I’ve been spending a lot of time with the smallest member of Sony’s A90K OLED TV range lately, the 42-inch XR-42A90K, and it turns out to be a small and beautiful proposition, with some big and difficult issues.
But first, it’s worth taking a moment to consider what we’re dealing with here. The best OLED TVs have never been small. Okay, admittedly, the world’s first OLED (the 2007 Sony XEL-1) had a screen of only 11 inches – but since then OLED has been able to get into mass production with some efficiency (which took a long time to come) ), it is reserved for the larger screen size. For a long time, 55-inch TVs were the smallest size you could get for an OLED screen.
“It’s too hard to make them any smaller,” they said. “It makes no sense to make them so small,” they said. Well, as we all know, ‘they’ talk a lot, and ‘they’ don’t always make much sense.
Sony, like any other brand that sells OLED TVs, buys its raw OLED panels from LG. Other than the 42-inch LG C2, this is the smallest OLED TV I’ve ever seen. Even next to the 48-inch Philips OLED I use every day, it looks almost toy-like in its smallness.
But it doesn’t take long for the Sony XR-42A90K to show that there’s nothing frivolous about it. With one (admittedly) pretty important caveat, it is indeed a very successful television.
Thicker than you think
However, before you turn it on, you will definitely notice the depth of the thing itself. Part of the charm and appeal of OLED technology is how thin it can be (that classic XEL-1 TV was only 3mm deep, although to be fair all its electronics, ports and what-you-have-you-have-you-have-you-have-you-have-you-needs are in a separate box kept).
But this Sony, aside from a small area at the top, is 57mm deep in profile – and that’s a pretty unmodern depth for a television of any type. It certainly makes hanging the screen a less decorative statement than it would otherwise be, which is a shame.
However, turn it on, set it up and start looking at it, and its relative size is much less of an issue. Above all, the Sony is a brilliant photo-maker: the color palette is extensive and natural, the black levels are exactly what you’d expect from an OLED screen, as they’re deep and dark, with a ton of detail and variations in them.
Everything else that sets a great TV apart from one that’s just good is also handled with confidence – the edge definition is excellent, as is the motion handling. Skin tones are as natural as you want. Photos have an authentic depth of field.
And it’s a similar story if you plug in a next-gen game console. Half of Sony’s HDMI inputs are 2.1 compatible, so all the smart features of a PS5 or almost all the smart features of an Xbox Series X can be taken advantage of, including 4K 120Hz and VRR. It is up there with the best gaming TVs for features.
More pixel density, more problems
The important caveat, however, concerns clarity. The only downside to OLED technology compared to the backlit LED alternative is a relative lack of brightness – and the XR-42A90K just isn’t a very bright TV.
In unsympathetic circumstances, it can even look really fuzzy. The brightness of the OLED panel can be affected by pixel density, and obviously when you cram nearly 8.3 million pixels (domestic 4K resolution is 3840 x 2160, of course) onto a 42-inch panel, the pixel density is significant. .
That might make it really sharp, but it means there’s not as much space for each pixel. The result is a TV that is indeed a very inconvenient watch in a bright room, despite all its other photo-taking capabilities. Brilliant colors and details don’t mean much when flooded with reflections.
But the biggest issue here for me is the price. In the UK where I am, Sony is asking £1,699 for the XR-42A90K – which is an awful lot for a 42-inch TV, whatever a tech feat it is, and it’s even more for a TV that demands that you draw the curtains if you want to look at it when the sun is shining.
The LG C2 42-inch retails for £1099, as does the 43-inch Samsung QN90B. Meanwhile, the Samsung BU8500, a backlit LED alternative that we really like, is yours for £599 for the 43-inch model. No, it’s not a comparable comparison, but it puts Sony’s asking price in context.
But what’s even more amazing is how much the XR-42A90K costs in the United States: $1,299. On its own, that looks quite pricey for a 42-inch set, but it’s right in line with Samsung and LG’s above-mentioned competitors in US prices, so compared to the UK asking price, it’s a real bargain.
If you can go beyond the depth of the chassis and the limited clarity of the images, the Sony XR-42A90K is a small and beautiful television. However, the price for UK buyers is anything but.
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