The Sony X85K is a mid-range 4k LED TV released in 2022, sitting between the Sony X80K/X80CK and the Sony X90K/X90CK. It's largely unchanged from its predecessor, the Sony X85J, as it uses the same 4k HDR Processor X1 and has many of the same features. It's powered by the Google TV interface, which has a ton of apps available to download and gives you access to Google Assistant. It has a limited feature set compared to the higher-end models, as it lacks a local dimming feature and doesn't have an S-Center speaker input to enhance your sound setup. It's available in a wide range of sizes, from 43 to 85 inches.
Our Verdict
The Sony X85K is good overall. It's a good choice for watching movies in dark rooms as it displays deep blacks and has impressive black uniformity, but it doesn't have a local dimming feature to further improve the contrast. HDR looks good thanks to its decent peak brightness in HDR and wide color gamut. It gets bright enough to fight glare from a few lights around and has good reflection handling, so it's a good choice for watching shows or sports in a bright room. Lastly, it's good for gaming as it has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and variable refresh rate (VRR) support for console gamers.
- Amazing native contrast ratio.
- Great SDR peak brightness.
- Good reflection handling.
- No issues upscaling lower-resolution content.
- Lacks a local dimming feature.
- Narrow viewing angle.
The Sony X85K is decent for watching TV shows in a bright room. It gets bright enough to fight glare and has good reflection handling, so it's a good choice for a bright living room. You can also easily stream your favorite content thanks to the Google TV platform, and it upscales lower-resolution or low-quality streaming content well. Sadly, it has a narrow viewing angle, and the image looks washed out from the sides, so it's not ideal for a wide seating arrangement or if you like to move around with the TV on.
- Great SDR peak brightness.
- Good reflection handling.
- No issues upscaling lower-resolution content.
- Narrow viewing angle.
The Sony X85K is good for watching sports. It's a great choice for watching games in well-lit rooms as it has great peak brightness and good reflection handling. It's easy to see exactly what's going on thanks to its quick response time, so there's very little blur behind fast-moving objects like the players. Unfortunately, it isn't ideal for watching the big game with a group of friends as it has a narrow viewing angle, and the image looks washed out from the sides.
- Great SDR peak brightness.
- Good reflection handling.
- No issues upscaling lower-resolution content.
- Quick response time for smooth motion.
- Narrow viewing angle.
The Sony X85K Series is great for gaming. It has advanced gaming features like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and VRR support that make it fully compatible with the Xbox Series X and PS5. It also has a quick response time and low input lag for a responsive gaming experience. It looks great while gaming in dark rooms as it has a high native contrast ratio with deep blacks and minimal blooming, but it doesn't have a local dimming feature to further improve the contrast. It's also good for gaming during the day thanks to its high peak brightness and good reflection handling.
- Amazing native contrast ratio.
- Quick response time for smooth motion.
- HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
- Low input lag.
- HDMI Forum VRR and G-SYNC support.
- Lacks a local dimming feature.
- No FreeSync support.
The Sony X85K is good for watching movies in a completely dark room. Although it lacks a local dimming feature to improve its dynamic range, blacks are deep and uniform thanks to its high native contrast ratio. HDR looks good thanks to its decent peak brightness, but again, due to the lack of a local dimming feature, bright specular highlights don't stand out that well. It has a wide color gamut, and HDR content looks bright and vivid overall.
- Amazing native contrast ratio.
- Removes 24p judder from any source.
- Bright enough in HDR to make some highlights pop.
- Lacks a local dimming feature.
- Tone mapping is off with brighter colors.
The Sony X85K is good for HDR gaming. You can play high-frame-rate games in HDR thanks to the HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. It has low input lag and a quick response time for a smooth gaming feel. HDR content looks good as it has a high native contrast ratio and displays a wide range of colors, but it lacks a local dimming feature, so bright areas of the screen don't stand out as well as possible.
- Amazing native contrast ratio.
- Quick response time for smooth motion.
- HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
- Low input lag.
- HDMI Forum VRR and G-SYNC support.
- Bright enough in HDR to make some highlights pop.
- Lacks a local dimming feature.
- No FreeSync support.
- Tone mapping is off with brighter colors.
- Dolby Vision limited to 4k @ 60Hz.
The Sony X85K is great to use as a PC monitor. It displays chroma 4:4:4 or RGB signals properly, which is essential for clear text from a PC. It has low input lag for a responsive desktop feel, and it gets bright enough to fight glare and has good reflection handling if you have a few lights around. Sadly, it has a narrow viewing angle, and the image looks washed out at the sides if you sit too close to the screen.
- Great SDR peak brightness.
- Good reflection handling.
- Low input lag.
- Displays proper chroma 4:4:4 at 60Hz.
- Narrow viewing angle.
- Text isn't displayed properly at 4k @ 120Hz.
Changelog
- Updated Sep 26, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Jul 08, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Apr 17, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
- Updated Feb 11, 2025: We uploaded the latest brightness measurements and uniformity photos for the Accelerated Longevity Test.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the 65-inch Sony X85K, and the results are also valid for all the sizes listed below. The only differences are that the 43 and 50-inch models have a slightly different design compared to the larger sizes, with feet that are set closer to each other. The European X85K is equivalent to the North American version, and there's also an X89K model in Europe that performs the same but has a mic built into the TV. The 55-inch and larger European variants also have an alternate stand position where you can put the feet closer together for smaller tables.
| Size | Model Number |
|---|---|
| 43" | KD-43X85K |
| 50" | KD-50X85K |
| 55" | KD-55X85K |
| 65" | KD-65X85K |
| 75" | KD-75X85K |
| 85" | KD-85X85K |
Our unit was manufactured in April 2022; you can see the label here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Sony X85K is a good overall TV with advanced gaming features like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and variable refresh rate support without a premium price tag. However, if you don't care about gaming, other TVs are cheaper and perform similarly. It's basically identical to the Sony X85J, so while you can still find the X85J for cheaper, it's better to go for that until the price of the X85K drops.
Also, see our recommendations for the best PS5 TVs, the best gaming TVs, and the best small TVs.
The Sony X85K is the newer version of the Sony X85J, and the differences between them are minor. Picture quality is nearly the same between each, and they use the same processor, so they have many of the same features. The X85K improves on some of its gaming features as it has a wider 1080p VRR range, but other than that, the differences between them are minor.
The Sony X90L/X90CL is better than the Sony X85K. The X90L has much better contrast due to its local dimming feature, so blacks are deeper when viewed in a dark room. The X90L is also brighter, so highlights pop more in HDR, and this TV overcomes more glare in a bright room when watching SDR content. Low-resolution and low-quality content look better on the X90L due to its better processing, and its wider color gamut and better color volume deliver more vibrant and lifelike colors.
The Sony X90K/X90CK is a higher-end TV than the Sony X85K and is better overall. The X90K has a local dimming feature, which the X85K doesn't have, resulting in better overall picture quality because it displays deeper blacks and gets brighter, so highlights pop more in HDR. The X90K also uses a different processor with a few more features, like the S-Center speaker input, so if you want the best features and performance, the X90K is the better choice.
The Sony X85K is a higher-end TV than the Sony X80K/X80CK, and it's better for most uses. If you're a gamer and tend to watch content in dark rooms, the X85K is the better choice as it has a higher native contrast ratio and more gaming features like HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. The X85K is also better for well-lit rooms as it gets brighter. However, the only advantage the X80K has is that it has a wider viewing angle, meaning the image remains consistent from the sides.
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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