Watching Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves on the Sony Bravia 9 II with my son proved captivating. He has taken up roleplaying games yet had not viewed the film. Faerun vistas came across as lifelike and authentic while spells from the Red Wizards of Thay appeared vivid and saturated. HDR specular highlights stood out sharply during Xenk sword fights in the Underdark as well as explosions in Mad Max: Fury Road and sunlight on ocean waves in The Meg.

The Bravia 7 II reviewed earlier already impressed as an RGB LED set. The Bravia 9 II adds more dimming zones plus an anti-reflective panel and reaches higher brightness levels. Yet the 65-inch version costs an extra thousand dollars with larger sizes widening the gap. Does the flagship justify the premium?

Verge Score

$3600

The Good

Excellent color accuracy
Plenty of brightness for any room
Incredible light-diffusing matte screen
Same cool lenticular stand as Bravia 7 II

The Bad

More expensive than flagship OLEDs
It's LED so some blooming remains especially off axis

Sony demonstrated an early RGB LED backlight prototype at its Tokyo site in early 2025 and the results already looked strong. Sony flagships often lead with new display tech thanks to superior processing and upscaling. The Bravia 8 II continues the line of excellent QD-OLED models while the prior Bravia 9 led mini-LED sets in 2024. With RGB LED sets dominating 2026 headlines expectations run high for this model.

Only two of the HDMI ports are 2.1 but at least there's an ATSC 3.0 tuner.

Like the Bravia 7 II and many new premium sets the Bravia 9 II relies on RGB LEDs in the backlight. Clusters of separate red green and blue LEDs replace the usual blue backlight to produce a broader color range.

The Bravia 9 II shares the same processor as the 7 II along with the same impressive lenticular stand and HDMI 2.1 limited to two of four ports. Perhaps next year Sony will match competitors with four full HDMI 2.1 ports.

Grayscale and color results match or exceed the 7 II though SDR mode still shows oversaturated reds that lack proper brightness. Professional mode improves gamma and EOTF tracking over the 7 II delivering better shadow detail and depth. Sky blues foliage and skin tones look natural while slight blue bias in grayscale went unnoticed during viewing.

Its great color accuracy high light output and anti-reflective screen make it the best bright-room TV available

The set reaches high brightness with HDR highlights measured at 3800 nits and full-field white at 885 nits. The 7 II topped out at 2200 nits for highlights yet nearly matched full-field output at 848 nits. Other models like the TCL X11L go brighter but the 9 II handles most HDR and SDR content well after minor menu adjustments from default Professional mode.

Picture processing helps the set use brightness and color effectively setting Sony apart. With curtains open I viewed World Cup matches via ATSC 3.0 antenna and detail remained clear on the Bravia 9 II.

The anti-reflective screen is amazing at scattering ambient light without affecting black level.

Beyond picture quality several features set the 9 II apart from the 7 II.

The standout upgrade is the anti-reflection screen the finest observed. Lamps and windows fade to faint glows nearly invisible during playback. Reflections stay unobtrusive even when powered off. Performance drops at wide angles yet stays acceptable until near 70 degrees off axis a rare viewing position.

Sony Bravia 9 II specs

Display type: RGB LED

HDR formats: Dolby Vision HDR10 HLG

OS: Google TV

HDMI inputs: 2 x HDMI 2.1 (one with eARC); 2 x HDMI 2.0

Audio support: Dolby Atmos DTS: X

Gaming features: 4K/120Hz ALLM VRR

Sizes available (inches): 65 75 85 115

More dimming zones than the 7 II improve backlight control and reduce blooming. From straight on or mild angles blooming stays minimal with only faint glows around subtitles or fireworks. At couch ends blooming increases slightly yet remains better than the 7 II or rival RGB LED sets though the TCL X11L mini-LED performs stronger. Blooming persists as an LED trait.

At steeper angles blooming worsens with white and color bleed into adjacent areas. An Apple TV Peanuts screensaver showed white from Snoopy extending into yellow backgrounds off axis. The set suits smaller groups best since side viewers see altered images. This off-axis effect was absent on the 7 II and may tie to the new coating.

The Bravia 9 II includes a USB-C rechargeable remote and has the same lenticular stand as the Bravia 7 II.

The TV uses Google TV as its OS and it was quick and easy to use during my time with it.

A slot in the back of the TV's stand routes the cables behind the lenticular screen so they aren't seen from the front.

The combination of excellent brightness and great color accuracy makes images really engaging.

Despite minor angle limitations the Sony Bravia 9 II ranks as the finest RGB LED TV. Its color precision brightness and anti-reflective panel deliver the top bright-room performance. The 65-inch review unit costs 3600 dollars compared to 2600 for the 65-inch 7 II or 3000 for the 65-inch Bravia 8 II OLED.

Time with the Bravia 9 II was enjoyable and many would appreciate one at home. Still other options appeal more even inside Sony's lineup. The Bravia 8 II offers pixel-level OLED control and remains my top pick since contrast matters most. For RGB LED buyers avoiding the 9 II the 7 II covers most ground without the anti-reflective layer. The 9 II excels mainly where reflections pose big issues. It marks a major LED advance yet OLED earns the broader recommendation.

Photography / The Verge

How I test TVs

Each TV was placed on a living room credenza. Content streamed via built-in apps or Apple TV while discs played on a Magnetar UDP900 MkII 4K Blu-Ray player including the Spears and Munsil Ultra HD Benchmark and Kaleidescape Strato E. Games ran on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 across varied times and lighting with open curtains lamps on or blackout curtains drawn. As a certified ISF Level 3 calibrator I skipped pre-measurement calibration since most owners skip it to reflect real out-of-box results with simple menu tweaks.

Measurements used Portrait Displays Calman software a Murideo 8K Seven pattern generator an X-rite i1 Pro 3 spectrophotometer Portrait Displays C6 HDR5000 colorimeter a Konica Minolta LS-100 luminance meter and Leo Bodnar 4K lag tester.

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.

John Higgins