The Sony X90L/X90CL is a mid-range 4k TV released in 2023. It replaces the Sony X90K/X90CK and sits above entry-level models like the Sony X85L and the Sony X77L/X77CL. Unlike the higher-end Sony X93L/X93CL, it doesn't feature a Mini LED backlight but does have a full array local dimming feature. It offers a great selection of features typically found on higher-end Sony TVs, including hands-free voice control, an S-Center speaker input, and an ATSC 3.0 tuner for up to 4k broadcast support. It's powered by Sony's Cognitive Processor XR, designed to improve overall image processing and upscaling. It also has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and variable refresh rate (VRR) support for gamers, so you can take full advantage of the latest consoles. We bought and tested the 65-inch model, but it's available in sizes ranging from 55 inches to a massive 98-inch model, so there's something for everyone.
Our Verdict
The Sony X90L is good for mixed usage. It looks very good in a bright room thanks to its amazing SDR brightness, but you should avoid placing lights directly opposite the screen, as it struggles with direct reflections. Despite having only adequate black levels, the TV also looks great in a room with the lights off thanks to its impressive colors, excellent accuracy, and good HDR brightness capabilities. You also get top-tier image processing that makes DVDs, cable broadcasts, and compressed streams look good, so it's a good TV for a home theater where you watch content with varying levels of image quality. It's a decent TV for gaming, mainly due to its image quality and gaming features, but its input lag is higher than that of similar models, and its slow pixel transitions lead to blurry motion. It has a wide enough viewing angle for watching content with a small group, but the image degrades from more aggressive angles, so it's not good for large seating arrangements.
Good HDR brightness for impactful highlights.
Amazing SDR brightness helps it overcome glare from indirect lighting.
Exceptional upscaling and very good low-quality content smoothing.
Colors are vibrant, lifelike, bright, and accurate.
Struggles with reflections from direct sources of light.
Slow pixel transitions in Game Mode leads to blurry motion.
The Sony X90L is good for a home theater. Blacks are deep during dim and dark scenes, with minimal blooming around bright highlights and subtitles, so the TV looks solid in a dark room during most scenes. Unfortunately, blacks do become a bit raised during brighter scenes. However, the TV displays impressively vibrant colors that really stand out. Those colors are also very accurate in both SDR and HDR, and the brightness of HDR content is accurate too, so this is a TV that respects the filmmaker's intent. Highlights in HDR content pop out thanks to the TV's good HDR peak brightness, delivering an impactful viewing experience. You also get outstanding upscaling and great low-quality content smoothing, which ensures the image looks clean when watching low-resolution and low bitrate content. Finally, it has very good motion handling, so motion in most content looks smooth and free from distracting artifacts.
Good HDR brightness for impactful highlights.
Exceptional upscaling and very good low-quality content smoothing.
Colors are vibrant, lifelike, bright, and accurate.
Great PQ EOTF tracking means HDR content has mostly accurate brightness.
Minimal transition artifacts in fast-paced scenes and sports.
Noticeable stutter in slow panning shots.
The Sony X90L is very good for bright rooms. It has amazing SDR brightness, so it easily overcomes glare from indirect light sources. However, it struggles a lot with direct reflections; if you have a lamp or window opposite the screen, it's very noticeable and distracting. On the other hand, colors remain nice and saturated, and blacks stay deep in a room with ambient lighting, so you don't lose very much picture quality when you use the TV in a bright room, which is great.
Amazing SDR brightness helps it overcome glare from indirect lighting.
Colors are vibrant, lifelike, bright, and accurate.
Blacks stay deep in a bright room.
Struggles with reflections from direct sources of light.
The Sony X90L is great for watching sports. It has amazing SDR brightness, so it overcomes glare from indirect light sources. However, it really struggles with direct light sources, so you are distracted by windows or lamps placed opposite the screen. It also has mediocre gray uniformity, so you do see some dirty screen effect towards the middle of the screen when large areas of uniform colors are present. It has a mediocre viewing angle: the image holds up from a slight angle, but it quickly degrades at more aggressive angles, so it's not the best option for larger group settings. On the other hand, this TV delivers vibrant, accurate colors that really pop. You also get top-notch image processing, so low-resolution and highly compressed streams and broadcasts look clean and sharp. Finally, it has a decent response time and mostly clean color transitions, so fast motion is largely free from blur and artifacts.
Amazing SDR brightness helps it overcome glare from indirect lighting.
Exceptional upscaling and very good low-quality content smoothing.
Colors are vibrant, lifelike, bright, and accurate.
Minimal transition artifacts in fast-paced scenes and sports.
Struggles with reflections from direct sources of light.
Some noticeable dirty screen effect towards the center of the screen.
The Sony X90L is decent for gaming. It has good enough black levels that it looks good in a dark room, the image really pops thanks to its vibrant and accurate colors, and HDR games are impactful due to the TV's good HDR brightness. It supports 4k @ 120Hz with VRR, so it has the modern gaming features needed for the PS5 and Series X|S. However, pixel transitions are quite slow on this model, so fast motion in games is blurry and lacks some clarity. The TV has low enough input lag for a responsive gaming experience, but it's higher than most similar models, so you might want to look elsewhere if you're a competitive gamer looking for the best performance possible.
Good HDR brightness for impactful highlights.
HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, up to 4k @ 120Hz, and VRR support.
Colors are vibrant, lifelike, bright, and accurate.
Higher input lag than competing models.
Slow pixel transitions in Game Mode leads to blurry motion.
Only two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is also the eARC port.
The Sony X90L has very good brightness. It has amazing SDR brightness, so it easily overcomes glare from indirect sources of light. You also get good HDR brightness, so highlights stand out well in HDR content.
Good HDR brightness for impactful highlights.
Amazing SDR brightness helps it overcome glare from indirect lighting.
The Sony X90L has adequate black levels. Its local dimming feature provides deep blacks in a dark room, but those blacks do become a bit raised when bright elements are also on screen. The precision of lighting zones is good overall, but there's some subtle blooming around smaller highlights, and the blooming around subtitles is quite noticeable.
The Sony X90L has impressive colors overall. It has great HDR color volume and good SDR color volume, so you get bright and vivid colors regardless of the content. Furthermore, the accuracy of colors is excellent in SDR and outstanding in HDR, so colors stay true to the content creator's intent without needing calibration.
Colors are vibrant, lifelike, bright, and accurate.
The Sony X90L has very good motion handling in movies, shows, and sports. Color transitions are handled very well, so there's no excessive ghosting or unintended intermediate colors in fast-paced scenes and sports. The TV has some minor judder when watching 25p European content via a 60p signal, like from an older streaming device, and from the internal apps. However, the TV is free from judder with all other signals and sources. Unfortunately, scenes with a lot of movement on the screen have visible micro-judder in 24p and 25p content coming from 60p sources, so stick to the internal apps or a modern streaming device for the smoothest motion. Unfortunately, those who are sensitive to stutter will notice some choppiness in slow panning shots.
Minimal transition artifacts in fast-paced scenes and sports.
Removes judder from most sources.
Noticeable micro-judder from 60p sources.
Noticeable stutter in slow panning shots.
The Sony X90L has just okay responsiveness in Game Mode. It supports VRR for a nearly tear-free gaming experience, but its input lag is higher than competing models, so it's not the best option for PVP games. Unfortunately, the TV's pixel transitions are quite slow, so there's noticeable blur behind fast motion.
HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, up to 4k @ 120Hz, and VRR support.
Higher input lag than competing models.
Slow pixel transitions in Game Mode leads to blurry motion.
Only two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is also the eARC port.
Note:We're in the process of improving our tests related to image processing, but this score should give you a general idea of how a TV performs overall with its image processing capabilities.
The Sony X90L has great image processing overall. It upscales low-resolution content very well, and it does a very good job removing artifacts from low-bitrate content. Furthermore, there's very little banding in most color gradients, and the brightness of HDR content is very accurate except for blacks being a bit brighter than intended.
Exceptional upscaling and very good low-quality content smoothing.
Great PQ EOTF tracking means HDR content has mostly accurate brightness.
Only minor banding in some color gradients.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Mar 10, 2026:
We added text to our new Motion Handling performance usage and our new Transition Artifacts and Stutter Reduction Via Interpolation test sections after converting the review to TV 2.2.
- Updated Mar 10, 2026: This review has been updated to TV 2.2. We've added new sections for Transition Artifacts and Stutter Reduction Via Interpolation, and updated the way we test Stutter. Additionally, we removed the 'Broken' disclaimer from our Motion Handling usage.
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Updated Oct 21, 2025:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1. We wrote text for the newly added Micro-Judder test, refreshed the text in the updated Judder section, and tweaked the text in the renamed Response Time Stutter section.
- Updated Oct 21, 2025: We added text to the new Micro-Judder section and refreshed the text in the updated Judder and Response Time Stutter sections after converting the review to TV 2.1.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the 65-inch Sony X90L, and these results are also valid for the 55-inch, 75-inch, 85-inch, and 98-inch models. The larger sizes have more dimming zones and slightly better local dimming, so black levels should be a bit better as you go up in size.
There's also a warehouse variant of this TV, the Sony X90CL, available in 55-, 65-, and 75-inch sizes. It performs the same but has a backlit remote and a longer warranty. The European versions of this TV perform the same, but you can also place the stand in a narrow position, which isn't available on the U.S. model.
| Size | Model Number | Costco Model |
|---|---|---|
| 55" | XR-55X90L | XR-55X90CL |
| 65" | XR-65X90L | XR-65X90CL |
| 75" | XR-75X90L | XR-75X90CL |
| 85" | XR-85X90L | XR-85X90CL |
| 98" | XR-98X90L | - |
Our unit was manufactured in July 2023, as you can see on the label.
Popular TV Comparisons
The Sony X90L is a good TV overall. It's very bright, has Sony's top-tier image processing, and stays true to the content creator's intent in both SDR and HDR, making it an enticing option for a home theater. Despite being a normal LED model, it provides deep enough blacks for an impactful viewing experience, with only some minor blooming. However, there are Mini LED models like the Hisense U8/U8N and the TCL QM8/QM851G QLED that display deeper blacks, are brighter, and offer better overall image quality, albeit with worse accuracy and image processing. You also get better overall gaming performance on those TVs, mostly due to their lower input lag and faster pixel transitions. Still, if you need a solid TV for your home theater or living room, the X90L is a safe bet.
See our recommendations for the best TVs for watching movies, the best smart TVs, and the best 65-inch TVs. If you'd like a new soundbar to go with a new TV, check out our picks for the best soundbars.
The Sony BRAVIA 7 is better than the Sony X90L/X90CL. The BRAVIA 7 has better contrast with an improved local dimming solution. The BRAVIA 7 is also noticeably brighter than the X90L, especially in HDR, providing more impactful highlights overall. The X90L does have a wider viewing angle, although both TVs are disappointing in that department. Still, overall, the BRAVIA 7 is the better product in almost every category.
The Sony X90L/X90CL is better overall than the Sony BRAVIA 5. The X90L is brighter overall, providing a more impactful HDR experience and making it better suited for a well-lit room. Colors are also brighter and punchier on the X90L, and they're more accurate out of the box. On the other hand, the BRAVIA 5 has slightly better contrast, lower input lag, and less stutter, but all of these things are minor, and the X90L is the better option for almost anyone.
The TCL QM7K is a bit better than the Sony X90L. The TCL has much better contrast, delivering deeper, more uniform blacks in dark scenes. The TCL also has better gaming features, including a higher peak refresh rate and a wider VRR range to reduce tearing. The Sony, on the other hand, has better image processing, and it's far more accurate in HDR out of the box. If you care most about accuracy, the Sony is the better choice.
The Sony X90L is a much better TV than the TCL QM6K. The Sony model is much brighter, so it can overcome glare better than the TCL if you're watching TV during the day. This extra brightness also helps the Sony to deliver a better HDR experience, with brighter specular highlights and a more vibrant image when more of the scene gets bright. The Sony TV also really stands out for its processing capabilities, as it does a much better job cleaning up low-quality streams and upscaling low-resolution content.
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
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