The Sony A80L OLED is an entry-level OLED model for 2023, sitting above the Sony A75L OLED. It uses a WOLED panel from LG, and it sits below the Sony A90K OLED and the QD-OLED-equipped Sony A95L OLED. It's a full-featured TV with full HDMI 2.1 bandwidth support on two of its HDMI ports for up to 4k @ 120Hz gaming and both HDMI Forum VRR and G-SYNC variable refresh rate support. The TV has Sony's latest Cognitive Processor XR, which powers the TV's image processing and upscaling capabilities. The A80L uses the popular Google TV as its smart OS platform, and the TV has an internal microphone for hands-free voice control. Other great features are its S-Center speaker input, which can turn the TV into a center speaker channel when a Sony soundbar is connected, and an ATSC 3.0 tuner for up to 4k over-the-air broadcast support. The TV comes in 55, 65, 77, and 83-inch sizes.
Our Verdict
Overall, the Sony A80L is an excellent TV for mixed usage. Its HDR peak brightness is good, so movies pop when watched in a dark room. Its SDR brightness is slightly less impressive, but the TV makes up for it with fantastic reflection handling, so the TV looks great when watching TV shows and sports in a bright room. As with all OLEDs, the TV stands out for gaming, with extremely low input lag and a nearly instantaneous response time. Unfortunately, the TV's HDR brightness takes a dip in Game Mode, so play HDR games in a dark room for the best visual impact. The same great gaming features also make it a great choice to use as a PC monitor, although, as with all OLEDs, there's a risk of burn-in. Overall, it's an amazing TV for every context.
- Perfect black uniformity.
- Near-infinite contrast ratio for deep blacks.
- No issues upscaling lower-resolution content.
- Incredible reflection handling.
- Fantastic viewing angle.
- Decent SDR brightness, but still lower than its competition.
- Has only two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is the eARC port.
The Sony A80L is a great TV for watching TV shows. Its SDR brightness is satisfactory but not spectacular, but in turn, its reflection handling is exceptional, so it handles bright rooms well. It has a fantastic viewing angle, so even when watching a TV show with your family all sitting around the TV, everyone watching will see a consistent image. As with most Sony TVs, the A80L has Sony's class-leading processing capabilities, so low-resolution shows on cable look great, as well as low-bitrate streaming content from your favorite streaming services.
- No issues upscaling lower-resolution content.
- Incredible reflection handling.
- Fantastic viewing angle.
- Decent SDR brightness, but still lower than its competition.
The Sony A80L is excellent for watching sports. Its SDR brightness is satisfactory, but when combined with the TV's exceptional reflection handling, it makes sports look great even in a bright room. The TV has excellent gray uniformity, so you won't notice weird smudges on a white rink when watching hockey, for example. The TV's viewing angle is fantastic, so the entire gang can sit around the TV to watch the game and still experience a consistent image. Finally, it has a nearly instantaneous response time, so there's almost no blur behind fast-moving objects like a puck or ball.
- No issues upscaling lower-resolution content.
- Incredible reflection handling.
- Fantastic viewing angle.
- Superbly low response time so fast-moving objects look smooth.
- Decent SDR brightness, but still lower than its competition.
The Sony A80L is a fantastic gaming TV. It has exceptionally low input lag, so your inputs are super responsive. Its contrast and dark details are preserved very well in Game Mode, so you can simultaneously have great image quality and the lowest input lag possible. As with all OLEDs, its response time is almost instantaneous, so games are free of blur or black smearing, and the action looks sharp. It has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth on two of its HDMI ports for up to 4k @ 120Hz gaming and G-SYNC and HDMI Forum VRR variable refresh rate support for nearly tear-free gaming, so it's a fully featured gaming TV.
- No issues upscaling lower-resolution content.
- Superbly low response time so fast-moving objects look smooth.
- VRR support and HDMI 2.1 bandwidth for up to 4k @ 120Hz gaming.
- Very low input lag.
- No FreeSync VRR support.
- Decent SDR brightness, but still lower than its competition.
- Has only two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is the eARC port.
The Sony A80L is excellent for watching HDR movies. Its near-infinite contrast ratio gives it perfect blacks, and the TV's good HDR brightness makes for an amazing viewing experience in a dark room. Of course, being a Sony TV, it has amazing processing features; it upscales low-resolution content extremely well, and low-bitrate content, which includes content from well-known streaming services, looks its best on this TV due to its amazing low-quality content smoothing. It's also configured well out of the box, giving you a great viewing experience without spending time or money on calibration. As typical of Sony, it's a standout TV for movies.
- Perfect black uniformity.
- Near-infinite contrast ratio for deep blacks.
- Removes 24p judder from any source.
- Displays a wide range of colors.
- Supports advanced audio and video formats, like DTS and Dolby Vision.
- Stutter due to near-instantaneous response time.
The Sony A80L is an amazing TV for HDR gaming. Its HDR brightness in Game Mode is reasonable; certainly not the greatest, but it does the trick. The TV makes up for it with a suite of excellent gaming features. It has superbly low input lag for super response gaming, and you can have both the lowest input lag and the best image quality simultaneously due to the TV's incredible contrast and dark details when in Game Mode. It has a nearly instantaneous response time, so the latest HDR-enabled titles look sharp and blur-free in even the most heated scenes. Finally, it has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth support on two of its HDMI ports for up to 4k @ 120Hz gaming and support for both G-SYNC and HDMI Forum VRR for nearly tear-free gaming.
- Perfect black uniformity.
- Near-infinite contrast ratio for deep blacks.
- Superbly low response time so fast-moving objects look smooth.
- VRR support and HDMI 2.1 bandwidth for up to 4k @ 120Hz gaming.
- Very low input lag.
- Displays a wide range of colors.
- No FreeSync VRR support.
- Limited HDR peak brightness in Game Mode.
- Has only two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is the eARC port.
The Sony A80L is a remarkable TV to use as a PC monitor. Its SDR and HDR peak brightness levels are satisfactory overall but nothing special. However, the TV's incredible reflection handling makes up for it in a big way; it can certainly handle a bright office. Still, the TV is packed with features making it great for PC usage; superbly low input lag for super responsive mouse inputs, remarkably low response time for no annoying trails behind your mouse cursor or when moving windows, and an outstanding viewing angle so the sides of the screen stay consistent even when you're sitting extremely close it. As with all OLEDs, there's a risk of burn-in when exposed to the same static elements for a length of time, like if you leave icons or the taskbar visible on screen, and its non-RGB subpixel layout negatively impacts text clarity.
- Incredible reflection handling.
- Fantastic viewing angle.
- Superbly low response time so fast-moving objects look smooth.
- VRR support and HDMI 2.1 bandwidth for up to 4k @ 120Hz gaming.
- Very low input lag.
- Displays a wide range of colors.
- Limited HDR peak brightness in Game Mode.
- Decent SDR brightness, but still lower than its competition.
- Risk of burn-in.
- Has only two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is the eARC port.
Changelog
- Updated Jun 20, 2024: Mentioned the newly-reviewed Sony BRAVIA 8 OLED in the HDR Brightness In Game Mode section of this review.
- Updated Dec 13, 2023: We confirmed that the TV uses version 10 of Google TV and not version 11, as previously stated in the review. The version in the Interface section of the review has been updated with the correct information.
- Updated Nov 24, 2023: We bought and tested the Sony A75L OLED, and added a few comparisons below in the Compared To Other TVs section and the Remote section of the review.
- Updated Nov 22, 2023: After testing the Sony A75L OLED, we noticed that the color volume of this TV was lower than expected. We remeasured the Color Volume and updated the results below, and the numbers are much more in line with our expectations.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 65-inch Sony A80L, and the results are also valid for the 55, 77, and 83-inch models. It's also known as the A80CL at Costco, and it's the same TV, but the only difference is that it comes with a backlit remote, a three-year extended warranty, and a two-year subscription to the Bravia Core Streaming Service with 15 movie credits. In Europe, there are both the Sony A80L and the Sony A84L, and both TVs perform like the North American A80L.
| Size | Model | Costco Variant |
|---|---|---|
| 55" | Sony XR-55A80L | Sony XR-55A80CL |
| 65" | Sony XR-65A80L | Sony XR-65A80CL |
| 77" | Sony XR-77A80L | Sony XR-77A80CL |
| 83" | Sony XR-83A80L | Sony XR-83A80CL |
Our unit was manufactured in April 2023; you can see the label here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Sony A80L is a great TV from Sony. Even though it's one of the lowest-tier OLEDs in their 2023 lineup, it offers a great entry-point into OLED TVs for budget-minded consumers and offers better smart features than the step-down Sony A75L OLED. However, it's also hard to recommend against its competition, partly due to how expensive Sony TVs tend to be. The LG C3 OLED, in particular, tends to be a bit cheaper, has the same advanced audio and video formats, and is quite good at image processing and upscaling. This makes the LG better for everyone except the most demanding movie enthusiasts, who might be better off going with a brighter and better TV, like the Sony A95K OLED.
See our recommendations for the best smart TVs, the best TVs for movies, and the best TVs for PS5.
The Sony BRAVIA 8 OLED is essentially a brighter version of the Sony A80L/A80CL OLED. Both TVs are very similar, but the BRAVIA 8 gets noticeably brighter in SDR, so it overcomes more glare in a bright room. The BRAVIA 8 is also noticeably brighter in HDR when using Game Mode, so you don't have to trade in brightness for the best possible performance. On top of that, the BRAVIA 8 has lower input lag for a more responsive gaming experience. On the other hand, the A80L has better pre-calibration accuracy, and it tracks the PQ EOTF curve closer, so it's the more accurate TV overall.
The Sony X90L/X90CL and the Sony A80L/A80CL OLED are good for different uses. The Sony A80L has better contrast and perfect black uniformity, delivering inky blacks when viewed in a dark room. The A80L also has a faster response time for less blur behind quick motion, and its wider viewing angle makes it the better choice for watching TV with friends. However, the X90L is the brighter TV that overcomes more glare, so it's better if you regularly watch TV in a bright room.
The LG C3 OLED is better than the Sony A80L OLED for all but the most hardcore home entertainment enthusiasts. They both use WOLED panels, but the LG is brighter in both HDR and SDR and maintains its brightness better in Game Mode. The LG also has FreeSync support and slightly lower input lag than the Sony, so it's better for gamers. They both support advanced audio and video formats like DTS and Dolby Vision. The only edge the Sony has is in its processing capabilities; typical of Sony, it's class-leading when upscaling low-resolution or smoothing low-quality content. While the LG isn't quite up to the level of the Sony in terms of image processing, it's certainly no slouch in that department, making it the better TV for most people.
The LG C4 OLED and Sony A80L/A80CL OLED perform very similarly, although the LG has a small edge in all areas. They both use WOLED panels, so they're about equally as colorful. The LG is, however, noticeably brighter in HDR and SDR than the Sony, so all content pops more on the LG. They're about as good when it comes to processing, but the LG is more accurate in SDR before any calibration. Finally, the LG TV is better for gamers because it has 4k @ 144Hz support on all four HDMI ports, lower input lag, and higher HDR brightness in Game Mode.
We buy and test dozens of TVs yearly, taking an objective, data-driven approach to deliver results you can trust. Our testing process is complex, with hundreds of individual tests that take over a week to complete. Most of our tests use specially designed test patterns that mimic real content, but we also use the same sources you have at home to ensure our results match the real-world experience. We use two main tools for our testing: a Colorimetry Research CR-100 colorimeter and a CR-250 spectroradiometer.
Test Results
Older Test Bench: This product has been tested using an older TV test methodology, before a major update. Some of the test results below aren't directly comparable with other TVs. Learn more
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