The incremental nature of consumer electronics these days means a new purchase very rarely feels like an investment. Smart TVs, however, can find themselves in a different territory to other electronics, provided you find the right one.

This segment runs a fairly wide gamut, so savvy consumers can pick up a solid all-around smart TV for well under R15k, but with that price come many what if’s.

When you go up in price, invariably the expectation is to have a better visual experience, more screen real estate and a more premium product.

This brings us to the Sony Bravia XR A80J, which was unveiled by the Japanese company early last year and has been tested by us for the past two weeks to see whether it is indeed the investment in entertainment you need to make.

We say investment as the A80J (how we will be referring to it from here on out) does not come cheap, with the recommended retail price on our 65″ review model set at around R57 900.

That is quite a bit more than the sub-R20k smart TVs we were alluding to earlier.

So is the Bravia XR A80J worth it?

A welcome return

Well speaking anecdotally first, the Bravia brand is synonymous with quality. When Sony announced its return to SA’s shores, it was big news, with several South Korean and Taiwanese manufacturers dominating the local TVs space.

As far as where Bravia plays these days, it is certainly in the premium space, as the specifications, price and performance of these new XR models attest.

One of the new elements, and one that Sony talked up quite a bit when this latest lineup was revealed was the “cognitive intelligence” functionality. This is said to be a level above regular artificial intelligence, which we have seen marketed on competitor models in the past.

On this front Sony says cognitive intelligence is designed to mimic human vision. While that is indeed a bold claim, and we are still on the fence regarding its validity after a couple of weeks of use, we must admit that there is a distinct difference in how the display settings adjust depending on the content that is displayed.

It means that we very rarely have to dip into the settings ourself when switching from watching TV via an aerial connection, a streaming platform or booting up a PS5 to play games. From that perspective then, there are a lot of features hard at work on the A80J to ensure the viewing experience is as unencumbered as possible.

This is a particular boon for those who want to simply set up their smart TV and get going. That said, there are still plenty of elements to tinker with and fine tune, so you can get the precise picture quality (3840×2160) you want.

One of the more notable aspects of performance is the 4K visuals, which can handle up to 120fps.

While there is a distinct lack of 4K content on normal TV services or streaming, there were plenty of nature videos we could access via the onboard YouTube app. Much like your local electronics store that plays stock videos to showcase the visual quality, we were amazed at the vibrancy and detail of tropical birds as they filled our screen.

Pure fidelity

The same goes for the experience on the PS5, where we got to try the newly launched Horizon Forbidden Dawn out. Needless to say it looked superb and 4K XR Smoothing and XR Motion Clarity features of the A80J keep the visuals seamless and uninterrupted.

While dropping nearly R60k on a 65″ OLED TV just to play Forbidden West is not the wisest of moves, the fact that it looks as good as it does with the XR A80J, is definitely something you can try to make a case for.

The gaming experience was not entirely perfect, however, as when we tried to enable HDR10 functionality, some scenes appeared to blow out red colours more than others. The rest of the time, it was a joy to play on.

The same went for streaming platforms, viewing on YouTube, the DSTV Now app (provided your connectivity is solid) and aerial. As such, in terms of being able to do it all, to borrow a baseball term, the Bravia XR A80J is a five tool player. Basically meaning it has it all.

It is also worth noting that setup is simple and easy too.

Yes, it is definitely a two-person job given the dimensions, weight (22.3kg) of the TV and its ultra slim bezels, but the legs on which it stands are easy enough to put together with some screws and slot into place seamlessly, pulling out neatly enough while not falling out easily either.

The fact that the back panel is super clean is a nice addition too, with cables being inserted akin to what you might find on monitor instead of on the side or front on, which can be a little unsightly given our proclivity for cable management.

Final verdict

So is the Sony Bravia XR A80J worth it?

While it is indeed difficult to justify paying R57 900 (RRP) for anything these days, this 65″ OLED 4K HDR smart TV feels worth it.

It is very much an investment and a piece of hardware that feels built to last you for the next decade. It also boasts enough visual fidelity to leave you safe in the knowledge that it will not be easily left behind by advances in tech.

If you have the funds and are indeed looking to invest in a smart TV that will be the entertainment hub of your home from a brand known for quality and craftsmanship, look no further than this one.