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Dec 25, 2023

Sony Bravia XR X93L Mini LED 4K HDR Google TV review

If you’re looking for a TV with a great picture, Sony just made your choice a little bit harder. OLEDs have been the go-to technology for those with discerning viewing tastes, but the Bravia XR X93L

If you’re looking for a TV with a great picture, Sony just made your choice a little bit harder. OLEDs have been the go-to technology for those with discerning viewing tastes, but the Bravia XR X93L Mini LED 4K HDR Google TV’s display rivals comparably priced OLEDs.

The X93L mixes hardware and software to achieve its excellent performance. Thanks to its Mini LED display, the X93L delivers very sharp and bright images and colors pop off the screen. Sony’s well-regarded image processing improves the picture even more, especially when watching standard HD.

With the improvements, the TV you choose comes down to preference more than the display tech — and it’s a tough choice.

With sharp, detailed images and impressive color and contrast, the Sony Bravia XR X93L rivals OLEDs for overall picture quality. It has a distinctive design and powerful operating system with plenty of options, though some of the advanced features didn’t always improve its performance.

Vibrant reds, blues, greens and yellows. Deep blacks. Plenty of brightness to watch in a sunny room. Those are boxes you look to check when evaluating a TV, and the X93L hits the mark with each.

When watching the US Women’s World Cup team in 4K, Vietnam’s red jerseys stood out against the rich green of the pitch, and you could see the details of the ball as it spun across the screen. In “Avatar: The Way of Water,” the many hues of blue were discernible from one another while also revealing sharp details. The X93L had no problem bringing out details in the dark scenes of “John Wick 4” while also showing off the bright lights and rich reds and yellows in the background.

Sony is known for its image processing, which improves the image that the TV produces. Paired with the Mini LED screen, the result is impressive — especially when watching non-4K video.

The X93L runs Google TV, which has tons of apps and features — so many that some TVs strain to run it smoothly. Fortunately, the X93L is up to the challenge. Apps launch quickly, and Sony added advanced controls, letting you tweak its many settings to make the image pleasing to your eye.

The tech advances go beyond the image. The X93L delivers good sound for a TV, thanks to having two midrange drivers, two tweeters and two woofers built in. It also includes room calibration to make the sound optimized for your space — something atypical for a TV. And if you have a Sony HT-A7000 or HT-A5000 soundbar (among a few other options), you can wire the soundbar to the TV so that it uses the speakers in the TV as the center channel, another unique feature.

You can also buy a $200 Bravia Cam, which turns your TV into a mighty videoconferencing screen. But it also can be used to optimize brightness and sound on the fly, based on where you’re sitting and how many people are in the room.

Sony made one odd tech omission: Of the four HDMI ports, only two support HDMI 2.1, which gamers in particular want so they can take advantage of 4K gaming at up to a smooth 120 frames per second when plugging in a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. Two may be enough, but the LG C3 and Samsung QN90C include HDMI 2.1 on all four of their ports.

The X93L doesn’t blend into the background like most TVs today. Compared to ultra-thin models from LG and Samsung, the X93L feels like a throwback to the 2010s.

It’s boxy — 2.2 inches thick compared to 1.8 inches for the LG C3 or 1.1 inches for the Samsung QN90C — and heavy at around 70 pounds. It also eschews the standard black color for a silver titanium finish. Whether that’s a positive depends on personal taste, but I liked how it stood out from the crowd.

Even the stand is different. You have three options for placing the two T-shaped feet: wide, with the feet at the edges; wide and high, raised to allow a soundbar in front; or narrow, with the feet toward the middle of the unit if you have a smaller base you’re placing it on.

One retro feature it has that didn’t need to be brought back: Most of the X93L’s ports are on the back of the TV — and hard to reach.

With all the things the X93L tries to do, we can’t expect it to excel at everything. An example: Out of the box, the TV engages its ambient light sensor to adjust brightness to the room. A fine idea, but the TV lowered the brightness so much that it was hard to see the apps on the home screen. I ended up switching the sensor off, though you could also manually adjust the brightness and backlight if you wanted something in between.

Similarly, Sony’s motion processing, which is better than most, caused people on the screen to look too processed to my eyes. I adjusted the settings to have some, but not all, of the processing and achieved a happy medium.

The X93L is available in 65, 75 or 85 inches, which will work for many people. But the QN90C comes in a bounty of sizes — 43, 50, 55, 65, 75, 85 and 98 inches — as does the LG C3 — 42, 48, 55, 65, 77 and 83. Depending on what size TV you’re looking for, Sony may have taken the X93L out of contention.

65, 75, 85

43, 50, 55, 65, 75, 85, 98

42, 48, 55, 65, 77, 83

56.9 x 32.9 x 2.4 inches

56.9 x 32.6 x 1.1 inches

56.7 x 32.5 x 1.8 inches

Mini LED LCD

Mini LED LCD

OLED

4 HDMI (1 eARC, 2 HDMI 2.1)

4 HDMI (1 eARC, 4 HDMI 2.1)

4 HDMI (1 eARC, 4 HDMI 2.1)

Dolby Vision, IMAX Enhanced

HDR10+ / HDR10 / HLG

Dolby Vision / HDR10 / HLG

I’ve been in camp OLED since that technology hit the scene, but the Sony X93L Mini LED TV has me rethinking my allegiance. With bright colors, deep contrast and sharp detail, there’s little the X93L doesn’t excel at. Add in the advanced software and features and you have a winner.

It’s even priced comparably to the competition. At $2,200 for the 65-inch model, the X93L is in line with Samsung’s QN90C Mini LED TV (currently available for $2,200) and LG’s C3 OLED (also available for $2,200).

Here’s a decision guide to help you choose: Does the look of the X93L bother you? Do you need four HDMI 2.1 ports? Do you need a size other than 65, 75 or 85 inches? If you answer yes to any of those, the X93L isn’t for you. Otherwise, it should be near the top of your list.