The launch of a new Sony OLED TV is usually cause for celebration. Fireworks, bunting, parades – that sort of thing.
So it's rather baffling to discover that the brand has indeed launched a new OLED TV without so much as a press release announcement. It's just... appeared.
The reason, it turns out, is that this isn't an all-new model, but instead a variant of the existing Bravia 8, called the Bravia 8A.
Sony assures us that the performance of the Bravia 8A is identical to that of the Bravia 8.
In fact, the company says there are just two small differences between the two models: the Bravia 8A comes with a non-backlit version of the Bravia 8's remote, and you get with it 5 credits and 12 months of streaming for Sony Pictures Core, rather than the 12 credits and 24 months of the Bravia 8.
It doesn't take a genius to spot that those are clear downgrades.
Despite that, the Bravia 8A currently costs more than the Bravia 8.
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I'm told, though, that this is purely a result of the new model having only just launched. It sounds to me as if this will change soon.
So, is the Bravia 8A the replacement for the Bravia 8, or a model to sit alongside it?
Sony says it's the latter, which is slightly surprising to me but potentially a good thing, as it suggests that, once pricing has settled, there will be a more affordable version of the Bravia 8 available.
I'm intrigued to learn what that price difference will be in the end, though. How much can Sony shave off with those two, fairly minor-seeming downgrades?
And will it be worth it to lose that backlit remote, which can be very useful indeed? We'll have to wait and see.
Sony and the retailers already selling both models are clearly identifying the Bravia 8A from the Bravia 8, but if you want to be absolutely sure you're getting the one you want, you can check the full model number: Bravia 8 TVs have 'XR80' in their model number, while Bravia 8A sets have 'XR8A' in theirs.
Here's the full, current pricing (though, as mentioned, expect this to change fairly quickly):
Tom Parsons has been writing about TV, AV and hi-fi products (not to mention plenty of other 'gadgets' and even cars) for over 15 years. He began his career as What Hi-Fi?'s Staff Writer and is now the TV and AV Editor. In between, he worked as Reviews Editor and then Deputy Editor at Stuff, and over the years has had his work featured in publications such as T3, The Telegraph and Louder. He's also appeared on BBC News, BBC World Service, BBC Radio 4 and Sky Swipe. In his spare time Tom is a runner and gamer.
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