The Sony 42 A90K OLED is a TV that's very popular for use as a PC monitor. It sits above the Sony A80K OLED and below the QD-OLED Sony A95K OLED. It's a bit of an oddity in Sony's lineup, as it's only available in a 42" and 48" size, and it offers very similar specifications and performance to the lower-end A80K. It mainly targets PC and console gamers, and it's part of Sony's "Perfect for PS5" lineup, which offers a few unique features that are exclusive to the PS5, including Auto Genre Picture Mode and Auto HDR Tone Mapping.
Note: We also tested the Sony A90K OLED as a TV. Due to differences in the way TVs and monitors are used, the two sizes were tested with different settings and different test methodology, so the scores and conclusions drawn in the reviews aren't comparable.
Our Verdict
The Sony 42 A90K OLED is an impressive TV for mixed usage as a monitor. It's amazing for gaming, thanks to its nearly instantaneous response time, delivering clear motion with little blur. It's superb for watching videos, especially in a dark room, as it has near-infinite contrast and perfect black uniformity. It also helps it deliver an amazing HDR experience, as HDR content looks vivid and lifelike. It's also good for office use because of its large screen, but it has bad ergonomics and just decent text clarity, as the RWBG subpixel layout isn't ideal.
- Image remains consistent when viewed from the side.
- Large 42 inch screen.
- Excellent reflection handling.
- Low peak brightness.
- Brightness fluctuates with different scenes.
- RWBG layout results in just decent text clarity; can be improved with scaling.
The Sony 42 A90K OLED is a good TV for office users. The large screen is great for working with multiple windows open at once, and it has very wide viewing angles, so the sides of the screen remain uniform even if you're sitting up close. Unfortunately, it has just decent text clarity, as the RWBG subpixel layout isn't supported by most programs. It has excellent reflection handling but limited peak brightness, so glare can still be an issue if you're in a really bright room.
- Image remains consistent when viewed from the side.
- Large 42 inch screen.
- Excellent reflection handling.
- Low peak brightness.
- Brightness fluctuates with different scenes.
- RWBG layout results in just decent text clarity; can be improved with scaling.
The Sony 42 A90K OLED delivers an amazing gaming experience for PC or console gamers. It has a nearly instantaneous response time, delivering extremely clear motion with very little blur behind fast-moving objects. It also has some great gaming features, including variable refresh rate support and HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on two HDMI ports, allowing 4k @ 120Hz gaming from the Xbox Series S|X and the PS5. It's not perfect, though, as it has higher input lag than true gaming monitors, but it's still low enough for casual gamers.
- Near-infinite contrast ratio for deep blacks and bright highlights.
- Very little motion blur or ghosting.
- VRR support and HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
- Low input lag for a responsive gaming experience.
- Brightness fluctuates with different scenes.
The Sony 42 A90K OLED is a superb TV for watching videos. It looks amazing in a dark room thanks to its near-infinite contrast ratio and perfect black uniformity, with no distracting blooming around bright objects. Its built-in smart interface makes it easy to watch your favorite shows or movies, as it has a great selection of streaming apps. It also has wide viewing angles, so it's great for sharing with a few friends. It's also okay for a brighter room, as it has excellent reflection handling, but it can't get very bright, so the glare from windows can still be an issue.
- Perfect black uniformity with no blooming around bright highlights.
- Near-infinite contrast ratio for deep blacks and bright highlights.
- Image remains consistent when viewed from the side.
- Large 42 inch screen.
- Excellent reflection handling.
- Low peak brightness.
- Brightness fluctuates with different scenes.
The Sony 42 A90K OLED is a great TV for media creators. It has great accuracy before calibration, and colors are displayed accurately and aren't oversaturated. It has a fantastic SDR color gamut, with complete coverage of the sRGB color space, and it even has good coverage of the wider Adobe RGB color space used by some creators. The large screen makes it easy to see more of your workflow at once. Unfortunately, it has very limited ergonomics, so you can't turn your screen to share it with clients, and it has just decent text clarity.
- Perfect black uniformity with no blooming around bright highlights.
- Near-infinite contrast ratio for deep blacks and bright highlights.
- Image remains consistent when viewed from the side.
- Large 42 inch screen.
- Excellent reflection handling.
- Brightness fluctuates with different scenes.
- RWBG layout results in just decent text clarity; can be improved with scaling.
The Sony 42 A90K OLED delivers an amazing HDR experience. It has a near-infinite contrast ratio, so even though it has just alright peak brightness in HDR, bright highlights still stand out incredibly well. It has a superb HDR color gamut, with nearly full coverage of the most commonly used DCI-P3 color space, ensuring that HDR games and movies look realistic and lifelike. It also has perfect black uniformity, with no distracting blooming around bright objects. Finally, it has superb gradient handling, ensuring there's very little banding in areas of similar color, like sky scenes.
- Perfect black uniformity with no blooming around bright highlights.
- Near-infinite contrast ratio for deep blacks and bright highlights.
- Displays a wide color gamut.
- Limited HDR peak brightness.
- Brightness fluctuates with different scenes.
Changelog
- Updated Feb 22, 2023: Clarified that only two of the HDMI ports support HDMI 2.1 bandwidth in Video And Audio Ports.
- Updated Oct 27, 2022: Added that the recently-reviewed ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ has a DisplayPort input, which the Sony doesn't have.
- Updated Oct 12, 2022: We bought and tested the LG 48GQ900-B. We've added a few relevant comparisons so you can see how they compare. See our full comparison here.
- Updated Oct 06, 2022: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 42-inch Sony A90K TV as a monitor, and the results are also valid for the 48-inch model. We also tested the Sony A90K OLED as a TV, but note that the scores, test results, and text are all relative to the monitor market, so they're not directly comparable to the results posted in this review.
| Size | Model |
|---|---|
| 42" | XR-42A90K |
| 48" | XR-48A90K |
Our unit was manufactured in June 2022, and you can see the label here.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The Sony 42 A90K delivers fantastic picture quality thanks to its OLED panel, and it has much more features than most monitors. It delivers slightly better picture quality than the competition, including the LG 42 C2 OLED, but it has worse gaming features. It's also not as good for gaming as most high-end gaming monitors, so if you care more about gaming performance than picture quality, a large gaming monitor is a better choice.
See our picks for the best 4k monitors, the best multimedia monitors, the best gaming monitors, and the best TVs to use as a PC monitor.
The Sony 42 A90K OLED and the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ are both 42-inch OLED displays with a few differences. The Sony is a TV, so it has more built-in features like a smart system and image processing, but the ASUS is a monitor with a USB hub and a DisplayPort input. In terms of picture quality, they're very similar, but the ASUS gets brighter in HDR.
The Sony 42 A90K OLED and the LG 48GQ900-B offer nearly identical picture quality, but they have different inputs and different extra features. The 42 A90K OLED is a TV we've tested as a monitor, so it has features you'd typically find on a TV, including extra image processing options, a fully-featured smart interface, and a tuner. The 48GQ900-B, on the other hand, is designed to be used as a monitor, so it lacks a smart interface and advanced picture processing options. However, it has inputs more typically found on a monitor, including a DisplayPort input and a USB hub.
The Sony 42 A90K OLED is a bit better than the LG C1 48 OLED overall, but the LG is better for gaming. The Sony gets a bit brighter, so it looks better in a room with lots of natural light and has a slightly more versatile stand. The LG, on the other hand, has a wider range of gaming features, including FreeSync support, and all four of its HDMI ports support 4k @ 120Hz gaming. The LG also supports 1440p @ 120Hz gaming, which is great for console gamers looking to get the best performance possible from their games.
The Sony 42 A90K OLED is a bit better than the LG C2 42 OLED overall, but the LG is better for gaming. The Sony has a slightly more adjustable stand and gets a bit brighter, so it looks better in a moderately lit room. The LG, on the other hand, has a wider range of gaming features, including FreeSync support, and all four of its HDMI ports support 4k @ 120Hz gaming.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, all of which we purchase ourselves, without cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized, custom tools to measure various aspects and deliver objective, data-driven results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance compared to the competition, and whether it's easy to find.
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