Sony Bravia 9 II review: With great brightness comes great responsibility

Sony has long been a proponent of LED backlight, with its flagship TV model often using some variation of the tech rather than the ever-popular OLED.

It's perhaps ironic that one of the best OLED TVs is the Bravia 8 II, a model that's flanked by two other non-OLED: the Bravia 7 II below it and this, the Bravia 9 II, at the top. Both of these are what Sony calls 'True RGB' TVs.

We've seen Sony's RGB tech on a number of occasions, but with the Bravia 7 II and the Bravia 9 II, it finally brings the next-gen TV tech to market. Meaning you can, finally, actually buy one.

While the message here is about surpassing OLED, the more time I spend with RGB backlight TVs, the more I see it more as the logical evolution of Mini-LED. It carries many of Mini-LED's advantages, while hanging onto some of its disadvantages.

At its core, the Bravia 9 II is a flagship Sony TV and that shines in pretty much everything that it does – especially if brightness and colour are your biggest asks. It might not seal the deal over OLED for everyone, though.

Price & Availability

The Sony Bravia 9 II was announced on in May 2026. It's widely available from retailers, but as a flagship model, it comes at a premium price.

It's available in 65-, 75-, 85- and 115-inch sizes. If you want something smaller, you'll have to get the Sony Bravia 7 II (which is less bright).

The 65-inch model is £3499 in the UK, so it's a full £500 more expensive than the LG OLED G6 – and that aligns with where Sony sees this television.

It's also a bump over the price of the previous Bravia 9, so there's no escaping the fact that this is an expensive TV (at least at launch – time may see discounts applied).

Sony Bravia 9 II vs Bravia 9: What's new?

Comparing the Bravia 9 II to the previous Bravia 9 might not be quite fair: the Bravia 9 was announced in 2024 and its design reflects a previous generation of Sony TVs.

The Bravia 9 II has a central stand instead of feet at the far ends of the screen, making it a lot easier to accommodate. It also increases audio output.

So physically there's a design difference, but the real difference lies in what powers the display. Moving from traditional Mini-LED, the Bravia 9 II introduces an RGB backlighting system, meaning it's much more capable when it comes to generating vibrant colours.

This is combined with the RGB Backlight Master Drive Pro, while also using a new contrast-boosting system. Peak brightness on the Bravia 9 was somewhere around 3000 nits, but the Bravia 9 II aims to be closer to Sony's reference monitor, which is calibrated to 4000 nits. So it's brighter by quite a margin.

The Bravia 9 II also comes with an anti-reflective display, which is a new technology for Sony.

In reality, these two TVs are a world apart. They might share the same fundamental name, but the core technology differs by a dramatic degree.

Design & Setup

The good news is that Sony's new Mirage stand is a very welcome addition, moving support into the centre of the screen rather than towards the edges that we saw from the previous generation.

That makes it a lot easier if you want to place the TV on a piece of furniture – the 65-inch model is 145cm wide, but now you don't need a huge surface to sit it on, as it can protrude over the edges.

The Mirage stand earns its name thanks to the clever refractive panel that slots between the legs. This plastic panel allows light through, but it obscures anything that's behind it. That basically means that cables can be hidden, but visually there's no huge block under the TV – it's a nice move to keep things tidy.

If you're interested in RGB TVs then there's something you need to know: this tech results in hefty TVs. While premium OLED models are wafer thin, RGB TVs are hench.

Sony has used the extra bulk of this TV to pack in a more accommodating sound system, but the 65-inch model I reviewed is definitely a two-handed lift.

There are two remotes in the box: one with a button-heavy version that's been established for many years; and a lighter remote made from recycled plastics, offering USB-C charging, which strips down the buttons – and which I found served me well during testing.

Sony's TV sits on the Google TV platform and the setup process is rather long, walking through a number of steps that invite you to connect devices, as well as introducing you to My Cinema, which is, in my opinion, the core of Sony's picture modes.

Sadly, Google TV doesn't support Freely, so you'll be invited to connect an aerial or TV box, but at least Google TV remembers your passwords if they're saved in Google – so it's quick to sign into your favourite streaming services.

Speaking of connections, Sony hasn't made a huge change from its previous arrangement with this TV: only two of the four HDMI ports support the full bandwidth HDMI 2.1.

That's a pain for anyone connecting a soundbar and multiple games consoles. This is a 120Hz display, so again, there's a bit of a feeling that you're not getting a huge amount of futureproofing.

Picture Quality

Cutting to the chase, the Sony Bravia 9 II offers exceptional picture quality.

There are two sides to that: firstly, Sony continues to offer exceptional processing that's balanced, aiming to deliver cinematic authenticity, while widening the colour volume over Mini-LED TVs. The RGB tech can deliver huge brightness and vibrancy, the fact that Sony keeps that in balance is a credit to the brand's pursuit of accuracy.

I've previously criticised Sony's home screen arrangement, because it tends to be a little dull when navigating. This seems a deliberate choice compared to something like the Hisense UR8S (that I was testing at the same time) where the home screen is almost painfully vivid.

Of course, once you dive into high-quality content, the screen doesn't fail to impress. Sony is inherently deliberate with its offering: there's no HDR10+ and there's no Filmmaker Mode, which is usually what TVs recommend for the "most accurate" presentation, as the director intended.

Instead, Sony offers Calibrated Modes for Netflix and Amazon Prime, and these modes will overrule Dolby Vision, which is usually upheld as the gold standard for HDR (high dynamic range) content. You can turn off those calibrated modes for better results – I find them a little dark.

My Cinema is a suite of picture modes that govern the picture settings across the TV. It's slightly confusing that My Cinema only applies to "movie" content, but apps and broadcast TV isn't classed as movie content, it counts as "video/images" instead. This would mean that My Cinema wouldn't apply to it.

You're free to manually change the content type in the settings, which is ultimately what I did. I had everything classed as "movie" and I used My Cinema for the lot. Sure, it's confusing, but I found that "My Cinema Daytime" struck the best balance overall for everything I watched.

Sony's processing makes a huge difference. Watching Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and there are vibrant reds showing off the potency of RGB's ability, while skin tones remain natural without getting flushed. It's these fine points of HDR brilliance that are presented without blowing out the rest of the content. And that's what makes this TV and its underlying technology great.

But RGB isn't a magic bullet, as there are areas where the delivery looks a little strange – and that includes sport. I watched some of the World Cup in UHD via BBC iPlayer and found a strange combination of a slightly muted picture, but with colours that popped off the screen. That saw the orange of the referee's shirt looking almost neon, with some really vibrant adverts around the pitch, but the grass looking dull.

The 65-inch Bravia 9 II is thought to have 1530 dimming zones and that's naturally a long way from the 8 million that a rival 4K OLED would offer. But The Batman still looked dark and contrasty, with the Sony doing a great job and avoiding unnecessary brightening of darker scenes.

There's occasional blooming, but you have to look for it. It gets more obvious when you're not sitting head-on – white Netflix programme naming on a black background, for example. It's here that this LED tech shows its limitations compared to OLED.

Most of the time you also won't run into the Bravia 9 II's potential. That huge peak brightness sits in the background, betting against a future where content makes greater demands on TV screens than OLED currently offers.

If you want to see how bright and vibrant this TV can be, don't stop at Standard, jump all the way to Vivid and you'll find it's almost painfully bright. If you do end up using Standard, at least change the motion processing – as it's prone to the soap opera effect, while other modes handle motion with much more assurance.

This all sets the stage for excellent bright room performance, boosted by Sony's new glare-free screen. It's taken a leaf out of Samsung's book here, killing reflections with skill, making this a great TV for a sun-filled room, but I think that Sony's display looks blacker than Samsung's (I compared it to the S99H), so there's real rivalry here.

Sound Quality

Sony has a reputation for great sound on TVs – and that continues into the Bravia 9 II. This TV has an 80W speaker system that's made up of eight speakers. Rather than firing down from the bottom of the screen, which is common, these are placed at eye-level, around two-thirds of the way up the screen.

The speakers are divided into two woofers in the rear of the screen, left and right speakers, left and right sound-positioning tweeters, and upfiring beam tweeters. On first setup you'll be invited to tune the TV to the room with a quick test.

The layout of these speakers is designed to support immersive audio, with support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. It makes a noticeable difference. This is a great-sounding TV, although I suspect that those spending upwards of a few grand on a new screen will want a bigger soundstage too.

It's easy to recommend pairing this TV with one of the best soundbars, with Sony's Bravia Theatre Trio being an obvious suggestion, with the advantage of having access to Sony's advanced tech drawing the TV and sound system closer together.

Sony Bravia 9 II review: Verdict

Sony's new flagship TV offers stunning performance out of the box, bringing its first RGB backlight technology to market, yet not veering from the Hollywood accuracy that it's known for.

The Bravia 9 II possesses huge brightness potential, but it's used with restraint so that it has real impact when it matters. With Sony's processing ensuring this RGB technology keeps everything in check, it drives forward the case for flagship LED-based TVs.

Is this an OLED killer? Not yet. There's still blooming when viewing off-axis. But Sony's careful handling of dark scenes displays movies the way they're supposed to look, while its new anti-reflective finish results in a screen that often looks darker than Samsung's equivalent sets.

Overall, the Bravia 9 II is a great TV for brighter rooms – and a great showcase for RGB tech. However, there's no escaping that this is an expensive alternative to everything that OLED offers.

Also Consider

The Samsung S99H is a hugely bright QD-OLED model that's stunning in its delivery, while not delivering quite the accuracy out of the box that Sony strives for. But with a matte display and huge brightness, Samsung similarly offers a great bright-room experience for a little less cash.

The LG OLED G6 is one of the finest OLED models you can buy, cheaper than the Sony, but rivalling its position as a champion for accuracy. The glossy finish to the display retains the brilliant blacks that OLED is known for, better for movie nights in controlled rooms, while also offering a stunningly slim design.