First tests of Sony Bravia 8 II. Great OLED but... Is this a missed opportunity?

Sony Bravia 8 II is shaping up to be one of the strongest contenders among premium OLED TVs. It is to be the spiritual successor to our highly rated Bravia A95L – featuring a top-of-the-line QD-OLED panel, a refined operating system, and solutions that we associate with Japanese precision from Sony. And indeed – Bravia 8 II is a very good television. Excellent image quality, solid construction, and a polished interface are strong arguments. But after the initial tests, it's hard not to ask one question: has Sony squandered too much potential that this design could have had?

Contrast – OLED as it should be

Let’s start with the positives. The contrast in the Sony Bravia 8 II is absolutely top-notch – but it’s hard to expect anything different. As is characteristic of an OLED TV, we have infinite black depth and no backlight bleed typical of LCD panels. There are no reservations here – it’s simply OLED. Perfect black or contrast is the other name of this TV!

Image Scaling – Sony Has Done Its Homework

When it comes to processing lower quality content, the Bravia 8 II performs really well. At first glance, it's clear that Sony has learned lessons from the shortcomings of last year's Bravia 8, where image scaling and tonal transitions left a lot to be desired. This time, the processing algorithms are more refined, and overall, it can be said that the performance is at a high level.

An additional advantage is the QD-OLED panel used, which excels in the smoothness of tonal transitions on its own. There are no issues with color gradients here. Compared to the Samsung S90F, Sony offers noticeably better scaling quality, especially with Full HD content or traditional television.

And here, many of you might be asking – how about the S90F? After all, the Sony Bravia 8 II was supposed to compete with the flagship S95F or LG G5, not the more affordable S90F! Exactly... it's time to take a look at those aspects that somewhat cooled our enthusiasm.

Brightness - something went wrong

Well, let's move on to the biggest disappointment – and unfortunately, it's not a positive one. It's about brightness – both in HDR and in everyday SDR.

According to the editorial team at RTINGS, the Bravia 8 II achieves about 15% higher peak brightness than the previously discussed Samsung S90F. And don't get us wrong – that's a very good result, truly phenomenal. The problem is that the Bravia 8 II allegedly uses the same QD-OLED panel as the flagship S95F and not the S90F. So, since the components are similar, why do the results not match those of Samsung's top OLED or LG G5? That indeed raises some displeasure. The situation is similar in the 100% brightness window, which is when the entire screen is shining white. The S95F and LG G5 can then exceed the magical 400 nits, which is truly impressive. And the Bravia 8 II? Just over 240 nits, or almost 40% less. The differences are therefore very clear and – to put it mildly – in terms of parameters, it is closer to the “mid-range” Samsung S90F (QD-OLED) than to fully-fledged flagships.

Unfortunately, the brightness in SDR is also underwhelming. We're talking about values around 500 nits, which again isn’t terrible, but definitely below expectations for a TV of this class. The Bravia 8 II was supposed to compete with the top models from Korean manufacturers. And it looks like the battle for customers will rather take place on the pricing front than in the measurement charts.

Great for gamers, but lackluster

Since Sony is the manufacturer of PlayStation, we naturally expect their TVs to be the ideal companion for gaming – and in fact, the Bravia 8 II really offers everything needed to squeeze the maximum out of even the most powerful version of the PS5 with the PRO label. We have 120 Hz, low input lag, support for variable refresh rate (VRR), automatic game mode (ALLM), as well as the classic "game bar" with information about connection status and frame count.

And all of this works really well. The problem is that Sony seems to have stood still while the competition moves ahead. We still have only two HDMI 2.1 ports, even though some manufacturers already offer four. Moreover, although the panel used supports up to 165 Hz (as Samsung proved with its S95F), Sony has not chosen to fully utilize it. Is this a hardware limitation resulting from a design based on the MediaTek chip? Or did they simply conclude "who needs this"? We don't know.

That doesn’t change the fact that for 90% of gamers, the Bravia 8 II will be a very solid choice; however, by 2025, we expected a bit more courage and innovation from Sony in the gaming segment. After all, the world of gaming does not end with PlayStation.

Design – looks familiar

In terms of appearance, the Bravia 8 II closely resembles the A95L. Is that a good thing? The TV looks solid, minimalist, and modern. But it cannot be overlooked that the design is noticeably thicker than that of the competition. What is the reason for this? An additional cooling system, which is supposedly supposed to help achieve higher performance parameters of the panel. It's just a pity that the tests do not show clear benefits from the applied cooling - and since it does not translate into noticeably higher efficiency, one might get the impression that a sleeker design would look better. Of course - tastes vary, and everyone can prefer something different, but in our opinion, it is the ultra-thin TVs that most often gain recognition in the eyes of future buyers.

On the other hand, such a "uniform block" also has its advantages. The TV can be mounted almost flush with the wall, and there is no impression that something is sticking out. Finally, it is worth mentioning the very nice, elegant feet that we find in the set - they are solid, look good, and importantly - they can be set at two heights, making it easier to fit a soundbar under the screen.

Google TV at its best

Although we haven't physically had the BRAVII 8 II in our hands yet, we know what to expect from Sony's system – Japanese engineers have been showing for years that they can get a lot out of Google TV. The interface works smoothly, responsively, and overall looks neat and tidy. At least in our opinion, Sony has communicated best with Google TV and makes using this system the most enjoyable among all manufacturers who implement it.

The package includes the well-known, minimalist remote – without a numeric keypad. It's a small, tidy controller designed for one thing: comfortable navigation of Google TV and quick access to applications. Simple, functional, and sleek – it's hard to want more if you mainly use streaming services and a voice assistant.

What price? Sony BRAVIA 8 II

As you can see from the price comparison, the Sony BRAVIA 8 II is positioned much closer to flagship models – such as the Samsung S95F or LG G5 – in both the 55" and 65" versions. It may therefore really struggle, especially when looking at the 65-inch variant. The price difference compared to the S90F model is almost 50% – and that with specifications that are quite similar in many aspects. Of course, build quality, brand, or operating system may be arguments for some to pay extra, but looking with a cool eye – it won't be an easy battle. Especially since both Korean manufacturers start from a rather high price point – and as previous years show, their televisions often drop in price quickly. As a result, the price difference between the BRAVIA 8 II and the S90F or even S95F or LG G5 models may further widen over time.

Unused opportunity? SONY Bravia 8 II

The Sony BRAVIA 8 II is a television that can be incredibly impressive on one hand – fantastic black levels, an outstanding processor, QD-OLED, low input lag, and a well-functioning system. On the other hand, it's hard not to feel that it’s a bit of wasted potential. After all, we have the same panel as in the flagship Samsung S95F – so one could have expected greater brightness, a higher refresh rate, or a full set of HDMI 2.1 ports.

Perhaps Sony has long given up the race for numbers and is simply focusing on delivering a coherent, “their own” product for loyal brand fans. It's hard to say. But on the other hand, it’s also not hard to notice that certain limitations – especially regarding brightness – may be a deliberate move so that the BRAVIA 8 II does not surpass last year’s very expensive and prestigious BRAVIA 9 with Mini LED backlighting in their offerings.

So is it a television worth considering? Definitely yes. Could it have been more? Well... We’ll leave that question to you! Let us know in the comments if you are waiting for the new BRAVIA 8 II model. And if not – we invite you to check out our 2024 sale reviews! Maybe you’ll find something for yourself? Perhaps you’ll be tempted by the “old,” but still great A95L?