Sony Launches Bravia 9 II and 7 II Before TCL Partnership Takes Over

Sony’s new Bravia televisions arrive months before the company folds its home entertainment business into a TCL-led venture in 2027


Sony Group Corp. has introduced a new round of premium Bravia televisions months before its home entertainment division enters a joint venture with TCL Electronics Holdings Ltd., a deal that will end Sony’s run as an independent high-end TV manufacturer.

The company announced the Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II on Wednesday alongside a new surround sound system called the Bravia Theater Trio. The products will begin shipping in June after opening for preorders in several markets.

The launches arrive during a transitional period for Sony’s television business. TCL agreed earlier this year to acquire a 51% stake in a new entity that will absorb Sony’s home entertainment operations beginning in April 2027. The transaction was valued at 75.4 billion yen, or about $473 million.

For television enthusiasts, the timing has added unusual attention to this year’s Bravia lineup. Sony televisions have retained a strong reputation in the premium segment for image processing and color handling even as the wider TV market consolidated around a handful of global panel suppliers.

The Bravia 9 II sits at the top of the new range. Sony said the television uses independently controlled red, green and blue LEDs to improve brightness and color precision across the screen. The company is positioning the set toward dedicated home theater buyers, particularly consumers using large-format displays in brightly lit rooms.

JOIN OUR TECHTRENDS NEWSLETTER

The 65-inch Bravia 9 II starts at $3,600. The largest version, measuring 115 inches, reaches $31,000. Sony also added an anti-reflection coating and a transparent stand design intended to create a floating appearance.

The lower-priced Bravia 7 II shares the same RGB lighting architecture but omits some of the premium hardware features included in the flagship model. Prices begin at $1,600, with larger configurations climbing to $9,000.

Sony’s latest televisions continue to use Google TV software from Alphabet Inc. and support Gemini voice features.

The company also expanded its home audio lineup with the Bravia Theater Trio, a $2,200 speaker package that combines a central soundbar with dedicated left and right front speakers. Sony is targeting consumers seeking wider sound separation without relying entirely on software-based surround effects common in compact soundbar systems.

The new Bravia models enter a television market where manufacturers are increasingly converging around similar display technologies. RGB Mini LED systems have appeared across several major brands this year, including products from TCL, Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc. and Hisense.

That broader industry shift has made software optimization and image tuning more important in the premium category, areas where Sony has historically differentiated itself.

Sony said its picture and sound technologies would continue influencing future televisions developed through the TCL partnership. The company did not outline how engineering responsibilities would be divided after the joint venture begins operations.

The transition reflects mounting pressure inside the global television business, where manufacturing scale and supply chain control have become increasingly concentrated among Chinese electronics companies.

Sony’s television operation remains one of the most recognizable names in home entertainment, but the economics of producing premium TVs independently have grown more difficult as prices fall across the wider market and hardware features spread rapidly between brands.

For longtime Bravia buyers, the latest lineup may come to represent the final television generation developed entirely within Sony’s standalone consumer electronics structure before the company moves into a new manufacturing arrangement with TCL.

Go to TECHTRENDSKE.co.ke for more tech and business news from the African continent and across the world. 

Follow us on WhatsAppTelegramTwitter, and Facebook, or subscribe to our weekly newsletter to ensure you don’t miss out on any future updates. Send tips to editorial@techtrendsmedia.co.ke

Facebook Comments

FORUM

By George Kamau

I brunch on consumer tech. Send scoops to george@techtrendsmedia.co.ke
Back to top button
×