To be honest, after everything we saw we still cannot understand the reasoning behind creating the A90K. It is clearly not a successor to the 2021 A90J and its performance is remarkably similar to the A80K minor the brightness output. So you could very well name it A80K and put the two smaller sizes with the rest of the A80K lineup and call it a day.

The Sony A90K is a high-performance small-screen OLED that's a brilliant option for gamers and smaller living rooms. Its HDR, 4K 120Hz, and picture performance are all excellent, though there are minor quibbles with its audio offerings.

the Sony A90K is a step up on the A9 in terms of overall brightness, details, colours and depth.

You have to get beyond both the asking price and the shortage of out-and-out brightness – but when you do so you’re left with a tiny OLED TV that’s capable of big image quality. If by some chance you have money left over, you’ll want to budget for a soundbar too, though.

The merits of the Sony XR-42A90K are obvious, and they’re all about bringing OLED screen technology to a panel size that has previously been considered unworkable. Certainly it has the sort of overall picture fidelity that makes every watch a treat. But watching has to take place with the curtains drawn, because of the screen’s lack of brightness – and it will only happen at all if you’re prepared to spend what is an undeniable premium.

There’s more to consider here than is usual when discussing a new TV. There’s definitely novelty value to seeing all the stuff OLED does so well crammed into such a small frame – and if you take the relative lack of brightness out of the equation then the Sony XR42A90K is a very strong performer. But there is that lack of brightness to be considered, and – even more importantly – there’s the deeply optimistic price. So bagging a compact OLED TV isn’t quite the no-brainer we’d hoped it would be.

It looks best in a dark room, thanks to its near-infinite contrast ratio and perfect black uniformity, with no blooming around bright objects. It makes it a superb choice for watching movies or gaming in the dark. It's also great for watching shows or sports in a bright room, as it has superb reflection handling and passable peak brightness. It has a wide viewing angle, which is great if you have a wide seating arrangement and want to watch sports with a group of friends, as the image remains consistent when viewed from the side. Finally, it's a very good choice for use as a PC monitor, but there are some text clarity issues due to its WRBG subpixel layout.

It’s not as bright as the best big OLEDs but this flagship 48-inch TV from Sony is still exceptionally good