We’ve known that Sony has been planning a RGB LED TV for some time now, and at IFA 25, Trusted Reviews was there to glean a few more details about what to expect when it (probably) launches in 2026.
In a black box demo room we witnessed what Sony’s approach to what is conceivably likely to be the ‘next-gen’ playground for TVs with its upcoming RGB LED TV, and were suitably impressed by its potential.
It’s worth noting that, whatever this TV will be called (we’re guessing Bravia 10), is still not close to mass production but Sony were confident enough to show off its latest technology; with Daisuke Nezu – Senior General Manager, Home Product Business Division – available to field some our questions about the new TV. More on that in another article.
First things first, what’s Sony’s RGB LED TV like?
It’s all about control
Throughout the presentation, Sony drew attention to its history of innovation in developing backlights for consumer TVs.
It developed the world’s first LCD TV with ful-array RGB LED backlight 21 years ago, and has worked to further develop and improve that technology to maximise the performance of its TVs.
According to Sony, the new RGB LED panel technology is the answer to “long-standing challenges for premium environments”, offering scalability not quite possible with OLED. In addition Sony describes the technology as offering “reference-level colour accuracy” and no compromise performance in bright or “open-concept rooms”.
In a word, an RGB LED TV is all about control; delivering the most accurate performance that reflects what creative types who made the content what you to see.
And considering Sony has vast experience with Sony Pictures, its filmmaking camera range and mastering monitors, what the filmmakers see when they look into the view lense of the camera is, close enough, what they want to be translated when its beamed to your TV screen.
Each LED backlight allows for individual control of red, green, and blue colours in such a way that the panel can emit light independently. In the demos we saw, blooming was pretty much eradicated when compared to (what we assume was) the Bravia 9 Mini LED.
But most impressive was the clarity and purity of colours. A quick scene from Marvel’s Black Widow showed reds that were much brighter, richer in colour compared to the washed out colours on a Mini LED TV.
Black levels were superb in terms of depth, solidity and impact (although interestingly not too much different from the Bravia 9 aside from the blooming). The TV produced high levels of contrast while viewing angles were impressive even at an acute angle, the fading of saturated colours kept to a minimum.
The reproduction and intensity of colours was impressively beyond current-gen OLED TVs from LG and Samsung with Sony’s Colour Booster tech turned on. A video sample of metal working was genuinely intense and vibrant but detail wasn’t completely sacrificed at the altar of colour volume and brightness, producing an image that while bright, was also detailed, clear and sharply defined.
It was an impressive demo to be sure, but we do have a few questions.
What sizes will Sony’s RGB LED TV come in?
We reckon the size we saw was a 75-inch RGB Mini LED in attendance along with premium 77-inch OLEDs. Sony says the RGB LED TV tech will be easily scalable to different sizes, with an emphasis on large with screens up to 130-inches in size mentioned.
But Sony also seems confident that smaller screen sizes can integrate this technology without much, if any, compromise. Whether they’ll deliver the same level of brightness (around and over 4000 peak nits) is up for debate, but from what we’ve seen, it’s a performance that’s an advancement over what current Mini LEDs are capable of.
What do pictures look like in non-Vivid mode?
Vivid or Dynamic mode has something of a bad reputation. People think of it as pushing lairy, gaudy colours onto the consumer; images that have nothing to do with picture accuray and are all about grabbing a viewer’s attention. The ‘Store mode’
Sony has been one of a few TV brands to take a different approach in recent years. Its Vivid mode pushes the performance of its TV to the max while still maintaining a relatively ‘accurate’ and balanced looking image.
That means greater colour volume, higher brightness and greater contrast. In comparison demos such as this, this mode is pretty is always used to compare to other sets, but it always leaves us wondering how does it look in other modes?
We can’t tell you as we don’t know that yet. But, based on what we saw, we wouldn’t mind watching films and TV series in Vivid mode. Make of that what you will…
Will the Sony RGB LED TV support Dolby Vision 2?
With Dolby Vision 2 announced before IFA kicked off, the only TV partner that was announced was Hisense. When the question was posed to Sony as to whether they’d be supporting we were told that it was “under considerdation but there’s nothing much we can say at the moment”.
Not much is known about Dolby Vision 2 at the moment, and surprisingly, it’s reveal seems to have taken a few brands by surprise. We’ve heard conflicting reports on whether it requires new hardware (and new TVs) or whether it could be a software update and therefore backwards compatible.
Regardless, we’d be surprised if Dolby Vision wasn’t supported by the Sony RGB LED TV.
How much will the Sony RGB LED 2026 TV cost?
We have no idea how this TV will cost, but we’re willing to bet it’ll be premium. It’s likely to be in the region if not more than the Bravia 9. We’d be genuinely surprised if it cost less…
Does that hurt its chances? Yes and no. Early, tech-hungry adopters and footballers will jump on it double quick; but the fact Sony mentioned sizes both large and small suggests this isn’t just a TV for the premium market. There’s a chance it’ll have mass market appeal too.
The Bravia 9 hasn’t dropped much in price since it was released in 2024, and even Sony’s older OLED TVs such as the A95L still command a high price years after release.
Our suggestion. You better start saving now.
