Sony Bravia 8 II (K55XR8M2)

Better, brighter, sharper, cheaper

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The Sony Bravia 8 II is one of - if not the - most exciting new TVs of the year. Not that you'd know that from the name.

The TV is exciting because it's the successor to the Sony A95L QD-OLED, a model so good that it's still one of the very best TVs you can currently buy, despite being nearly two years old.

But the name is weird. 'Bravia 8 II' suggests it's the successor to the Bravia 8 W-OLED TV, but the Bravia 8 is continuing in the range, with this new Bravia 8 II sitting above it.

Why not call the new model the 'Bravia 9'? Because Sony's flagship Mini LED model already takes that name. It can't be called 'Bravia 10', either, as that would suggest it sits above the Bravia 9, which isn't the case. Besides, that name is probably being saved for the company’s upcoming RGB LED TV.

What's in a name? Well, the worry is that the name is rather confusing and possibly undersells this new Sony QD-OLED. And it would be a real shame if potential buyers were put off by it - because the Bravia 8 II, here reviewed in 55in form, is an extraordinarily good TV.

Sony promised that the Bravia 8 II would be 'more affordable than the A95L', by which it meant that the new model would launch for less than the outgoing model did.

More important than how the Bravia 8 II's pricing compares with that of its fellow Sony TVs, though, is how it compares with rivals such as the LG G5, Samsung S95F and Panasonic Z95B.

Of course, launch pricing is just the start of the story, and we always recommend waiting for discounts before making a purchase. History suggests that the LG G5 will be the most heavily discounted model over time, closely followed by the Samsung S95F. Sony and Panasonic TVs, particularly flagship models, are usually less aggressively discounted. That said, it feels as though we are in a fairly unprecedented period of volatility, so there's no guarantee that pricing history will repeat with these models.