The Sony X90K/X90CK is an upper mid-range 4k LED TV released in 2022. It sits above the Sony X85K and below the Sony X95K, and it's Sony's lowest-end model in 2022 to feature a full array local dimming feature. It's powered by Sony's Cognitive Processor XR for motion and picture processing. It comes with the Google TV smart platform built-in, which has a user-friendly interface with a ton of apps you can download, and you can use Google Assistant to search for content and easily open your favorite apps. It's available in a wide range of sizes, from 55 to 85 inches, so you can get the one that suits your needs. It has a few extra features for gamers, including HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and variable refresh rate (VRR) support to reduce screen tearing. It's been replaced in 2023 by the Sony X90L/X90CL.
Our Verdict
The Sony X90K TV is great for most uses. It's great for watching movies in a dark room thanks to its high contrast ratio and wide color gamut. It's also good for watching shows or sports in bright rooms with a couple of lights around, but it struggles a bit to overcome glare from bright lights or windows. It also has a narrow viewing angle, so it's not a good choice for a wide seating arrangement. It's great for gaming because it has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth for high-frame-rate gaming, variable refresh rate support, a quick response time, and low input lag for a responsive gaming experience.
- Excellent contrast ratio for deep blacks with just a bit of blooming.
- Excellent SDR peak brightness.
- User-friendly Google TV smart platform.
- Colors look vivid and pop.
- Struggles opposite really bright windows.
- Narrow viewing angle.
The Sony Bravia X90K is good for watching TV shows in a bright room. It has excellent peak brightness, so it gets bright enough to fight glare, but its reflection handling is just decent, and it's best to avoid placing it opposite really bright windows. It upscales lower-resolution content from cable boxes without issue, and the Google TV smart platform makes it easy to stream your favorite content. Sadly, it isn't a good choice for a wide seating arrangement because it has a narrow viewing angle, so the screen looks washed out from the sides.
- Excellent upscaling and sharpness processing.
- Excellent SDR peak brightness.
- User-friendly Google TV smart platform.
- Struggles opposite really bright windows.
- Narrow viewing angle.
The Sony X90CK is good for watching sports in a bright room. Fast-moving balls and players look smooth, thanks to the quick response time. It also performs well in rooms with a few lights around because it has excellent peak brightness to fight some glare, but it struggles if you place it opposite a really bright window. Unfortunately, it isn't a good choice for wide seating areas because it has a narrow viewing angle, meaning the image looks washed out from the sides.
- Excellent upscaling and sharpness processing.
- Excellent SDR peak brightness.
- Quick response time for smooth motion.
- Struggles opposite really bright windows.
- Narrow viewing angle.
The Sony Bravia XR X90K is impressive for gaming. It has a few gaming features like variable refresh rate support and HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, and it can take full advantage of the PS5 and Xbox Series X. It's also part of Sony's 'Perfect for PS5' lineup, which offers a few extra features for PS5 gamers that help automatically optimize your picture settings. Gaming feels responsive thanks to the low input lag and quick response time. It also looks good in dark rooms due to the high native contrast.
- Excellent contrast ratio for deep blacks with just a bit of blooming.
- Quick response time for smooth motion.
- HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
- HDMI Forum VRR and G-SYNC compatibility.
- Low input lag.
The Sony X90K is great for watching movies in a dark room. It has an excellent contrast ratio, so dark scenes are uniform, with just a bit of blooming around bright highlights. It displays a wide range of colors in HDR, and it has great color volume, so colors are vivid and lifelike. It also displays native 4k content perfectly, and it removes 24p judder from any source, which helps with the appearance of motion in movies.
- Excellent contrast ratio for deep blacks with just a bit of blooming.
- Removes 24p judder from any source.
- Displays a wide color gamut.
- Colors look vivid and pop.
The Sony X90K is impressive for HDR gaming. Gaming feels smooth and responsive thanks to its low input lag, quick response time, and VRR support for a nearly tear-free gaming experience. It also supports 4k @ 120Hz gaming from the latest consoles and PCs. In terms of HDR, colors look vivid and pop thanks to the high peak brightness, and it displays deep blacks in dark rooms with just a bit of blooming around bright highlights.
- Excellent contrast ratio for deep blacks with just a bit of blooming.
- Quick response time for smooth motion.
- HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
- HDMI Forum VRR and G-SYNC compatibility.
- Displays a wide color gamut.
The Sony X90K is great to use as a PC monitor. Your mouse movements and keyboard inputs feel responsive thanks to its low input lag and quick response time. It gets bright enough to fight glare in a moderately lit room, but the reflection handling is just decent, and it struggles a bit with bright lights or windows. It also displays proper chroma 4:4:4, which is essential for clear text from a PC. Sadly, it has a narrow viewing angle, and the image looks washed out at the edges if you sit too close.
- Excellent SDR peak brightness.
- Quick response time for smooth motion.
- Low input lag.
- Chroma 4:4:4 is displayed properly for clear text from a PC.
- Struggles opposite really bright windows.
- Narrow viewing angle.
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 X90K, and it's also available in 55-inch, 75-inch, and 85-inch models. The results are valid for the other sizes, but the speakers perform differently on the 55 and 65-inch models than on the larger sizes. There's also an X90CK variant available in 55 and 65 inches at Costco, and it comes with a two-year warranty and two-year subscription to the Bravia Core Streaming service. In Europe, there are the X90K, X93K, and X94K, and although the results are valid for all three variants, the X93K and X94K are closer to the North American X90K because they have a built-in mic. However, the European X90K performs the same; it's just missing the built-in mic.
Finally, there's a smaller variant of this TV known as the Sony X90S and X94S. Both variants are only available in a 50" size and offer very similar performance to the larger sizes. There are a few differences between the X90S and X94S. The X94S comes with a more premium remote, the TV itself has a built-in microphone for hands-free voice control, and it has more picture processing options.
| Size | Model Number | Costco Model | Speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50" | XR-50X90S | - | X-Balanced Speaker |
| 55" | XR-55X90K | XR55X90CK | Standard |
| 65" | XR-65X90K | XR65X90CK | Standard |
| 75" | XR-75X90K | - | X-Balanced Speaker |
| 85" | XR-85X90K | - | X-Balanced Speaker |
Our unit was manufactured in April 2022; you can see the label here.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Sony X90K is a great TV with a few gaming features and great overall picture quality. In a TV market with fantastic high-end TVs and budget models that provide good value, the X90K sits in between and doesn't provide much extra against other TVs like the LG QNED85 or the Hisense U8/U8H.
Also, see our recommendations for the best 4k TVs, the best smart TVs, and the best TVs for watching movies.
The Sony X90L/X90CL is a noticeable improvement over its predecessor, the Sony X90K/X90CK. The X90L gets a lot brighter, especially in HDR, so bright specular highlights stand out better. The X90L also has a much better local dimming feature, resulting in significantly less blooming around bright areas of the screen, deeper blacks, and smoother (but still not great) zone transitions.
The Sony X90K/X90CK is the successor to the Sony X90J, and it's not worth the upgrade if you already have the X90J or if you're deciding between the two TVs. The X90K has a wider 1080p VRR range, but other than that the differences are minor.
The Sony X90K/X90CK and the Samsung QN85B are both great TVs that are good for different scenarios. If you have a bright room with a wide seating area, the Samsung has a wider viewing angle and gets brighter, so visibility won't be an issue even in bright environments. However, if you tend to watch content in a dark room, the Sony delivers deeper blacks with less blooming.
The Sony X90K/X90CK is a newer version of the Sony X900H, and the TVs are similar overall. The X90K gets much brighter, so it's better to use in a well-lit room, and it makes highlights pop more in HDR, so it's the better choice if you care about brightness. However, if dark room performance is important to you, the X900H looks better because it displays deeper blacks with better uniformity.
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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