Sony Bravia X95, X85 expand 4K TV line-up, X9 refreshed with new wedge design

Sony has bucked a trend at this year’s CES show. While Samsung and LG were falling over themselves to reveal curved OLED 4K TVs, the Japanese manufacturer has focused on flat designs for its refreshed range of Ultra HD panels. Last year’s flagship Bravia X9 is now joined by the X85 and X95, expanding the 4K range to seven separate models.

Bravia X9
The replacement for last year’s only Sony 4K offering gains a new “wedge” design that enlarges towards the bottom of the panel to provide greater stability without needing a chunky stand, and to make room for better speakers. It has X-tended Dynamic Range LED backlighting, which mimics local dimming without actually having a full array behind the panel – until we see it in action we have no idea how effective this will be.

The X9 will be launching in the UK as the 55in KD-55X9005B, 65in KD-65X9005B and new 79in KD-79X9005B. The two smaller screens will have active 3D glasses, while the larger 79in model will be passive 3D.

Bravia X95
Now Sony’s top-end 4K TV, the Bravia X95 will be launching in 65 and 85in screen sizes abroad, but only as an 85in here in the UK. It has a full array local dimming LED backlight that Sony is calling X-tended Dynamic Range PRO, which should make for fantastic black level response.

Bravia X85
Effectively the “entry-level” Sony 4K, the Bravia X85 will be launching in 65, 55 and a more space-friendly 49in screen sizes. It uses traditional rear-firing speakers rather than the front-facing ones seen on the X9, and makes do with regular edge backlighting rather than the fancier local dimming or pseudo dimming found on the more expensive models.

All of Sony’s 4K TVs use Triluminos Display technology, which uses quantum dots to improve colour response, the X-Reality Pro video processing engine and HDMI 2.0 for native 4K video playback at 50p/60p. You can also expect an built-in HEVC/H.265 decoder to play streamed 4K content, with Netflix confirmed to be supplying 4K content.

All three new models are due to go on sale in the UK and Europe in the coming months, although no official prices have been released.