Everything You Need to Know About Sony's New TV Lineup for 2023

Sony introduced the XR as a cognitive processor at CES 2022. Its algorithms are supposedly programmed to mimic the human brain when trying to understand images. It is a fancy way to say that what it does is prioritize some visuals over others.

Instead of analyzing the image as a whole like the X1, the XR’s algorithms analyze color, contrast, texture, depth and detail in multiple zones; then cross-analyze this information within and between frames for brightness and contrast optimization. Sony claims 5% more efficiency in the XR over the X1 Ultimate, which was the company’s most powerful TV prior.

Ok, but... what does 5% more efficiency mean in real life? During the press events, we were able to check the XR performance compared with an X1 processor and a professional Sony Trimaster monitor. Don’t underestimate its 30 inches and 90’s retro style. Trimaster monitors are monsters worth thousands of dollars and are used in movie studios to adjust images. They are also notorious for showing contrast and color just as it was recorded, without effects, digital editing or HDR paraphernalia. Consider them the RAW version of what you can see in your TV. Now, for what matters, the XR processor TV colors were indeed more natural and closer to what you can see on a professional monitor, but not necessarily more vivid.

The biggest change is in brightness and contrast. XR chips are way better at illuminating dark areas next to bright areas. In LED and Full Array LED TVs, the XR improves both brightness and local dimming, and this translates into less bloom. As you probably know, bloom is the halo effect that occurs when light from a very bright object on the screen illuminates the dark areas around them. OLED models do not have blooming problems because each pixel lights up on its own. What the XR does for them is improve the general brightness and extend the color range.

To sum it up, yes, the image quality is better, but not enough to run to the hills for a new TV set if you already have a Sony TV with an X1 Processor, especially if it is a X1 Ultimate or X1 Pro, which was the most advanced of that generation.

Sony unified its TV and Home Audio business groups into a single business unit in December 2022. Unsurprisingly, the changes in the new L range at audio level have a lot to do with the company’s sound bars and immersive sound satellite speakers. Now, if you connect a Sony soundbar to a Sony Bravia XR TV, the TV automatically becomes the front speaker and is dedicated to voices.

The technology is called Acoustic Center Sync, and it’s available only on the X95L, A95L, A80L, and X90L. In other words, it’s available only on models with an XR processor. The X95L model has the tweeters in a high position behind the screen. On the A95L and A80L, the entire screen is one big, vibrating speaker. Don’t worry, you won’t it moving. We didn’t.

The experience of Acoustic Center Sync is subtle. It moves where dialogue comes from so that it’s closer to your head rather than the soundbar. It sounds more natural, but it’s also hard to tell the difference if you don’t experience it side by side, and can result in slightly tinnier dialogue given the weaker speaker system it’s using. Using it in conjunction with a full surround sound setup while watching James Bond get fired upon from all angles in No Time to Die, our heart rates rose a little bit.

Why Sony, the owner of PlayStation, does not provide its TVs with specific functions for its console is beyond me. Finally, the company is trying to make amends for that by introducing the Perfect for PlayStation 5 seal. The new L line of Sony TVs is now equipped with automatic HDR calibration and specific tone settings for PS5.

But that’s not all. The most interesting part is a new Game Mode (this one is for any game platform: Xbox, PS or PC). When Game Mode is activated, a new menu with specific functions for games shows up from the bottom of the screen. Toggling VRR and Motion Blur modes on and off is now just two clicks away. You can also adjust dark areas to make them more visible in a sort of improved version of the classic gamma correction function that’s already in many shooters. The new Game Menu also brings the ability to add a static crosshair to the center of the screen that feels almost like cheating, but it common on gaming monitors.

Two of the Game Menu features will not be available at launch. They will arrive later via a software update. The first is called screen size, and it may sound strange at first, because it allows you to... reduce the image size on the screen? Wait, why? Turns out that Sony thinks our TVs are so freakishly large that, in some games, players need to move their eyes or heads to see what’s going on around them too often. Zooming out is supposed to help focus your eyes on what’s going on in-game more easily. A Sony rep told us this feature should be especially useful for fighting games, as esports professionals tend to play those on 24 inch monitors.

Also, the new Game Mode will have a split screen mode that will allow you to play in one window while watching YouTube in another. This is very useful for following tutorials or walkthroughs in games where you desperately need them. Take Elden Ring for example, since it was both the most completed and most quit game of 2022.

In terms of content, all Sony televisions are Android TV based, so you can install virtually any streaming app on them, make voice calls with Google Meet (you must buy the Bravia Cam for that) or use Google Assistant on them. They are also compatible with Alexa, Chromecast and Apple TV. But Sony also continues to promote its own streaming app, called Bravia Core. First introduced at CES 2022, Bravia Core is a mix between a monthly fee streaming service and an a la carte movie rental site. It’s similar to what’s offered by Amazon Prime Video, although definitely with a smaller catalog.

Among Bravia Core advantages is full compatibility with Dolby Atmos, a streaming technology with speeds of up to 80Mbps (as long as your internet connection supports it, that is) and a juicy catalog of movies in IMAX Enhanced format. Payment for Bravia Core is made through Google Play, but the kicker is that the TVs come with some free subscription time for it.

Right now, Sony offers 24 months of streaming and 10 credits for renting movies on its A95L, A80L, X95L and X90L models. The X85L, X80L, and X75WL models come with 12 months of streaming on Bravia Core and 5 credits. Interestingly, Sony just added a Crunchyroll dedicated button to the remotes of the new 2023 L range. The popular anime-focused streaming service has more than 44,000 movies and series in its catalog. The new button doesn’t mean you get subscribed to Crunchyroll for free. You have to pay for that separately, although much of its content is free with ads.

Sony TVs have long supported different power-saving modes that reduce energy consumption, but those modes are often hidden deep within the settings. To fix that, the 2023 TV Sets introduce Eco Dashboard, a standalone menu to make eco-conscious functions easier to find and activate. Also, the menu is easier to understand. As we activate different power-saving modes, a tree on the screen grow more branches. Very cute indeed.

If you have Bravia Cam (the webcam for Sony TV Sets), you can automate some of those settings. You can, for example, set the TV to go into a power saving mode or turn off completely if no one is looking at the screen.

Sony TV remotes remain identical compared to those from 2022, except for the addition of the direct access button to Crunchyroll mentioned before. The company has two remotes, one for the high-end TVs, and one for the mid-range ones. The difference between the two, apart from the aluminum or black plastic surface finish, is that the premium version has backlit buttons.

Simply lifting the remote in your hand or pressing a button is enough to conveniently light up the buttons in the darkness of your living room. The premium controller also beeps if we ask Google Assistant to locate it for us using our voice. Useful for when the damn thing sneaks between the couch cushions.

It’s time to briefly review the entire range of TV Sets for this year. Let’s start with Sony’s crown jewel and heir to the A95K presented at CES 2022.

The A95L has a Quantum Dot OLED panel that, without going deep into technical details, is much brighter than standard OLED panels, which can suffer in heavily lit environments. The A95L has all the top Sony technologies in terms of image and sound, and its stand can be moved in height and width to house sound bars. This model and the A80L are the only ones equipped with the speaker under the screen technology called Acoustic Audio screen (basically, the entire screen is a speaker). It will be available in 83, 77, 65 and 55 inches.

If you downgrade the Quantum Dot panel from the XR A95L to a base OLED one, what’s left is the A80L. Perhaps it doesn’t sound like much when said that way, but its predecessor, the A80J, already blew our minds when we reviewed it in 2021. OLED might not be as bright as its QD-OLED sibling, but it’s still one of the company’s best TVs for 2023. This one and the A95L are probably the best TVs of this new lineup in terms of standalone sound. They not only have the Acoustic Surface Audio + emulating a 2.2 system without the help of any soundbar, but also the sound processing capabilities of the XR chip. Like the A95L, it’s also available in 83, 77, 65, and 55-inches.

Think the A95L, but with a Mini LED panel, and you will have a perfect idea of what the X95L has to offer. Mini LED TVs are... you guessed it. They are LCD-LED screens with smaller LEDs. The LCD Panels that define colors of a TV Screen do not emit their own light, so they need a layer underneath that provides that light. Reduce the size of the LEDs that form that white light layer and you have the Mini LED technology.

Mini LED TVs don’t offer the same brutal contrast that’s in QD-OLED or OLED counterparts (in which the pixels are capable of lighting up on their own, allowing them to turn off completely and create perfect blacks), but they greatly help to improve contrast, reduce blooming and cut power consumption. That’s because the smaller the LED, the easier it is to create more “local dimming zones,” which collectively group LEDs in them to fit a certain brightness. Sony’s claiming a 60% increase in local dimming zones this time around. The X85L will be available in 85, 75, and 65-inch sizes.

We continue our downward journey through the 2023 range of Sony TV Sets with the the Bravia XR X90L. It is a Full Array LED TV. In other words, the layer that provides light has LEDs (conventional size, not the mini ones) spreads over its entire surface. Full Array LEDs provide better contrast than their conventional LED cousins, but are not as good as Mini LEDs, OLEDs, or QD OLEDs.

The X90L has a peculiarity: it is the only TV in the entire L range available in a monstrous 98-inch diagonal. The screen is so massive that it has two handles on each side at the back to make it easier to move, but two people are still needed. It is also available in 85, 75, 65 and 55 inches.

We arrive into mid-range territory with the X85L, a TV equipped with an X1 processor instead of the new XR. This model is a slightly downgraded version of the X90L. What you lose here are the image and sound enhancement features derived from the XR processor (XR Clear Image, XR Motion Clarity, and XR 4K Upscaling). This TV still is capable of upscaling to 4K, though, but it doesn’t select different zones for that like its XR processor cousins. It is available in 75, 65, and 55-inch versions.

Sony’s latest lower end models are so similar that we decided to group them together. Both have LED lighting, but not Full Array LED. The basic difference between the two is in the processor and the panel. The X80L has an X1 Ultimate processor (Sony’s most powerful chip until the debut of the XR) and a Sony Triluminos panel for greater color depth. The X75WL is the most affordable set for this year. It has an X1 4K processor (without HDR) and a conventional, but very good LED panel without Triluminos technology. Both come in 43, 50, 55, 65, and 75 inches, but the X80L has an extra 85-inch size.