Sony has entered the battle of big screen TVs with the launch of the 98-inch Sony X90L, which will go head-to-head with similar sized 4K screens from Samsung and TCL.
Available now in the U.K., U.S. and other countries, the Sony Bravia XR X90L is the Japanese brand’s first 98-inch 4K LCD TV, and although it sits at the lower-end of Sony’s 2023 TV lineup in terms of its capabilities, features and specs, it is still a premium model with a suitably high price tag, set to cost $9,999 in the U.S.
According to FlatPanels HD, Sony said the X90L uses LED full array local dimming to enhance brightness and produce deeper shadows than other backlight technologies. While it may not match the best OLED TVs in that respect, it should still produce a very decent picture, especially for HDR movies.
In terms of HDR, it supports HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision, and the Sony Cognitive Processor XR provides an additional boost with its AI-powered processing smarts. It’s a good model for gamers too, with Auto Low-Latency Mode and two HDMI 2.1 ports for 4K@120Hz signals.
On the sound side, the Sony X90L supports Dolby Atmos and Acoustic Multi-Audio through its four 10-watt speakers, comprising two tweeters and two full-range speakers with Bass Reflex. Like its predecessor, the Sony X90K, the X90L runs the Google TV platform.
The Sony Bravia X90L is the company’s first consumer-grade 98-inch model, designed to play a part in a trend that has seen people look to buy the biggest screen possible, and it has plenty of rivals in that space. They include TCL and Samsung Electronics, and it’s notable that all three brands are using TCL CSOT panels.
The main difference is the cost. While pricing for TCL’s newly announced 98-inch P74 series has not yet been revealed, it’s likely to significantly undercut the $10K asking price of Sony’s model. Samsung’s new 98-inch QLED Q80C 4K TV is cheaper than Sony’s model, with an asking price of around $8,000, but then Sony has always positioned itself as a more premium brand. It’s notable that Sony’s QD-OLED TVs also cost more than Samsung’s OLED TVs. Of course, if you really want to break the bank, you can always consider Samsung's much higher-end 8K resolution QN990C Neo QLED TV, announced last week, priced at around $38,100, though it's only available in South Korea at this time.
Those looking for a 98-inch bargain model would also do well to consider TCL’s older XL Collection QLED TV, which is currently on sale for around $5,000 on most online retailers, having first launched last year.
