After a surprise non-appearance at CES 2023, Sony has finally lifted the lid on its latest TV range. 

At the top of the new range sits the A95L QD-OLED, which is said to be "up to" 200 per cent brighter than the outgoing A95K, and the X95L Mini LED-backlit LCD, which is apparently up to 30% brighter than the already very bright X95K it replaces.

While Sony is, like many other manufacturers, pretty coy about the components its TVs use, it seems fair to assume that the A95L uses the new, second-generation QD-OLED panel from Samsung Display. This is almost certainly the same panel that will feature in the Samsung S95C.

To this, Sony adds its own heat diffusion sheet (aka a heatsink) and thermal analysis, driven by the Cognitive Processor XR. It's the combination of these elements that results in the apparently huge increase in peak brightness. Sony isn't giving out specific peak brightness figures, but it's probably fair to expect the TV to hit 2000+ nits in its most vivid picture mode, and something in the region of 1500 nits in its more natural and authentic presets. As ever, though, we'll be putting these claims to the test when we get the TV into our own labs.

On top of the 55- and 65-inch sizes that the A95K was available in, the A95L will also be available as a 77-inch model.

Other highlights exclusive to the A95L include support for Dolby Vision gaming and Multi View - the latter of which allows you to display one source on one side of the screen and another on the other. The use case given by Sony was playing a game in one window while watching a YouTube tutorial in the other. Unfortunately, the A95L (and its siblings in the 2023 range) still has just two HDMI 2.1 sockets that support 4K/120Hz gaming.

The A95L is also the only TV in Sony's 2023 range that comes bundled with the Bravia CAM camera (it's an optional extra for all other models), which clips to the TV's top edge and unlocks a host of smart features, including video calling, automatic power saving and picture and sound optimisation based on the specific spot in the room that you're sitting in. We weren't entirely convinced by Bravia CAM last year, but we're intrigued to give it another go when we test this year's new models.

Design-wise, the A95K's elegant but huge and impractical stand has been replaced for the A95L by feet that are positioned at the furthest extremes of the TV's bottom edge. Sony calls this a "noiseless" design because it avoids creating reflections on the screen, but the TV having such a wide footprint won't be ideal for everyone. The 77-inch model does allow for the feet to be positioned closer to the centre of the chassis, but that's not an option for the 65- or 55-inch versions. All the sets have a soundbar position, so that the TV can be raised in order to make room for a soundbar.

On the subject of sound, the A95L unsurprisingly features Sony's Acoustic Surface Audio+ technology, which involves actuators that vibrate the whole screen in order to make sound. There's been no mention of any hardware upgrades over the A95K's audio system, which leads us to believe there probably aren't any, but that's no bad thing – the A95K is one of the best-sounding TVs you can currently buy.

X95L Mini LED with more zones and higher brightness

The Yin to the A95L's Yang is the X95L Mini LED set, which Sony essentially sees as a joint-flagship model – though the fact that the A95L gets support for Dolby Vision gaming and Multi View while the X95L does not, and is also the only model that comes bundled with the Bravia CAM, suggests that this flagship status isn't truly equal.

That isn't to say that the X95L hasn't been equally lavished with attention by Sony. The key points here are that the number of dimming zones has been increased over the X95K, and peak brightness has been increased by "up to" 30%. Sony won't put more specific figures on either of these upgrades, but in a brief demo it seemed clear to me that the X95L was a substantial improvement in terms of punch, shadow detail and contrast, with very little in the way of blooming, particularly when viewing the screen head-on. As ever, a manufacturer-led demo can never be fully trusted, and we'll test these elements fully ourselves just as soon as we can get the X95L into our test labs.

The X95L will be available in 65-, 75- and 85-inch sizes, and all will have feet that can be positioned at the edges, closer to the centre or in a raised, soundbar-friendly setup.

As many know, a backlit LCD panel can't be vibrated the way that an OLED one can, but the X95L instead features frame tweeters similar to those found on last year's Z9K 8K model. These allow for the sound to appear as if it's coming directly from the screen.

For gaming, 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM are all supported, but Dolby Vision gaming is not, which is a real shame. And, as mentioned, none of the TVs have more than two HDMI 2.1 sockets, and we anticipate that one of these will still be the ARC/eARC port that many will need to use in order to connect a soundbar or other sound system.

Step-down A80L OLED model in 83 inches – but no 'small' OLEDs

The A80K 'standard' OLED is also getting a replacement in the form of the A80L, which will be available in a new 83-inch size as well as the 55-, 65- and 77-inch versions of before. In truth, Sony doesn't appear to be making huge claims about this one, suggesting that it's not hugely different from the model it replaces. That would tally with LG's approach this year, which involves a huge step-up for the flagship model (the G3) but very few obvious upgrades to the step-down set (the C3). Of course, the A80L will benefit from some range-wide upgrades, which I'll get to below.

One disappointment with Sony's 2023 TV range is that it's lacking new 42-inch and 48-inch OLED models. The company says it's keeping 2022's A90K model in its range instead, but that's an expensive TV. It's a real shame that the company hasn't instead produced the A80K in smaller sizes that could compete on price with the smaller versions of LG's C3.