It's still a completely straw-man argument...
I wasn't in the market for a 'low end' set... This wasn't for some obscure corner of the house... I wanted an upper-middle range large-ish 4K set; and I went for what I believed to be the most reliable manufacturer on the market. Next in line is Bang & Olufsen, and they're just a wee bit too-much style over substance for my wallet and sensibilities; at least not for this place (a secondary home).
Given CHOICE - which I really think Sony should have given me - I'd have bought the set I have now. And nobody CHOSE or expected to buy something so badly crippled that not only do the bells and whistles not work, it doesn't even function reliably at a basic level.
From that article...
"Moreover, these new TV’s will feature Sony’s very best processing, which has always set the company apart from others."
Given that the 2015 was BREATHTAKINGLY incompetent in its execution... From the design and implementation of the UI to the coding and underpinning hardware; it's amazing they could write this with a straight face!!
The (2014) X90B is a behemoth of a set; its (in my setting superfluous) speakers are something of a taste I'm working hard at times to acquire... Very heavy too... And mine is the 'baby' of the family! Even the most technologically ignorant walk-in, notice it and know they're in the presence of something very very diffierent from that on sale in Sainsbury's! -But physically the Android was just another black square - could have been something I'd borrowed from work for all anyone would notice it.
They may have gone too far with the smaller-thinner styling - time will tell. But stylistically, these too look to be nothing remakable... They'll sound awful too; the laws of physics being something they can't change.
If Sony are looking to the upper slopes here they are...
http://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/collection/tvs/beovision-avant
But then Sony are no longer building something that's not only a TV set, but a piece of furniture... So there's that USP gone... Performance? reliability?
A 'main set' isn't something most people replace lightly or often; and Sony's reputation in implementing Android is one of complete and utter incompetence. Even if by some miracle these later ones are rock-solid, the jury will be firmly out for at least two years untill the current Android disaster is dealt with...
They would really NEED to provide a Non-Android 'basic smart' alternative to gain any sort of trust. What they should have done is build the basic display to end all basic displays; built for performance and longevity... Coupled it to a range of modular accessories - bundled as necessary - upgradeable and kept cutting-edge...
'Profeel II' would have been an aspirational and inspirational product...
This?
"Sony agrees with many on what Sony used to stand for. Premium brand, quality et etc."
And yet they're sticking dogmatically to the very thing that has destroyed them... It's all very 'Emperor's new clothes' I'm afraid. And really, they still need to sort out the 2015 mess properly. - It's a long time 'till spring!
