Compare: Sony Bravia 7 (XR70) vs Xiaomi S Mini 2025

Testing the Sony Bravia 7 quickly revealed that this television is capable of quite a lot. Although it is the "lowest" model from the Japanese manufacturer in the new 2024 range, it certainly does not feel like a compromise. The picture impressed us with its depth of black and the detail in bright scenes – thanks to the Mini LED technology, which makes a difference. When playing films in Dolby Vision, it was immediately noticeable how much HDR adds life to every scene. The intense colours and excellent dynamics made watching evening screenings a true pleasure for us. Daily use of this television also pleasantly surprised us. The Google TV system worked flawlessly, and the choice of apps was extensive enough that we had no trouble finding everything we wanted to watch. The backlit remote is a small but practical addition – in the evenings, we greatly appreciated not having to fumble around for buttons. Older content that we watched gained quality thanks to the advanced image processing. When we checked the television for gaming, it also left a good impression on us. The 120 Hz refresh rate provided a smooth image, and the low input lag allowed us to enjoy fast and dynamic gameplay. We particularly liked the Game Bar feature – easy access to settings during gameplay is something every gaming enthusiast will appreciate. The television handled even more demanding titles excellently. However, not everything was perfect. Only two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is intended for eARC, may be an issue if someone plans to connect several devices simultaneously. Additionally, when we watched the television from an angle, we noticed that the picture quality was not as good as when viewed straight on – the lack of a layer to improve viewing angles was noticeable here. Nevertheless, the Bravia 7 is a television that pleasantly surprised us. It combines excellent picture quality with functionality that works well for both everyday use and during evening screenings or dynamic gameplay. The minor limitations are noticeable, but they do not overshadow the whole, which definitely deserves the attention of a buyer.

Xiaomi, well known as a giant in the smartphone market, has decided to fight for the attention of high-end technology enthusiasts by presenting a television with MiniLED backlighting. The S MiniLED 2025 model looks truly impressive on paper. The vast number of dimming zones provides excellent contrast, and the brightness, reaching impressive levels, can impress both in high-quality HDR materials and in older SDR. The television performs excellently where smooth motion is key. The high refresh rate panel and low input lag make it a good choice not only for sports fans but also for gamers. Support for features such as ALLM and GameBar further enhances the gaming experience. Google TV on this television works as it should – quickly, smoothly, without unnecessary stutters, which we could not say about the model A Pro 2025. Additionally, with such an extensive application library, it will satisfy even the most demanding user. However, not everything looks so good in practice. Despite solid hardware specifications, the television has its drawbacks. The biggest problem is the algorithms managing the dimming zones, which can be quite irritating when watching films in the evening. The operation of individual zones is overly noticeable in dynamic scenes, which can effectively distract our attention from the image. Issues also arise in more demanding HDR scenes despite the truly impressive brightness. Small, bright elements often lose brightness, ruining the effect that a top-quality image should provide. The system is also not free from shortcomings – image enhancement features for lower-quality materials work unevenly, and some options in Google TV are poorly translated or even untranslated. The Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 has huge potential, but in its current form, it seems underutilised. It is clear that Xiaomi wanted to create something truly good, but several significant shortcomings result in a mixed final effect. A device with high aspirations that needs better software to truly shine. It is an ideal television for brighter rooms, where high screen brightness plays a key role, and local dimming issues become less noticeable. It will also perform excellently as a screen for gamers and for those who value the versatility and functionality of the Google TV system.

The Sony BRAVIA 7 television with a VA panel and MiniLED backlighting technology offers excellent black quality. The tested 65-inch variant is equipped with 512 dimming zones, which allows for very good contrast, particularly in demanding movie scenes. Naturally, larger sizes of the television have more zones, positively impacting contrast and image depth. During testing, in scenes from the film "Oblivion," the BRAVIA 7 performed excellently in capturing dark and light areas, providing decent separation of lights (the light effect did not blur into a large spot) from deep black. However, as is often the case with televisions featuring local dimming, certain difficulties arise with small, bright light elements. In more demanding segments (e.g., scenes 4 and 5), it is noticeable that the television "struggles" to maintain high brightness of these elements, affecting the contrast – bright objects are either too dark (resulting in poor contrast) or a slight halo effect appears around them. In a scene from the film Sicario 2, the action of the zones can be seen, causing the aforementioned effect, but it is slight. Despite these minor imperfections, the overall impression is positive – the local dimming algorithm works really well, ensuring that the image maintains high contrast, and the quality of black and details is satisfying.

Xiaomi S MiniLED is one of the most affordable MiniLED technology televisions available on the market. The model we tested, with a size of 55 inches, features as many as 308 local dimming zones, which is impressive for this price. Additionally, it uses a VA panel, which naturally offers significantly better contrast than IPS panels. On static test images, the television performed excellently, achieving an impressive contrast ratio of 182,000:1 in the film Oblivion. The blacks were deep, and the details in the light and dark areas of the image were clearly separated. However, in more demanding scenes where the image is dynamic, the situation becomes complicated.

Where lies the problem? The main cause is the local dimming algorithms. Although their work shows promising results on static images, during film playback – that is, in the natural working conditions of the television – they operate too aggressively. In dynamic scenes, such as those from the tested film, you can see how the individual dimming zones "work and flicker," which detracts from the viewer's sense of image coherence. This effect is particularly noticeable in motion, when bright objects move against a dark screen. As a result, although Xiaomi S MiniLED offers excellent contrast on paper, in practice the effect is less satisfying. The aggressive operation of the algorithms spoils the perception of dynamic scenes, making the television average in this category. It's a good example of how MiniLED technology requires not only good specifications but also proper optimisation.

Since we know that the television handles contrast well, let's check how it performs in terms of HDR effects. The luminance graph shows the very high capabilities of this model – 1500 nits is a truly impressive result. The HDR effects are particularly striking in scenes where most of the screen is covered in light, such as in scenes 1, 3, and 5 of the test. Minor shortcomings, typical of this technology, are still visible with very small light effects, as in the scene from the film "Sicario 2," where brightness drops to 500 nits. Although these are not stunning results, they can be considered decent. Additionally, it is worth praising the television for its high coverage of a wide colour gamut – DCI-P3 at 96%, which allows for vibrant, saturated colours.

Since the Xiaomi S MiniLED boasts an impressive number of 308 dimming zones, it is time to test how it performs in HDR tests. Starting with luminance, or the ability to display bright scenes, the television achieved nearly 1000 nits of brightness – a result that can be considered outstanding in this class. Do these figures, however, translate to real experiences in film scenes? In the case of less demanding shots, such as those from the film The Meg, the television indeed showed excellent results, reaching up to 900 nits. Such values are impressive and can truly convey the power of HDR effects.

Unfortunately, much like with contrast, it wasn't without issues. When smaller, brighter elements appear on the screen – as in the challenging scenes from Sicario 2 – the aggressive operation of the dimming zones spoils the entire effect. Brightness in these moments drops to just 100 nits. This is definitely too little to capture the full magic of HDR. Instead of a dynamic and detailed image, the viewer receives a muted, almost flat impression, which takes away all the enjoyment from the viewing experience.

In summary, if we are looking for a television with high brightness for watching films during the day, the Xiaomi S MiniLED will easily fulfill that task. However, its inability to precisely manage the dimming zones means that watching films in the evening, especially in demanding HDR scenes, can be more frustrating than satisfying.

The IMAX Enhanced mode on the Sony BRAVIA 7 television is undoubtedly the best mode available on this model, although it is not without its flaws, as its name might suggest. The biggest issue is the white balance – both in HD and 4K HDR content, there is a clear dominance of red, which causes the image to take on pink hues. This is particularly noticeable on the tested snow pattern, where the pinkish tint becomes very apparent. Errors in the Colour Checker test also confirm these deviations – although they are not catastrophic, there is a tendency to drift towards warmer colours. As for brightness performance, the gamma remains at a decent level with a slight peak but without major issues. However, the biggest challenge comes from 4K materials. It is clear that the EOTF curve is significantly above the reference graph, which causes the image to become overly brightened.

Xiaomi, like many manufacturers, offers a wide range of picture modes. On the S MiniLED, we can find both IMAX Enhanced and Filmmaker. Our tests were conducted in Filmmaker mode, which theoretically aims to reflect a reference image, but the reality turned out to be somewhat different.

Let's start with the test of SDR content. Here, the television had quite a few issues, especially with white balance. The clearly visible dominance of red made the image look too warm, with all colours taking on a reddish hue. This was particularly noticeable in a comparative scene from the film Star Wars. The brightness characteristics (gamma) also left much to be desired – instead of a smooth transition, we had a real "rollercoaster," with a visible excessive brightening of the screen.

In 4K content, the situation improved significantly. The white balance, although still not perfect, was much more balanced, with a slight dominance of red and blue, but without excessive impact on the overall perception. The EOTF curve (responsible for brightness in HDR) showed some brightening in the brightest parts of the image, which was noticeable, for example, in the test scene from the film Pan that we described earlier. These brightening effects may disturb the precision of the image, but in 4K, the overall effect was much more acceptable than in SDR.

Although Xiaomi S MiniLED can pleasantly surprise with 4K content, its factory settings in SDR require solid adjustments, especially regarding white balance and brightness. This is definitely a television that would benefit from calibration.

Sony BRAVIA XR70 offers a wide range of tools that allow for adjusting the picture to individual preferences, enabling us to make significant adjustments to the settings. The white balance has been free from the problem of red colour dominance – snow no longer takes on pink shades, which was previously noticeable. Although one can detect slight deviations in the final part of the white balance graph, concerning a drop in blue colour, they are acceptable and difficult to notice in everyday use. The Colour Checker test confirms that errors in colour reproduction are no longer as pronounced and rarely exceed a value of 2, which is a very good result. As for brightness, gamma, while not requiring much improvement, was slightly adjusted. The most significant change was noted in the EOTF curve – the television no longer has issues with excessively brightening the entire image in 4K material. However, upon closer analysis and the inclusion of EOTF characteristics in film material, some limitations of the television become apparent due to the previously discussed dimming algorithm. Some small elements may be slightly more brightened, but these errors are so minor that most users will not notice them. Overall, the calibration results are very, very positive.

Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 is a television that gains a completely new life after calibration. The results are truly outstanding and show how much potential is in this model.

In SDR mode, the white balance is nearly perfectly aligned. The errors are so minimal that in many cases they can be considered negligible. This is confirmed by the results of the Colour Checker palette, where the errors did not exceed a value of 2 ΔE – this is really a rare result. Gamma also performs very well, although at the beginning of the graph there are slight brightenings in the darkest elements. However, this is a minor exception that does not significantly affect the perception of the image.

In 4K HDR materials, the calibration also brought visible improvements, particularly in the white balance. The image looks natural and cohesive. However, the characteristic of brightness remains a problem. EOTF analysis in film materials shows that the television tends to over-brighten or under-darken the smallest elements on the screen. This is a result of limitations in the dimming algorithms we discussed earlier with HDR and contrast testing. Unfortunately, this is a technical characteristic of this model that cannot be completely eliminated.

Despite this minor flaw, the calibration allowed for maximising the capabilities of this television. The image now looks phenomenal, and its quality impresses in every type of material. Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 shows that with the right settings, it can compete with more expensive models.

The Sony XR70 television handles gradation excellently. In the test sequence, only a few scenes exhibit slight issues with tonal transitions in dark areas; however, most of these problems disappear when the gentle gradation option is switched on. Generally speaking, the television offers great gradation that will satisfy even the most demanding users.

The fluidity of tonal transitions in Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 is impressive. Even in the theoretically most difficult scene with red water, the television performs excellently – we did not notice any major issues. Minor imperfections occur in scenes like The Kingsman or The Martian, where subtle colour blending can be observed. Nevertheless, Xiaomi stands out in this category, offering one of the best qualities of tonal transitions in its price range. This is definitely a strong point of this television.

Since we know that the television performs very well with high-quality materials, it is worth checking how it fares with lower-quality content. Here, the television shows its potential, and the applied graphics processor works really brilliantly. On the test screen with the light bulb, there are no issues with colour transitions, and the smooth gradation feature works very well – we recommend setting it to "Medium".

As for digital processing, or so-called upscaling, the television sharpens the image quite noticeably, which leads to slight aliasing, for example, on the branches in the background, but it does not remove desirable details. Nevertheless, the overall appearance is really appealing and may be to the taste of most users. However, if we prefer a softer, more plastic image, this effect can be reduced in the settings by adjusting the sharpening level according to personal preferences.

When it comes to tonal transitions in lower quality materials, such as YouTube or television, the Xiaomi S MiniLED is equipped with a feature called "Colour Contour Removal." At the "low" setting, it performs quite well, although its effectiveness can be inconsistent. Sometimes it seems as though the television is struggling to smoothen, which creates a certain dissonance. On the positive side, we did not notice any visible side effects, although due to the instability of this feature, one could suspect that unexpected issues may arise in certain situations.

Image scaling also performs moderately. There is some slight jaggedness, particularly on thin elements like branches, and subtitles can appear slightly jagged. While this may not be very bothersome, a more discerning eye will certainly pick up on these shortcomings. Overall, most users should be satisfied with the quality of scaling and smoothing, but the television will not satisfy those who expect perfection in every frame of the image.

The Sony BRAVIA 7 television with a 120 Hz display will satisfy most users in terms of motion smoothness. Additionally, Sony offers the Motion Flow feature, which allows for the selection of three different picture settings, tailoring them to individual preferences: Smoothness – Film: This setting enhances motion smoothness, giving the image a more cinematic or theatrical quality. Smoothness – Camera: This setting provides even greater smoothness, useful when watching dynamic scenes such as sports broadcasts. Clarity: This setting focuses on minimising noise and motion artifacts, resulting in a more stable and clear image.

Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 is equipped with a panel featuring a refresh rate of 4K@120Hz (1080p@240Hz), which provides sufficient smoothness for both watching dynamic sports broadcasts and playing the latest games. This level of refresh rate makes the image appear fluid, even in the most intense scenes. Additionally, the television offers a “Motion Smoothing” feature that allows you to adjust the way the image is displayed in films. You can choose a more frame-like effect, typical of the cinematic experience, or a smoother one, reminiscent of the so-called “theatrical effect.” This way, every user can tailor the settings to their preferences and enjoy smooth images in their favourite content.

Sony Bravia 7 has significantly improved its capabilities for working with consoles compared to earlier models. The television supports variable refresh rate (VRR), which eliminates the tearing effect, and is compatible with graphics cards, ensuring smooth display. The auto low latency mode (ALLM) effectively reduces input lag, which is crucial in dynamic games. Dolby Vision with low latency additionally provides impressive HDR effects that look great during gameplay.

Sony Bravia 7 also offers a Game Bar feature, which allows quick access to settings and monitoring parameters while gaming. An interesting option is the ability to enable a virtual on-screen crosshair, which can provide a slight advantage in shooter games. Nevertheless, compared to the Bravia 9 model, the HGIG feature in the Bravia 7 does not perform as well, which may be noticeable for more demanding gamers – especially as the HGIG mode is becoming increasingly popular among players as the preferred method for reproducing HDR effects.

A drawback is the lack of support for 1440p@120 Hz resolution, which could make gaming easier for users with less powerful graphics cards. Furthermore, the Sony Bravia 7 is equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is often used to connect an audio system via eARC, limiting the available connections for new generation consoles.

Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 is a television that has a lot to offer gamers. With two HDMI ports boasting 48 Gbps bandwidth, we can easily connect modern consoles or PCs, utilising their full potential. Additionally, the ALLM feature automatically switches the TV to low-latency mode – something we will appreciate during dynamic games without annoying lags. Regardless of what we connect, it functions smoothly, and the television handles various resolutions exceptionally well. There is also the GameBar, which may not look as impressive as the "bars" from the competition, but makes up for it with practicality. It is a simple settings panel that allows us to quickly change the most important options or check statistics – an ideal solution when time is of the essence.

However, we must admit that operating the television itself – or rather finding the gaming features within it – posed a significant challenge for us. We approached the testing of the Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 several times to locate all the necessary options. The hidden menu allowed us to discover the "GameBoost" feature, which enables switching the television to 240 Hz mode, activating VRR, and allows for enabling picture in HGIG mode.

In summary, the Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 is a television that definitely deserves praise in the gaming hardware category. Its rich set of features – 240 Hz mode, VRR, HGIG, and "GameBoost" – provides an exceptional gaming experience. Unfortunately, the intuitiveness of the menu itself leaves much to be desired and may pose a challenge for the average user.

Sony BRAVIA 7 delivers exceptional results in terms of input lag, particularly with 120 Hz content, where the delay is around 11 ms – this is an excellent result that will satisfy even the most demanding gamers. The Dolby Vision mode also deserves recognition, as it is usually associated with higher input lag, but here it works really well, providing a comfortable gaming experience. However, we deducted 0.3 points for the results above 20 ms for 60 Hz content, although we believe that for most users, this difference is more of a placebo effect.

The input lag of the Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 is one of its biggest advantages. 8 ms for 120 Hz content and 17 ms for 60 Hz is an absolutely remarkable performance that will satisfy even the most demanding gamers. Furthermore, the Dolby Vision mode in games deserves praise. Unlike many competing models, Xiaomi maintains a low input lag even in this mode, making it an excellent choice for fans of high-quality HDR gaming experiences.

The Sony BRAVIA 7 TV performs well when working with a computer, providing clear and readable fonts. An input lag of 11 ms is also an excellent result that will satisfy users using the TV for gaming and work. However, it should be noted that in the case of grey letters, a slight fading of some pixels can be observed, which somewhat deteriorates the readability of darker fonts, for which we deducted a few points.

Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 is a good choice if we need a television for working with a computer. The fonts are very clear thanks to the support for chroma 4:4:4, making it perfect for office work or browsing documents. It also performs excellently in gaming – high refresh rates, G-SYNC, and low input lag ensure smooth gameplay, which will satisfy most gamers.

The Sony BRAVIA 7 television has poor viewing angles, which is characteristic of VA matrices. The picture quickly loses quality when viewed from a greater angle – colours become washed out and contrast decreases. Considering the price of the device, it is a pity that a coating was not applied to extend the viewing angles, which would certainly improve the watching comfort from different spots in the room.

In terms of viewing angles, Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 does not impress. This is a typical problem with VA panels, which do not perform well without additional coatings that widen viewing angles. The image begins to lose quality when watching the television from the side – colours fade and contrast significantly drops. However, the advantage of VA panels is their considerably better contrast compared to IPS panels, which in turn win in terms of wider viewing angles. This is a classic compromise where one has to choose between better blacks and a more universal image seen from various places in the room.

BRAVIA 7 performs excellently when watching in bright environments. The satin coating effectively reduces reflections while simultaneously minimising the blurring of elements to the sides, resulting in very good visibility during the day. A brightness level of 1000 cd/m² in SDR mode is astonishing and ensures that the image remains sharp even in heavily lit rooms.

Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 is equipped with a satin finish on the panel, which performs fairly well in reducing reflections. On the screen surface, one can notice light reflections, which can be somewhat distracting in bright rooms. However, the key feature that saves this television in daytime use is its brightness. With a value of 841 cd/m², the screen performs effortlessly even in very sunny interiors. This is more than enough to comfortably watch television, films, or sporting events. Importantly, the television also handles more demanding content, such as winter sports, where the dominant white can pose a significant challenge for other televisions. Here, Xiaomi definitely delivers.

Sony Bravia 7 runs on the Google TV system, which offers an intuitive and quick interface, allowing easy access to a multitude of applications. Google Assistant supports the Polish language, making the use of the television even more convenient and personalised. The interface is clear, and access to features and applications is quick and trouble-free. It is worth mentioning the remote control, which is charged via a USB-C port. Additionally, the remote is backlit, which significantly facilitates its use at night.

Sony Bravia 7 offers wide-ranging capabilities that will satisfy most users. The ability to record programmes and easily connect devices via Bluetooth are significant pluses. Unfortunately, it lacks the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) feature, which could prove useful for watching two sources of video simultaneously.

XR70 stands out with its practical and elegant design. The television is equipped with a 4-position stand, allowing it to be adapted to various spaces and settings – this is particularly useful when we seek flexibility in interior arrangement. Additionally, the slim aluminium frame gives the device a modern and stylish appearance. Although it is not as slim as some competitive Korean models, it still looks very attractive and solid.

Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 is a television that stands out thanks to the Google TV system. It offers access to the most popular streaming services, music apps, and various useful features that significantly enhance the everyday experience of using the television. For those who enjoy personalisation, the system also provides plenty of configuration options.

The built-in voice assistant operates smoothly – we can not only control the television but also ask about the weather forecast or set a reminder for the next day. Unfortunately, we noticed during testing that some features have difficulty translating into Polish, which can be frustrating, especially for those less adept at navigating the settings. Despite this, the overall impression is very good, and minor shortcomings can be corrected in future updates.

The device manages connectivity well. Wireless connections to Windows computers or Apple devices proceed smoothly, and thanks to Bluetooth, we can easily connect headphones, keyboards, or other accessories. The remote control is simple and convenient – it works from any position, so aiming at the screen is not necessary. However, there are some shortcomings. If someone frequently uses traditional television, they may feel the lack of recording features from tuners or the PiP (picture in picture) option. This somewhat limits capabilities, but for those focusing on streaming and modern functionalities, it shouldn't be a significant issue.

Xiaomi makes up for these shortcomings with an excellent operating system. Google TV is one of the most advanced and user-friendly systems available on the market, which makes the television perform really well in everyday use.

The built-in player handles most popular video and audio formats, allowing you to enjoy a wide range of content without any issues. Although there are slight shortcomings when playing photos, thanks to the Google TV system, you can easily install other applications that effectively solve this problem and expand the multimedia capabilities of the television.

The basic file player in Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 does its job for simple video materials. However, a noticeable drawback is the lack of support for Polish characters, which can be problematic for those using subtitles.

Fortunately, the presence of the Google TV system allows for an easy workaround of this limitation. Thanks to it, alternative file playback applications can be installed, which handle Polish characters and offer much more extensive options. As a result, the limitations of the built-in player are not as burdensome as one might think.

Although the Sony Bravia 7 television is equipped with only a 2-channel speaker system (2.0), there are two speakers per channel with a total power of 40 W. As a result, the sound quality is really good, and the bass is noticeable, making watching movies and listening to music more enjoyable.

Xiaomi S MiniLED 2025 plays really nicely and even offers a light bass, reminiscent of the sound known from the lower model, namely A Pro 2025. The sound is well balanced, making watching films or listening to music comfortable, even without additional audio equipment. Interestingly, the television effortlessly supports audio formats such as Dolby Atmos and the less common DTS:X. This means you can connect a home cinema system or soundbar and enjoy spatial sound without any difficulties. A nice addition is also the presence of a standard speaker jack.

Sony Bravia 7 (XR70) vs Xiaomi S Mini 2025

Advantages

Disadvantages

Our verdict

TV appearance

Where to buy

Contrast and black detail

HDR effect quality

Factory color reproduction

Color reproduction after calibration

Smoothness of tonal transitions

Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions

Blur and motion smoothness

Console compatibility and gaming features

Input lag

Compatibility with PC

Viewing angles

TV efficiency during daytime

Details about the matrix

TV features

Playing files from USB

Apps

Sound