Sony Bravia 8 II Television Review

The Bravia 8 II (K55XR8M2) is Sony's most advanced QD-OLED television to date. Sitting above last year's Bravia 8 (which remains in the range), and replacing the highly regarded A95L in the 2025 line-up, it's available in 55- and 65-inch screen sizes. It utilises a second-generation QD-OLED panel, paired with the brand's latest XR cognitive processor, for enhanced brightness and image clarity.

Weirdly, Sony is not positioning the Bravia 8 II as its latest TV flagship. That still goes to the Bravia 9, evidence that Sony still regards Mini LED as the most advanced display technology on its roster. But it's darn impressive nonetheless. Selling for £2,199 (US$2,000, AU$2995), the 55-inch model reviewed here is clearly not going to pull in casual buyers, but its blend of refined performance, smart features, and superior build could tempt film lovers and AV enthusiasts to spend more than they first planned.

Up Close

Sony rarely puts a foot wrong when it comes to industrial design, and it doesn't start making missteps here. A so-called Slim One Slate concept merges panel and bezel into a near-invisible frame with a minimalist wraparound design. From the front, the Bravia 8 II is all screen. The brushed aluminium feet mount at the outer edges of the panel, so the set requires wide furniture to accommodate, even at this relatively small screen size of 1,224x704x34mm. At least the feet are height-adjustable, so you can raise them up a notch if you're looking to position a soundbar underneath the panel.

While the micro-bezel design keeps distractions to a minimum, the rear-firing woofers that support Sony's on-glass Acoustic Surface Audio+ system sit in stereo alignment around the back. The rear panel is uniformly flat for a neater on-wall installation.

Connectivity is a tad frustrating. There are four HDMI inputs, but only two support High Frame Rate 4K/120Hz gameplay, and one of these is also the eARC-enabled port. That means two console households will need to carefully consider their options. There's also a pair of USB ports, an optical digital audio output via 3.5mm adapter, Bluetooth and Ethernet (to support Wi-Fi), plus twin satellite and terrestrial antenna inputs.

The TV comes with two remote controls: one is a traditional zapper, and the other is a slimmer Bluetooth model with an integrated microphone and dedicated buttons for Sony Pictures Core, Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Crunchyroll, and YouTube. It feels great in the hand, but unfortunately, it is not backlit.

The Bravia 8 II may be thin, but it sure packs in plenty of tech. The latest iteration of Sony's XR cognitive processor has been enhanced with AI scene recognition, allowing it to dynamically adjust picture parameters based on the content. This silicon doesn't just adjust image attributes like contrast, colour, and motion, but also understands context and can identify focal points in a scene, such as a face or a moving object. It then optimises, based on how depth and detail would be perceived in real life.

Similarly, Ambient Optimisation Pro is on hand to adjust the display according to the room's lighting conditions. The idea is that the Bravia 8 II maintains colour accuracy and contrast, whether you're watching in a dim home theatre or a bright family room. Left on Auto, these processes run in the background. Alternatively, you can just switch them off. That's what I eventually did, purely to maintain consistency.

The Bravia 8 II is built around the Google TV smart platform. The interface is familiar, fast and fluid, but does take a while to set-up. Content recommendations appear to be based on viewing habits, and the layout is relatively easy to navigate, with everything laid out in rails. Google Assistant voice support is built-in, but the set is also compatible with Amazon Alexa, and there's Apple AirPlay 2 for wider iOS-based smart home integration. Android owners can take advantage of Chromecast. YouView handles terrestrial TV in the UK, so all the main catch-up TV services are available, as well as big-name streamers like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+.

When it comes to HDR, Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG are all supported, though, and as with all Sony TVs, HDR10+ is notably absent. The Bravia 8 II is also IMAX Enhanced certified. IMAX Enhanced content can be found on Sony's own Sony Pictures Core streaming service and Disney+.

Sound and Vision

So much for the set dressing, what sets this product apart from the rest is its AV performance. That QD-OLED panel, in combination with Sony's XR Processor, proves deeply satisfying. The screen is brighter and more colourful than its regular '8' stablemate – and not by a little, but a lot.

This set is particularly good at making HDR content sparkle, showcasing those pin-prick highlights that always delight. When streetlights flicker in the dark, fireworks explode, and headlights flare momentarily, the screen can deliver white peaks of up to 1,959 nits. Under more conventional measurement conditions, it still shines, but not with such intensity. I measured 935 nits on a 10% patch, in Standard mode.

It's not the brightest HDR screen in its class, then, but the panel also does an excellent job with shadow detail. Tonal finesse across light and dark scenes is deeply impressive. Black level performance is among the best I've seen from any OLED this year – inky and uniform, with excellent delineation of near shadow detail. Colour fidelity is hands-down exceptional. QD-OLED tech eliminates the white sub-pixel used in traditional W-OLEDs, which allows hues to really pop, even at high brightness. This is especially noticeable in cartoons and sports.

Animated fare like Arcane (Netflix) offers an excellent stress test for colour gradients and motion. While very minor banding remains visible in particularly challenging sequences, skin tones are naturalistic, and textures are almost three-dimensional. Movies appear convincingly cinematic, and motion interpolation unobtrusive.

Picture presets comprise Vivid, Standard, Cinema, Professional, Calm, Photo and IMAX Enhanced. Of these, Calm is the odd one out as it has a profoundly negative impact on the set's HDR performance. Conversely, Vivid remains too intense for most use cases. Standard and Cinema presets offer a pleasing balance.

If you're looking for that 'grader's eye' aesthetic, the Professional preset delivers an image surprisingly close to Sony's BVM-HX3110 mastering monitor, probably more so than any rival in this price bracket. Although when viewed in a typical domestic setting, I do think it appears rather flat. Dolby Vision modes kick in with appropriate content.

Upscaling is another strong point. A streamed HD version of Black Adam (Netflix) reveals sharpness and nuance beyond its source. Detail in Dr. Fate's shimmering golden helmet reads authentically metallic, and there's no obvious edge enhancement or digital overprocessing to distract.

Gaming niceties include ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), and Dolby Vision Game compatibility. A dedicated Game menu offers quick access for key settings, and game-specific functionality (Black Equaliser, Crosshair embellishment, and so on).

The Bravia 8 II also offers a variety of dedicated picture modes. In addition to a Standard setting, there's an FPS preset for shooters and an RTS Game for strategy play. Selecting the FPS mode, I found that high frame rate gameplay with VRR on my PS5 was buttery smooth. Latency is competitive. I measured input lag at 16.5ms in FPS Game mode, using 1080/60 content.

Sony also integrates PS Remote Play, a convenient feature that allows gamers to stream from a PlayStation 5 or PS4 to the TV across a home network, without needing to relocate the console. This makes the Bravia 8 II a serious contender for living rooms or bedrooms where console placement is impractical or unwanted.

Audio is a cut above the rest. Sony's Acoustic Surface Audio+ system continues to impress. A pair of actuators, fixed to the rear of the panel, effectively turn the screen into a speaker. Consequently, sound appears to emanate directly from the glass. It's particularly effective for dialogue. The actuators are supported by a couple of conventional rear-mounted woofers, which help drive bass response surprisingly deep. I measured bass output down to 31.5Hz, with no cabinet rattle at 50Hz – which is a rare achievement for a modern flatscreen. This ability to reproduce low-end rumble with clarity adds to the sense of filmic immersion. For viewers wanting more, Acoustic Centre Sync allows the TV to serve as a centre speaker in a multichannel set-up. Total audio power output is put at a generous 50W (30W x2, 20W x2).

The onboard sound system may be stereophonic, but you can always route a Dolby Atmos bitstream out to an external soundbar or AV receiver for more immersive audio, from any of the set's compatible streaming services. The TV supports DTS:X as well as Dolby Atmos, not least because that's the preferred audio offered by the Sony Pictures Core IMAX Enhanced movie library.

The Verdict

Overall then, the Sony Bravia 8 II is a top-of-the-line performer – and a compelling showcase for QD-OLED. It's a big jump up on the Bravia 8, although it's certainly not as ultra-bright as rival flagships such as the LG G5 and Samsung S95F. Even so, it may well be the most cinematic consumer TV from Sony yet. Sure, there are caveats. Some elements of the spec rankle, and that premium price tag is a considerable investment, but for those who care about picture integrity and understated design, the Bravia 8 II might well be the best QD-OLED option we'll see this year.

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