Sony’s 42-inch OLED is small and often mighty, if you can accept the sound can’t match the picture’s highs
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(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
T3 Verdict
Reasons to buy+Thrillingly accomplished and convincing images+Good gaming feature-set+Neat and tidy designReasons to avoid-Startlingly expensive-Lacks outright brightness-Sounds breathless
Reasons to buy+Thrillingly accomplished and convincing images+Good gaming feature-set+Neat and tidy design
Thrillingly accomplished and convincing images
Good gaming feature-set
Neat and tidy design
Reasons to avoid-Startlingly expensive-Lacks outright brightness-Sounds breathless
Startlingly expensive
Lacks outright brightness
Sounds breathless
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Not only is theSonyXR-42A90K the smallest OLED TV in Sony’s line-up, at 42-inches, it’s the joint-smallest OLED TV (as opposed to ‘monitor’) you can currently buy (LG’s C2 is the other 42-inch option).
This Sony is a small screen at quite a big price, though, so it’s going to have to justify itself beyond the fact of its usefully titchy screen size. An invisible audio system, some very welcome next-gen games console support and Sony’s usual impeccable quality of build and finish are a start, most certainly – but what else about the 42-inch A90K yells ‘premium product’?
Sony XR-42A90K review: Price and release date
(Image credit: Sony / Future)
(Image credit: Sony / Future)
The Sony XR42A90K is on sale now, and in the United Kingdom it goes for £1699. American customers should expect to part with $1299, while in Australia it costs AU$2899.
Secondly, the price is straight-ahead huge for a 42-inch television. Yes, OLED TVs as small as this are a novelty – but a lot of potential customers are going to have to have a long, hard think about whether or not this TV represents value when it’s twice the price of some very accomplished 42in alternatives. It might be on offer though, take a look at the embedded widget below for up-to-date pricing info:
Today’s best Sony XR42A90K deals$1,198View$1,298View$1,299.99ViewShow More DealsWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Sony XR42A90K deals$1,198View$1,298View$1,299.99ViewShow More DealsWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
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Sony A90K review: Features and what’s new
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Sony is coy about revealing the exact type of panel it’s bought from LG (where all OLED panels come from) to create the XR42A90K – and given that LG itself has contrived to build its own 42-inch OLED TVs from a mixture of its new-for-2022 ‘EX’ panels (which promise superior brightness) and from panels using slightly older technology, it’s not at all easy to establish what’s what. Fortunately, there’s plenty wedoknow about the A90K.
Certainly it features plenty of connectivity. As far as wireless connections go, the Sony has Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi, Chromecast built-in and compatibility withAppleAirPlay and HomeKit. Physical connections run to aerial binding posts for the pair of integrated TV tuners, an Ethernet socket, a digital optical output, a couple of USB inputs and four HDMI sockets.
Sony XR-42A90K review: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
The colour balance, for example, is getting on for exquisite. There’s vibrancy to the A90K’s images, authentic and extensive colour volume, but they never look anything other than natural and convincing. There’s nothing artificial about the way the Sony describes colours, and the extraordinary breadth of its colour palette makes images look endlessly varied and nuanced.
Motion control is equally accomplished and equally persuasive. Even multi-directional movement can’t faze the A90K – it’s grippy and authoritative in all circumstances, and that includes the slow pans that can separate the ‘great’ from the merely ‘good’. Edges are properly defined and rendered too, and even when the on-screen depth-of-field is significant the Sony is always assured.
Skin tones and textures are similarly life-like, the A90K making subtleties of complexion obvious without looking in any way processed or artificial. Picture noise is suppressed ruthlessly, even very complex or tight patterns are delivered without any suggestion of simmer or crawl, and Sony’s 4K HDR images are as solidly rendered, as naturalistic and as compelling as they come.
About the only area where the A90K is less than utterly convincing is brightness. There are technical reasons (mostly concerning pixel density) why smaller OLED screens can’t generate much out-and-out punch where brightness is concerned, and it’s certainly noticeable here. The white shades the Sony can generate are as detailed and as nuanced as all the other colours in its palette and, against the typically deep (and equally detailed) black tones the A90K delivers, contrasts are strong. But in terms of straightforward brightness, the Sony is underwhelming. And it doesn’t help that the screen hunts between brightness levels if you turn its light sensor on – so it’s best to leave that switched off.
Virtually everything I’ve described until now holds true when the Sony is upscaling some 1080p content too. Edge definition loses a touch of vigour, picture noise can intrude in moments of greatest complexity, but in every other respect – motion control, skin tones, colour fidelity, you name it – the A90K is a superbly accomplished upscaler. But not especially bright.
As far as sound is concerned, the ‘plus’ and ‘minus’ columns are a little more evenly populated than they are for picture quality. On the plus side, the audio technology delivers a direct, distinct and detailed sound, with plenty of eloquence through the midrange to ensure dialogue is always coherent. The minus centres around the lack of low-frequency extension and power, and the fairly small-scale nature of the Sony’s overall presentation. You’ll want to give proper consideration to buying one of thebest soundbarsgoing.
Sony A90K review: Design and usability
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
It looks good from dead ahead, though: the bezels surrounding the screen are minimal, and the stand both looks and feels good and is usefully compact. Sony’s ploy of having the screen sit very low indeed on the stand and supplying a pair of ‘stilts’ to raise it up in case you want to use a soundbar is clever and effective. That unfashionable depth doesn’t help the A90K appeal to wall-hangers, but its 13.3kg weight means it’s no burden to put up there.
The rear of the chassis features a quite nice ‘grid’ pattern, with a rear-firing woofer just about visible behind it in one area and a couple of ‘click-on/click-off’ panels covering most (but not all) of the physical inputs.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
The Google TV smart interface is nicely implemented here. Yes, it covers the entire screen (which is never a good idea), but it’s clean and logical – and unlike some alternative designs I could mention, it doesn’t waste its time trying to sell you content. Navigating it is easy, and as consequence it’s one of the most painless interfaces around.
The same is broadly true of the Sony’s set-up menus. Straight from the box the A90K looks a little dull and undercooked – but those who want instant results can get them, while those who like to have a proper fiddle with the minutiae of picture performance will find ample tweaking opportunities.
Sony XR-42A90K review: Verdict
(Image credit: Sony / Future)
(Image credit: Sony / Future)
There’s a lot to be said for a (relatively) small TV that has so many performance highlights as the Sony XR42A90K – and where it’s good, it’s veryverygood indeed.
The lack of power where brightness is concerned may worry some prospective buyers, while the optimistic asking price would worry virtually anyone.
But if what you want is a high-performance OLED TV that’s sized to fit pretty much anywhere, well… it’s going to cost you. But it’s worth it.
Also consider
The obvious alternative to the Sony XR42A90K is theLG 42OLEDC2.This is the source company of Sony’s OLED panels, and while the Japanese brand might arguably have the upper hand when it comes to picture processing (and, ultimately, picture quality), the Korean originator hits back strongly with more extensive gaming support and, crucially, a price tag that doesn’t read like a misprint. When you’re considering ‘value for money’ there’s always a balance to be struck – and with the difference in the asking prices being what it is (in the UK, at least), it makes the LG look pretty compelling.
Today’s best Sony XR42A90K and LG OLED42C2 dealsSony XR42A90K$1,198ViewSee all pricesLG OLED42C2$996.95ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Sony XR42A90K and LG OLED42C2 dealsSony XR42A90K$1,198ViewSee all pricesLG OLED42C2$996.95ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Sony XR42A90K and LG OLED42C2 dealsSony XR42A90K$1,198ViewSee all pricesLG OLED42C2$996.95ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Sony XR42A90K and LG OLED42C2 deals
Sony XR42A90K$1,198ViewSee all pricesLG OLED42C2$996.95ViewSee all prices
Sony XR42A90K$1,198ViewSee all prices
Sony XR42A90K$1,198ViewSee all prices
Sony XR42A90K
Sony XR42A90K
$1,198View
$1,198
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LG OLED42C2$996.95ViewSee all prices
LG OLED42C2$996.95ViewSee all prices
LG OLED42C2
LG OLED42C2
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