Mashable
Sony RGB TVs are finally here and skipping the preorder window. What to know about Bravia 7 II and 9 II.
Sony officially unveiled its highly-awaited True RGB TVs on May 27. The Sony Bravia 7 II and Sony Bravia 9 II enter the crowded arena of fresh RGB TV releases from Samsung and Hisense, as well as the LG Micro RGB TV that's currently available to preorder. (Tell me RGB was one of the biggest TV trends at CES 2026 without telling me.)
Though Sony's flagship RGB TV announcement came later than those of the other big brands, the two new models are making up for lost time by skipping the preorder window. The Sony Bravia 7 II and Sony Bravia 9 II are both available for purchase at Sony.com and Best Buy, along with their new home audio sidekick, the Sony Bravia Theater Trio. Let's dive into the differences.
How are the True RGB TVs different than other Bravia models?Not to be confused with the mini-LED Sony Bravia 7 or Sony Bravia 9 models without "II" on the end, the Bravia 7 II and Sony Bravia 9 II use a new type of backlighting that we've never seen from a Sony TV.
The Sony Bravia 7 II comes in six sizes. Credit: Sony The Sony Bravia 9 II comes in four sizes. Credit: SonyThe traditional LCD panels behind those mini-LED Bravia models stream blue or white LEDs through quantum dots to create color. Those hues definitely beat what you'd see from a regular LED TV without quantum dots, but mini-LEDs still don't achieve 100 percent coverage of the color gamut (the full possible spectrum of colors visible to humans).
Sony's True RGB TVs, however, draw their light from true red, green, and blue light sources — the best you could ask for in terms of color accuracy and saturation. Each of those red, green, and blue LEDs operates independently of one another, offering unprecedented picture quality across the screen. According to the press release, Sony's new RGB Backlight Master Drive Pro processor should improve brightness, reduce blooming, and produce purer color than conventional mini-LED displays.
A Sony OLED TV on the left vs. Sony's new RGB TV on the right. Credit: Miller Kern / MashableThis means that the screen should appear just as vibrant to the person sitting on the far edge of the couch as the person in the middle, OLED-style. But unlike OLED TVs, these RGB TVs should be much easier to see in a sunny room.
SEE ALSO: Sony celebrates the 10th anniversary of the 1000X series with a new pair of headphonesBoth Sony True RGB Bravia TVs also include Ambient Optimization, which will automatically tweak picture and audio to the current environment. From there, the Bravia 7 II and Bravia 9 II have a few key differences.
First, here's how much the Sony Bravia 7 II lineup costs:
Sony 50-inch Bravia 7 II — $1,599.99 (coming this summer)
Sony 55-inch Bravia 7 II — $2,099.99
Sony 65-inch Bravia 7 II — $2,599.99
Sony 75-inch Bravia 7 II — $3,099.99
Sony 85-inch Bravia 7 II — $3,999.99
Sony 98-inch Bravia 7 II — $8,999.99
Compared to the RGB flagships from Samsung, LG, and Hisense, Sony will be the only brand to offer a 50-inch RGB model. Until that size launches, the 55-inch $2,099.99 price point isn't outlandish to kick off the tier — that's less than the new 9-speaker Bravia Theater Trio Dolby Atmos system, which costs $2,199.99.
The Sony Bravia 9 II and Theater Trio. Credit: SonyThe Bravia 9 II takes bright room performance up another notch with a special set of advanced backlight controllers and Sony's new glare-free Immersive Black Screen Pro (we saw it in person, and it genuinely is glare-free). The Bravia 9 II may not be an art TV by name or wall mount, but it certainly checks off the matte screen and ambient mode boxes. And yes, Sony has its own art gallery app.
Here's how much the Sony Bravia 9 II lineup costs:
Sony 65-inch Bravia 9 II — $3,599.99
Sony 75-inch Bravia 9 II — $4,599.99
Sony 85-inch Bravia 9 II — $6,499.99
Sony 115-inch Bravia 9 II — $30,999.99 (coming this fall)
Sony is no stranger to being the most expensive TV choice in any given category, but both Bravia models seem pretty reasonably priced compared to the competition. Samsung and Hisense's two RGB tiers are slightly more affordable than Sony's, with LG's Micro RGB evo leading the pack. Though operations under Sony and TCL's partnership aren't expected until April 2027, could we already be seeing a shift toward (slightly) more affordable Sony TVs?
AI content to be automatically labeled on YouTube — but not on YouTube Kids
YouTube is upgrading its AI labeling system, including a new automatic detection tool, as tech companies ramp up their investments in content provenance.
Previously, videos featuring photorealist AI had to be tagged by their creators or face a strike — once it was tagged as AI, a disclosure label would be added to the description. Now, that label is moving up to the top, more prominently displayed for all to see next to the video's title and in the bottom corner of YouTube Shorts.
SEE ALSO: What to do when your teen replaces you with a chatbotIn a first since the platform introduced labels in 2024, YouTube will also begin scanning content and automatically adding labels to any unmarked videos with significant AI use. "It’s important to note that a disclosure label alone does not change how a video is recommended or whether it’s eligible to earn money," the platform wrote in a recent blog post. "In a world where AI is changing what’s possible, our goal is simple: make it as easy as possible for creators and viewers to have the right information."
YouTube has faced criticism for an abundance of AI "slop" and AI-generated advertising, and the platform has removed millions of channels and videos in response. YouTube CEO Neil Mohan stated that curbing AI slop is a top priority.
Meanwhile, child safety advocates have recently called on the platform to address what they call a dangerous proliferation of AI-generated, animated content aimed at children. In an April letter sent to Mohan and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, a coalition of child advocacy groups urged the platform to ban AI-generated content on YouTube Kids, institute clear AI labels for all content, and implement new parental controls aimed at limiting AI videos.
At the time, YouTube told Mashable it was working on developing labels for YouTube Kids. The company also explained that its current labeling approach doesn't apply to YouTube Kids because of other safety policies, including a lack of descriptions on Kids content.
For now, the new labels only apply to the main YouTube website, not content found on YouTube Kids. In addition, the automatic labelling system will only scan for "photorealistic and meaningfully AI altered or generated" content, a policy which so far has excluded animated or highly stylized video.
