It seems that Sony may have jumped the gun on its own CES press conference by leaking its 2020 TV model range on its own website.
While references to the new models appear to have now been removed, website 4K Filme claims to have seen the full listings. Given the predictability of the model numbers, we've little reason to doubt the story.
That predictability is the move to 'H' model names. Last year's models were 'G' (the KD-49XG9505, for example) while 2018's were 'F' (e.g. KD-49XF9005), so it comes as no surprise to see 2020's Sony TVs get the 'H' designation.
The model numbers revealed so far use Sony's established US naming convention, but that makes translation to the European nomenclature very straightforward. So, for starters we have the X800H/XH80, the X900H/XH90 and the X950H/XH95, which should be direct replacements for the outgoing XG80, XG90 and XG95 LCD models respectively.
According to the leak, the entry-level XH80 will be available in sizes ranging from 43in right up to 85in, the XH90 will go from 55in to 85in, and the XH95 from 49in to 85in.
If true, this is actually something of a departure from last year's Sony TVs, not only in terms of the availability of larger screen sizes, but also in the fact that last year's XG90 was just one model, the KD-49XG9005, which was intended as a smaller partner to the 55in-and-above XG95 models.
This year's XH90 appears instead to be a full range, while the XH95 has its own 49in model. Assuming XH95 proves, as expected, to be Sony's top 4K LCD for 2020, it can probably be considered good news that it will be available in this 'small' size.
Above these (presumably) 4K LCD models lie two Sony OLED TV ranges, the A8H/AH8 and A9H/AH9. We can expect these to be direct replacements for the AG8 and AG9. Both models will be available in 55in and 65in, with no mention yet of either getting a 77in version.
The final model mentioned in the leak is the Z8H/ZH8. This is likely an 8K TV that won't replace the existing ZG9 but will instead sit below it, likely as a means of offering 8K at smaller sizes and a more affordable price - the smallest ZG9 is 85in and £14k, after all. The new ZH8 will apparently be offered at 75in and 85in sizes.
We're yet to see any specs for any of these models, so can only speculate at this point. Sticking with the Android TV operating system seems almost guaranteed, as does continued support for Dolby Vision. Will HDR10+ be on board this year? Will all models get full HDMI 2.1 sockets? And which models in the line-up will receive 'Master Series' status?
We just don't know yet, but it at least won't be long until we find out: Sony's CES press conference is taking place on 6th January at 5pm Pacific Time (that's 7th January, 1am in the UK), and we'll be reporting from CES 2020 with all the news as it happens.
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