Note: The 85" model has a VA panel, and though we haven't tested it, we'd expect it to look much better in a dark room, but have worse viewing angles.
Our Verdict
The Sony X850G is a good TV for mixed usage. It's a great choice for sports, TV shows, or video games thanks to its fairly wide viewing angles and fast response time. Unfortunately, due to its IPS panel, its contrast and black uniformity are poor, so it may not be the best for watching movies in dark rooms, as blacks will appear gray and cloudy. On the bright side, it can get decently bright for HDR content, and it has a fairly wide color gamut, so HDR content should look good, though it may not pop quite as much as the creator intended.
- Excellent low input lag.
- Image remains accurate at an angle.
- Disappointing contrast ratio.
- Bad black uniformity.
The Sony X850G is a mediocre TV for watching movies. Due to its IPS panel, it has a disappointing contrast ratio, and in dark rooms blacks will appear gray and cloudy. It's worth noting that the 85" model of this TV uses a VA panel, so we'd expect it to perform better in this regard. It also doesn't have a local dimming feature to help with its black levels.
The Sony X850G is a great TV for watching TV shows. It has excellent reflection handling so even in bright rooms, glare shouldn't be too much of an issue. The viewing angles are also quite decent, so you should still get a fairly accurate image if you watch TV from the side, or while walking around.
The Sony X850G is a great TV for watching sports. Thanks to its IPS panel, it has decently wide viewing angles, so a large group of friends can all watch the game at the same time and still get the same accurate image. It also has an excellent fast response time, so fast-moving objects should look clear and have very little blur.
The Sony X850G is an impressive TV for playing video games. It has a very fast response time, so motion should look clear with very little blur, and its superbly low input lag means that you shouldn't notice any delay. Unfortunately, while this TV has a 120Hz panel, it doesn't accept a 120Hz input over HDMI, and it doesn't support any variable refresh rate technologies, like FreeSync.
The Sony X850G is mediocre for watching HDR movies. Its poor contrast and black uniformity means that while watching movies in a dark room, blacks will appear gray and cloudy. It also can't get quite bright enough for HDR content to really pop. On the bright side, this TV has a fairly wide color gamut, which will help HDR content look closer to the way the creator intended.
The Sony X850G is a good TV for HDR gaming thanks to its great gaming performance. Unfortunately, its HDR performance is only acceptable, partly due to the fact that the screen can't get quite bright enough for HDR to really shine. On the bright side, its fairly wide color gamut will help HDR content look closer to the way the creator intended.
The Sony X850G is an excellent TV to use as a PC monitor. It can properly display chroma 4:4:4 when in 'Game' or 'Graphics' mode, which is important for text to appear clear when using a TV as a monitor. It has extremely low input lag and fast response time, which is great if you game from your PC, and when in 'Graphics' mode, the TV switches to nearest-neighbor upscaling, which prevents upscaled content from looking too soft.
Changelog
- Updated Jul 07, 2020: The operating system has been updated to Android 9.0.
- Updated May 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
- Updated Feb 21, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Aug 02, 2019: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 65" X850G (XBR-65X850G), and we expect our results to be valid for the 55" (XBR-55X850G) and 75" (XBR-75X850G) models as well. The 85" (XBR-85X850G) has a VA panel, so some results will be different, including contrast, black uniformity, and viewing angles.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Sony X850G doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review. Note that some tests such as the gray uniformity may vary between individual units.
| Size | US Model | Full Model Code | Alternative Name | EU Model | Notes |
| 55" | XBR55X850G | XBR55X850G/C | XBR-55X850G | KD-55XG8* | |
| 65" | XBR65X850G | XBR65X850G/C | XBR-65X850G | KD-65XG8* | |
| 75" | XBR75X850G | XBR75X850G/C | XBR-75X850G | KD-75XG8* | |
| 85" | XBR85X850G | XBR85X850G/C | XBR-85X850G | KD-85XG8* | VA panel |
Note: The European model is available in multiple variants, as the XG8505, XG8596, and XG8796. We don't know if there is any difference between them.
The X850G we reviewed was manufactured in April 2019.
Popular TV Comparisons
The X850G is a basic 4k TV with decent performance. See our recommendations for the best TVs, the best smart TVs, and the best sounding TVs.
The Sony X950G and the Sony X850G use different panel types, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, but overall, the X950G is much better than the X850G. The X950G looks much better in a dark room, but the image degrades when viewed at an angle compared to the X850G. The 85" X850G has a VA panel, and likely performs closer to the X950G, but still isn't as good.
Although the 2019 Sony X850G is supposed to be a higher-end model over the 2020 Sony X800H, the X850G is only slightly better. Both have IPS panels and the X800H has much better viewing angles, black uniformity, and contrast ratio, although the X850G has better gray uniformity, quicker response time, and a more effective black frame insertion feature to help reduce motion blur. Both can get equally as bright, but the X850G handles reflections much better, so it's better suited for a bright room. For a cheaper price, the X800H compares well to a more expensive X850G.
There are very few differences between the Sony X850F and the Sony X850G. The 2019 X850G has much lower input lag, and it supports eARC. Other than that, these two TVs perform very similarly.
The Sony X900F and the Sony X850G use different panel types, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, but the X900F is much better overall. The X900F uses a VA panel, and delivers much better dark-room performance, and it has a decent local dimming feature. The X900F has a faster response time, and supports 1080p and 1440p @ 120Hz inputs. The X850G doesn't look as good in a dark room, but it has a better viewing angle. The 85" X850G has a VA panel, though, and likely performs closer to the X900F.
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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