Sony’s newest TV finally has the HDMI upgrade we’ve been waiting years for ‣ Diverse Daily

Sony has already released a number of new TVs this year, including its Bravia 9 II and Bravia 7 II RGB LED TVs, but now the company has announced its newest mid-range OLED model, the Bravia 6. It’s clearly aimed at competing with some of Sony’s fiercest competition in the OLED market, including the LG C6 OLED and Samsung’s S90H QD-OLED TVs.

The Bravia 6 comes in five different sizes, ranging from 48 inches up to 83 inches, and is priced starting at $1,300. While it’s cheaper than Sony’s higher-end Bravia 8 II QD-OLED offering, the Bravia 6 still has an impressive spec sheet. It features a WOLED panel, which should deliver vivid colors, sharp contrast, and deep black levels, along with support for Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and DTS:X, as well as a 120Hz refresh rate. Like all of Sony’s TVs, the Bravia 6 also runs Google TV, with support for Gemini.

While all of that sounds great, what stood out to me most when I first read the Bravia 6’s spec sheet was actually its HDMI capabilities. For the first time ever, Sony has finally given one of its OLED TVs the HDMI upgrade it should’ve had long ago, and it’s something I deeply wish all TV makers would do.

Sony hasn’t limited HDMI 2.1 on the Bravia 6

You don’t need to worry about which HDMI port you’re using with this TV

One of the biggest problems I have with smart TVs is that there never seem to be enough HDMI 2.1 ports, and it’s a problem that both mid-range and high-end TVs alike continue to face. But with the Bravia 6, it seems Sony has finally decided to do something about it.

For the first time ever on one of its OLED TVs, Sony has included four HDMI 2.1 ports, something the company’s more expensive Bravia 8 II QD-OLED doesn’t even have. This is thanks to the new MediaTek Pentonic 800 chip inside the TV (via FlatPanelsHD). That means you can plug in as many devices as you want without worrying about HDMI ports being a limitation, since all four ports support HDMI 2.1 and the features you may be looking for, including 4K at 120Hz, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), and Dynamic HDR.

Why Sony did this on the Bravia 6 and not the Bravia 8 II is beyond me, but considering both the LG C6 and Samsung S90H are also equipped with four HDMI 2.1 ports, I can’t help but wonder if that had something to do with it.

I’ll give Sony credit where it’s due here, because having four HDMI 2.1 ports makes the Bravia 6 much more appealing, especially for anyone who wants to try out an OLED TV for the first time and connect multiple devices to it, whether that’s a 4K Blu-ray player, a PC, a Switch 2, a PS5, or an Xbox Series X.

I wish every TV would just come with four HDMI 2.1 ports. It would certainly cut down on a lot of the confusion surrounding different HDMI specifications and which HDMI port on your TV you’re actually supposed to use. But given that it costs TV makers more to include higher-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, it’s unfortunately a pipe dream to expect this kind of setup on every TV, especially on more affordable mid-range LCD models.

If you’re interested in checking out the Sony Bravia 6, it’s available for pre-order on Sony’s website and Amazon, with a release date set for August 31.