When we saw Sony's A95L QD-OLED, we thought it could be the best 4K TV of 2023. And now that UK pricing has been revealed, its value proposition can properly be weighed up and one thing we have noticed is that there's been an increase to its price tag compared to last year's flagship model.
The A95L replaces the Sony XR-A95K, which launched with a starting price of £2,399 / $2,999 for the 55-inch model. In comparison, the new A95L's same sized model costs £400 / $200 more than its predecessor.
When Sony announced the A95L's US pricing at the end of July, we were pleasantly surprised as it was lower than predicted. It's "expensive, but not scary expensive" as we put it.
But now that UK prices have been announced too, they're a bit closer to being expensive. When Sony told us that they thought people would be "pleasantly surprised" by the prices, we think they meant in the US.
The new A95L prices in the UK are (we've also included the US pricing for comparison):
- 55-inch: £2,999 / $2,799
- 65-inch: £3,699 / $3,499
- 77-inch: £5,999 / $4,999
By comparison the previous model, the A95K, was £3,499 for the 65-inch model. Those prices have since dropped – the A95K is currently listing at £2,199 for 55-inches and £2,999 for the 65-inch model – but clearly the smallest model in the A95L range is significantly more expensive than last year's model.
So, what do you get for your extra money?
Sony A95L: key features
As Sony's new flagship, the A95L is a seriously impressive TV. Sony says it delivers up to two times the peak brightness of last year’s A95K. It also has Sony's impressive Acoustic Surface Audio Plus for positional audio, 360 Spatial Sound and Acoustic Centre Sync, which maps on-screen votes to Sony soundbars for more accurate audio.
Sony says the new QD-OLED is "Perfect for PlayStation 5", which means it has both an auto genre picture mode and auto HDR tone mapping that will kick in when the TV detects an input from a connected PS5.
There’s also a new Game Menu that lets you easily turn settings like VRR, motion blur reduction and black equalisation on and off, and in a new first for Sony there's a customisable screen size option as well as multi-view so you can watch YouTube walkthroughs as you play.
It's an excellent TV that is likely to rank highly among our best 4K TVs, but it's also up against an excellent rival. Samsung's S95C QD-OLED. That's currently listing at £1,899 for the 55-inch model, which is £1,100 less than Sony's. The 65-inch is £2,799, which is £900 less, and the 77-inch is £4,899, which again is £1,100 less than the Sony. It also offers a serious brightness boost over its predecessor. To see how the two manufacturers' flagships compare, check out our guide: Sony A95L vs Samsung S95C: which OLED TV is right for you?
