Google Cast let you view and access your smartphone apps, games and content by casting it on the TV screen. This is a perfect way of sharing content with family and friends.

Picture quality

Both series are 4K TVs capable of HDR and Sony therefore uses its iconic in-house 4K HDR logo for all marketing material related to these TVs. The X1 chip enables 4K X-Reality Pro picture processing. Triluminos Display tech allows for an enhanced colours. There are also some differences between the two models. Only the more powerful X9300D series supports 3D technology and X-tended Dynamic Range Pro. The latter technology yields better contrast between black and bright by dynamically varying the brightness.

Dimensions

The X9300D model comes in 55 and 65-inch screen sizes. The X8500D model is offered in 55, 65, and 75-inch screen sizes.

Availability and price

We expect the new Sony Bravia TV series for 2016 to be available in March although Sony.co.nz still displays the ‘Available soon’ label. The pricing in New Zealand hasn’t been announced yet.