Review finds that the Bravia X90K is another downgrade in Sony's 2022 TV lineup

In the quickly evolving tech industry, newer usually also means better. Even though incremental upgrades have become the norm in many device categories, most manufacturers still mange to squeeze out a few small but welcome improvements on an annual basis. In the TV segment, this is not always the case, as the new Sony X90K apparently has some trouble keeping up with its very successful mid-range predecessor from 2021.

In a comprehensive review by the TV experts at Rtings.com, the Sony Bravia X90K received a total score of 8 out of 10 possible points, which slightly lower than the X90J's score of 8.2. Most notably, the 2022 model has a worse native contrast of 4,800 to 1 compared to the predecessor's 5,600 to 1, even though the ratio can be significantly improved by utilizing the local dimming feature.

On paper, this feature should perform better on the Sony Bravia X90K as it has more than twice as many dimming zones. Unfortunately, the reviewers criticized that the local dimming feature raises the black levels of the Sony Bravia X90K, which means that last year's model can have a better picture quality in dark scenes. On the other hand, the 2022 TV set sports an increased peak HDR brightness of up to 875 nits, which is a respectable 100 nits brighter than the X90J.

Last but not least, there have been some small improvements to the VRR range of the Sony Bravia X90K at 1080p, but the panel in this specific test unit of the new 4K HDR TV also has a noticeably worse grey and black uniformity than the X90J. Overall, Rtings comes to the conclusion that the Sony Bravia X90K is a slightly inferior TV compared to last year's model, which is why budget-conscious buyers certainly get a better deal in the X90J, whose 65-inch version is currently US$500 cheaper than the X90K on Amazon.