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TESTED SONY XR-55A90J

The Sony way is up The firm has given its 2021 flagship OLED some fancy feet, a slick processor and a new smart TV platform… and but owning one of these will cost you Rtba (R55 000 est.) / sony.co.za

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There’s nothing groundbreaking about what Sony’s trying to do with its new XR-A90J range of 4K HDR OLED TVs. Like every other TV maker that takes things seriously, it’s shooting for great picture quality, an intuitive smart TV portal, sound the right side of ugly, a bit of style and a solid build. Looks simple, doesn’t it? But this is a competitive market and getting more cut-throat all the time. So can Sony possibly meet all those criteria to the point that the XR-55A90J justifies its hefty asking price? The 55in version we’re testing can be yours for a bit under R60k. Yes, that is expensive for a set this size. But from the panel itself, via the picture-processing engine to the height-adjustable feet, this TV is the result of rigorous thinking and engineering. Only problem is, the app support for this particular model could stand to be a little more extensive. No, we’re not kidding.

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2 Bassline chunky Physically, it’s one of those ‘slim yet not slim’ OLEDs we’re still a little disappointed by (1). There’s a brief portion that’s 6mm deep, but the majority of the chassis is a much less exciting 41mm thick in order to house the electronics, the inputs and two rear-firing low-frequency speakers.

GOOD MEH EVIL

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Bit chunky for hanging on a wall

Feet surrender If the depth deters you from hanging it on the wall, at least its feet earn their keep. In their first position (2), the bottom of the screen is mere nanometres from the surface it’s standing on, while in position two they raise it high enough to accommodate a soundbar.

Picture is superb in every way

Screen and shout Sony has tried hard to eradicate the need for a soundbar, though. Those rear-firing drivers support its Acoustic Surface Audio+ tech, which turns the screen surface into a speaker (3). Sony has even added speaker connections so it can be used as a surround-sound centre channel.

Nice new Google TV interface…

Effective sound system App selection needs work

Not cheap compared to rivals


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