Sony 48 Inch 4K Ultra HD TV A90K Series: BRAVIA XR OLED Smart Google TV, Dolby Vision HDR, Exclusive Features for PS 5 XR48A90K- 2022 Model w/SU-WL855 Ultra Slim Wall-Mount Bracket

*This review is for the 42″ XR42A90K.*

We recently finished a major remodel of our kitchen and capped off the project by ordering the Sony XR42A90K. Our kitchen gets a lot of traffic and frequently doubles as my wife’s office, so we wanted a TV in the room but not something that would overwhelm the space. The 42″ A90K is a fantastic option, having installed it and used it for a bit.

My house is a Sony TV house, having moved away from Samsung products and their awful app environment, short support windows, and subpar performance (in my opinion). This is the fourth Sony TV in our home, and the second OLED. I know LG OLEDs also receive very good reviews, but having a common platform in my house, and one my wife and kids are already familiar with pushed us to the Sony OLED.

►Picture Quality:
I am not a professional TV reviewer, but in my estimation it’s hard to beat the picture on a Sony OLED. Our A90K is located in a very bright kitchen and performs terrifically! The picture is very bright, while still offering excellent deep blacks and contrast. Any worry about glare was washed away shortly after powering the TV on for the first time.

→Concerns about burn-in:
I’ve owned a Sony Master-series OLED in my home theater for years and the TV has not experienced any burn-in at all. I frequently game on that set, for reference, and it’s worked great for four years without any noticable burn-in. So, I have no concerns with the A90K at all.

►Google TV:
One of the biggest selling points on Sony TVs is the integration with Google TV. It’s incredibly easy to setup (using the Google Home App), and use. My wife and I have Google’s Pixel series Android phones, and the integration with our phones is fantastic – for example, we display a rotating album of our favorite family pictures on all of our Sony TVs when they enter stand-by mode. It’s one of our favorite features and requires very little user input to get it set up.

The next best thing is the responsiveness of Sony TVs. Switching from app to app, or from cable is a breeze and the A90K responds immediately. I contrast that experience with our awful Samsung TVs that had noticeable lag when pressing any button.

►I/O:
→ 4 × HDMI — 2 × @ HDMI 2.1 (inputs 3, 4); 2 × @ HDMI 2.0 (inputs 1, 2)
→ 2 × USB 3.0
→ 1 × Optical out
→ 1 × Ethernet
→ 1 × IR (input)
→ 1 × RS232C
→ 1 × Composite (requires adapter, not included in the box)

►Other Things:
→ The A90K comes removeable plastic backplates that cover areas like the cord and I/O. They’re great for completing a clean, minimalist look. I have my TV mounted on our kitchen wall but still installed the plates since they cover up part of the side panel too. Again, purely aesthetic, but I love the finished look.

→ There’s a mic mute toggle on the side of the TV. If you want a more privacy and aren’t interested in using the Google Voice Assistant, turn the mic to mute.

→ I do not use the included stand but I do appreciate that it’s made out of metal and not flimsy plastic.

→ The TV does use on-screen ads (unfortunately). I believe that most TVs these days have them, and it sucks. At least they’re unobtrusive and you can opt out of personalized ads when you perform the first-time configuration.

→ The remote is compact but excellent. It feels great in-hand and sturdy. It has a minimalist approach to buttons which is great in a household with kids.

►In the Box:
→ A90K TV
→ Remote control
→ 2 × AAA batteries
→ Base plate and metal legs
→ 2 × Cable management straps
→ Manual, user guides, and warranty information

►Closing:
That’s it! This TV is fantastic and I’m very pleased with my purchase. The picture quality is fantastic, The user interface, sound, inputs are all the top-notch Sony quality I’m used too! This is definitely a TV I recommend!

This TV is a follow up to what was already an award winning OLED TV in the A9. So Sony sets a high expectation for itself in TV’s. I jumped from a mid-range 4k tv I’d had for seven years due to OLED and the benefits it has for gaming. This TV does not disappoint. Plugged my ps5 in and it connected right registering the Sony tv and flipped VRR and automapped my HDR settings for the best possible picture. The TV does not support Dolby Atmos for gaming which is a slight disappointment for my Series X, but it does for television watching. Overall though response times for both console and PC have been phenomenal and more than good enough even if this tv does not support sync/and freesync so it can more than suitably be a computer monitor to game on. If you’re a hardcore gamer into the competitive scene, I doubt you’d use your TV to compete on in ranked games regardless.

This TV does well to register what you are doing and smartly adjusts picture settings on your different inputs. The remote has a sleek aluminum finish and cuts down size removing number buttons. The android TV is integrated which reduces that need, but if you prefer it, they do bundle in the old style remote with number inputs which I thought was nice.

Now finally, for the TV part of this TV review. This is a premium OLED TV and you are going to pay a premium price, but Sony builds a great tv, and the picture and audio on this TV reflects that. OLED handles dark blacks and movement so much better than an LED. This TV has a wonderful viewing angle and it’s more than bright enough to hang in a bedroom and smaller living space. Most OLED’s have trouble with brightness so this isn’t shocking or anything profound but this TV is adequate for what will be it’s likely uses. The sound is incredible, the tv makes it seem sounds coming from the whole screen to make audio feel more real, this won’t replace a pricy sound bar, but it makes for an excellent natural sound for a TV that pairs well with the picture in your screen

Overall this tv comes at a premium price, but the build, look, and quality is that of a premium tv. You will not be disappointed buying this tv, but for pure gamers, LG C2 may have more bells and whistles. I got this tv 25% off and I do not regret the price I paid because the tv feels the weight it carries. 5 Stars and I’m excited to put more milage on it the next few years.

 Let me start of by saying this is the 1st ever OLED TV I’ve owned and WOW! I’ve owned it just over a month. Perfect tv for those who have wanted a top tier tv at a reasonable SIZE. Set up wasn’t too bad a lot of folks making a big deal about this being a Google TV and I get it coming from years of using Roku it takes a little time getting used to navigating the UI but at the end of the day it’s just another Android tv. The picture quality is bar none the best I have ever owned. Deep, rich, vibrant colors super dark almost ink like blacks. I mean 4K is truly 4K I’ve owned multiple 4k TV’s but none have come close to this type of picture quality. The sound is something else to behold, OUTSTANDINGLY terrific. Again going by my own experience, I’ve always needed some sort of external speakers for almost every tv I’ve owned, not with this one. When Sony says that “the screen is the speaker” they mean it. Truly blown away by the sound. It has a myriad of picture and sound settings to suit every taste. It took some twerking for me to get the picture looking how I wanted it, so if it looks a little too dark be patient you’ll soon discover like I did, that OLED TVs tend to be darker than traditional LED/LCD screens. The price is really the only con especially for this size but, again this is the size I was looking for and unfortunately not many manufacturers make OLED TVs those size. Overall couldn’t be happier highly recommend.