Sony's Bravia 10 TV, slated for 2026, has ignited my enthusiasm and may eclipse OLED displays as the leading technology in home entertainment.
Sony is set to debut a new television in 2026, the Bravia 10, which promises to redefine LCD technology with its use of RGB Mini-LED backlighting. This technology, also known as Micro RGB or RGB MicroLED backlighting, is gaining popularity and is essentially the same technology used by manufacturers like Hisense and Samsung.
The Bravia 10 will utilise RGB LEDs for performance enhancements, allowing it to maintain colours and details in darker areas more effectively than traditional displays. This is achieved by using microscopic red, green, and blue LEDs as a backlight placed behind an LCD panel, each individually controlled for finer and more precise control over brightness and color reproduction.
This setup can more accurately reproduce colours by emitting pure red, green, and blue light directly without filters, support wider colour gamuts (such as full BT.2020), and achieve improved contrast by dimming or turning off individual micro-LEDs for darker blacks. However, it doesn't quite match the pixel-level light control and perfect blacks of OLED TVs, which use self-emissive organic pixels that emit light individually without any backlight.
Despite the Bravia 10's promising features, its pricing could make it a tough sell. The Switch 2, another high-end product, has been criticized for its disappointing specs in TV testing due to its high cost. The Bravia 10's most debilitating aspect could be its breakout price, but if Hisense can deliver RGB Mini-LED TVs at a similar cost to its more conventional Mini-LED TVs, Sony and Samsung will have a lot to worry about.
The Bravia 10 is claimed to have better off-axis viewing and glare mitigation capabilities, aiming to improve off-axis viewing in larger screen sizes. It also offers more accurate colours in both SDR and HDR content. In addition, an ultra short throw projector can hit 4,000 lumens at 120 inches, according to Tom's Guide, demonstrating the potential brightness of RGB Mini-LED TVs.
The technological advancements of the Sony Bravia 10 could make it the TV to beat in 2026. For up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews on the Bravia 10 and other TVs, follow Tom's Guide on Google News.
Comparison Table: RGB Mini-LED TVs vs OLED TVs
| Aspect | RGB Mini-LED TVs | OLED TVs | |------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------| | Light source | Micro-scale RGB LEDs as backlight behind LCD panel| Self-emissive organic pixels | | Pixel-level control | No, backlight LEDs not one-to-one with pixels[2] | Yes, individual pixel light control | | Contrast and blacks | High contrast via local dimming, but some blooming | True perfect blacks, infinite contrast | | Color gamut | Full BT.2020 supported, wider than many displays[1][5] | Excellent colour, but generally a narrower gamut than RGB Mini-LED | | Brightness | Higher brightness than OLED (e.g., 276% greater per MediaTek)[3] | Limited by organic materials; lower peak brightness | | Viewing angles | Improved but usually less than OLED | Excellent viewing angles | | Screen size limitations| Larger sizes possible, often bigger than OLED | Limited size due to manufacturing constraints[3] | | Power efficiency | Superior power efficiency compared to OLED[3] | Less power-efficient at high brightness |
[1] Tom's Guide [2] What Hi-Fi? [3] Display Daily [4] Samsung Newsroom [5] TechRadar
The Bravia 10, equipped with RGB Mini-LED backlighting, represents a promising advancement in television technology, boasting improved color reproduction, wider color gamuts, and high contrast compared to traditional displays. This technology, increasingly popular among manufacturers such as Hisense and Samsung, sets the stage for a fierce competition in the market for high-end gadgets.
