By: Dipin Sehdev

Sony’s True RGB TVs are officially here and this is one of the more exciting TV launches we’ve seen in a long time. Sony has spent decades on their RGB technology and for the first time we’re seeing two things come together that could genuinely matter:

• RGB backlighting technology

• Sony’s image processing

That combination is what makes this launch feel important. Because if there’s one company that has consistently proven it understands image processing at the highest level, it’s Sony. And now it finally has a new display architecture to work with.

 

First, Let’s Get OLED Out of the Way

Before people start screaming about the lack of a new OLED flagship this year, let’s be realistic about what Sony was always going to do. Sony shifted to a two-year OLED cadence. There was never going to be a new flagship QD-OLED this year. That was expected. The Bravia 8 II still exists and remains one of the best OLED TVs on the market with a 90% CE Critic Score. But yes, there’s also a growing reality Sony will eventually have to address: People want larger OLED options. The lack of a 77-inch and 83-inch successor to the A95L is becoming harder to ignore. And as fantastic as the A95L still is, it’s also starting to feel old in a market where Samsung and LG refresh aggressively every year. That puts pressure on Sony heading into 2027. Still, I actually respect Sony’s approach here. The company seems far less interested in annual spec-sheet churn and more focused on giving engineers time to make meaningful improvements.

I wish Samsung, LG, and others would slow down too. The TV industry has become obsessed with yearly refresh cycles where most products change very little beyond brightness numbers and marketing buzzwords. Sony taking longer between major releases feels refreshing.

 

So What Is “True RGB” Anyway?

At a basic level, Sony’s new Bravia 7 II and Bravia 9 II use RGB LED backlighting instead of traditional Mini-LED structures.

Most modern Mini-LED TVs use:

• Blue LEDs

• Quantum dots

• Color filters

Sony’s True RGB approach instead uses:

• Independent red LEDs

• Independent green LEDs

• Independent blue LEDs

Each color channel is controlled independently. That matters because traditional LCD TVs still lose efficiency and color purity through filtering systems.

RGB LED backlighting aims to improve:

• Color volume

• Brightness

• Color accuracy

• Highlight precision

• Backlight efficiency

And importantly, Sony is using true three-diode RGB structures. Some competitors use two-diode systems combined with phosphor layers, which is a different implementation entirely. Sony’s approach is closer to what enthusiasts hoped RGB Mini-LED would become.

 

Why Sony’s Processing Matters So Much

This is where things get interesting. Hardware alone does not make a great TV anymore. Processing does. And Sony still arguably has the best video processing in the industry. That’s especially important with RGB LED because controlling thousands of independently driven RGB zones becomes extremely difficult. Sony says its new RGB Backlight Master Drive Pro system:

• Drives LEDs with higher precision

• Reduces blooming

• Improves color purity

• Improves brightness control

• Enhances gradation performance

The company is also leveraging:

• RGB Triluminos Max

• Luminance Booster Pro

• XR processing technologies

In theory, that should allow Sony to better manage one of Mini-LED’s biggest weaknesses: Blooming and color bleeding.

 

Let’s Be Clear Though, RGB Doesn’t Magically Fix Mini-LED

This part is important. The internet is already trying to crown RGB LED as the “OLED killer.” That’s way too early. Yes, RGB backlighting improves several things:

• Better color saturation at high brightness

• Improved efficiency

• Potentially cleaner highlights

• Better color volume

But Mini-LED still inherits core LCD limitations:

• Blooming still exists

• Pixel-level lighting still doesn’t exist

• Black levels still won’t fully match OLED

• Viewing angles remain more limited

• Haloing can still happen in difficult scenes

Sony appears to be minimizing those issues better than most competitors, but physics still matters. RGB LED is a major evolution of Mini-LED. It is not magic.

 

The Bravia 9 II Is the Star

The flagship Bravia 9 II is clearly the model Sony wants enthusiasts focused on. Sony claims brightness levels comparable to its BVM-HX3110 mastering monitor, which can hit roughly 4000 nits. If real-world performance lands anywhere near that, this could become one of the brightest premium TVs ever released. That matters because HDR is still heavily brightness dependent.

More brightness means:

• Better specular highlights

• Better HDR impact

• Better daytime viewing

• More realistic dynamic range

And unlike OLED, RGB Mini-LED can sustain higher brightness over larger portions of the screen. That’s where this technology has genuine advantages.

 

The One Big Problem: HDMI 2.1

Here’s the downside. Sony is still limiting these TVs to two HDMI 2.1 ports, and it’s a frustrating one. In 2026, that’s becoming increasingly hard to defend. Especially at these prices.

Modern setups now commonly include:

• PS5 Pro

• Xbox Series X

• Gaming PC

• Apple TV 4K

• AVR or soundbar with eARC

Two ports simply isn’t enough anymore for many enthusiasts. Sony continues prioritizing processing and image quality over gaming flexibility. For a casual consumer, that tradeoff may still be acceptable. For gamers and enthusiasts? Not so much.

Sony Bravia 7 II vs Bravia 9 II Pricing

 

Model	Size	US Price	Canada Price	UK Price	EU Price	Availability
Bravia 9 II	65-inch	$3,599.99	$4,999.99 CAD	£3,499	€3,999*	Pre-Order
Bravia 9 II	75-inch	$4,599.99	$6,499.99 CAD	£4,299	€4,899*	Pre-Order
Bravia 9 II	85-inch	$6,499.99	$8,999.99 CAD	£5,499	€6,299*	Pre-Order
Bravia 9 II	115-inch	$30,999.99	$41,999.99 CAD	£22,999	€26,999*	Fall 2026
Bravia 7 II	50-inch	$1,599.99	$2,249.99 CAD	£1,899	€2,099*	Summer 2026
Bravia 7 II	55-inch	$2,099.99	$2,999.99 CAD	£1,999	€2,299*	Available Now
Bravia 7 II	65-inch	$2,599.99	$3,699.99 CAD	£2,299	€2,699*	Available Now
Bravia 7 II	75-inch	$3,099.99	$4,399.99 CAD	£2,999	€3,399*	Available Now
Bravia 7 II	85-inch	$3,999.99	$5,599.99 CAD	£3,999	€4,499*	Available Now
Bravia 7 II	98-inch	$8,999.99	$12,999.99 CAD	£6,999	€7,999*	Summer 2026

Availability

• Pre-orders: Available now

• Launch Window: Late Spring 2026

• US and Canadian pricing: Expected soon

The Bigger Picture

Sony’s True RGB launch feels important for a few reasons.

First:
The TV industry desperately needed something genuinely new.

Second:
Sony entering RGB Mini-LED validates the technology in a way few other companies can.

And third:
This sets up an incredibly interesting battle between:

• Sony

• Samsung

• TCL

• Hisense

Because now everyone is chasing the same thing:  Higher brightness without sacrificing color quality. That’s where RGB backlighting could genuinely shift the market. But as exciting as this all is, balance matters. RGB Mini-LED is not replacing OLED tomorrow.

OLED still wins:

• Perfect blacks

• Infinite contrast

• Pixel-level control

• Superior viewing angles

What RGB LED offers instead is a different tradeoff:

• More brightness

• Better color volume

• Larger screen scalability

• Potentially fewer long-term brightness limitations

 

That’s exciting. Because for the first time in years, TVs actually feel competitive again.