Jordan O'BrienSony has officially announced a more affordable 4K HDR TV – the XE70 series. While pricing has yet to be confirmed, the models are set to be specifically designed for the budget-conscious who still want the extra resolution afforded by 4K, and the boost in picture quality brought about by HDR.
The XE70 Series will be available in four different screen sizes: 43in, 49in, 55in and 65in. All the models will feature some of Sony’s flagship technologies – such as its 4K X-Reality Pro image processor, which upscales HD and SD images, as well as its Motionflow XR technology, which retains smooth and fully detailed imagery even in fast-moving sequences.
To take advantage of the 4K HDR boost in picture quality, Sony has included apps from Netflix, Amazon Video and YouTube. Unfortunately, the interface will not be powered by Android TV, meaning access to features such as Google Assistant, as well as a whole plethora of other apps, will be lacking on this model.
While some will be disappointed by the lack of Android TV, Sony has pulled out all the stops to ensure the XE70 remains affordable, while maintaining some of its key selling points. That includes ClearAudio+, which fine-tunes TV sound for an immersive surround experience that allows music, dialogue and effects to be heard with great clarity and separation. The Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) is also part of the package, restoring lost frequency components for natural audio with a more spacious feel.
Keeping with audio, Sony has also announced the include of S-Force Front Surround, which it claims creates proper volume, time lag, and sound wave spectrum – using only left and right speaker channels – to naturally emulate three-dimensional sound fields.
All of the TVs in Sony’s new XE70 range feature three HDMI ports, all of which support HDCP 2.2. There are also three USB ports on all of the sets, as well as HDMI ARC support.
Sony has confirmed that all the new sets will go on sale in July, although pricing has yet to be confirmed.