Sony launches its 48-inch OLED TV, the cheapest in its range

With the arrival of 48-inch (100Hz) LG Display panels on the market this year, expect more and more manufacturers to offer OLED TVs of this size. The Korean giant was unsurprisingly the first to get started with the 48-inch LG CX launched last June, it’s now Sony’s turn to announce the opening of pre-orders for its first OLED 4K model in version 48-inch, the Master Series KD-48A9, also the first representative of the manufacturer’s 2020 A9 series.

The Sony KD-48A9 will soon be available from € 1,799 from major distributors, making it the cheapest OLED model of the brand. It should also be noted on this subject that Sony had the good idea to position its 48A9 at the same price as the LG 48CX. On the other hand, if it is the cheapest model of the brand, it is far from being the cheapest OLED on the market. It remains more expensive than the LG B9, Philips OLED854 or the Panasonic GZ950 in 55 inches which we currently find between 1200 and 1300 €, but its interest lies precisely in its smaller footprint. In its press release, Sony claims that “This 48A9 model combines the best of Sony innovation in image and sound processing to deliver a powerful and powerful audiovisual composition in a compact 48-inch format suitable for even the smallest living room.” Indeed, a number of consumers have been asking for smaller OLEDs, and have been for several years.

Back to the characteristics

This is the manufacturer’s highest-end OLED series, succeeding the excellent AG9 series and taking over its main strengths, including the Acoustic Surface + audio system (the plus means that the system can serve as a center channel in part of a home cinema) that we constantly rent out every year. It remains to be seen whether the performance will remain there despite the reduced size of this 48-inch model.

Still running Android, this KD-48A9 also features the design of its predecessor as well as the X1 Ultimate image processing processor, the most powerful from the manufacturer, capable of handling many image processing technologies including this year the X-Motion Clarity to further improve the smoothness and sharpness of moving images and Pixel Contrast Booster “which optimizes the colors and contrast of bright areas”. The special Netflix calibration mode is still there, as well as compatibility with the main personal assistants, with Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, and of course with the HDR formats Dolby Vision, HDR10, HLG and Dolby Atmos on the sound side.

Other new features, the arrival of an Ambient Optimization mode supposed to optimize the image according to the light conditions of the room using a light sensor (almost all of the competition has started) as well as IMAX Enhanced certifications (the latter was already expected last year on the AG9) and “Perfect for PlayStation”, supposed to guarantee low input lag and generally an optimized game mode for the latest Sony console. It will even be possible to turn on the TV at the same time as the PlayStation 4 by pressing the PS button on the controller. On the other hand, this model again skips the HDMI 2.1 from which it only uses the eARC mode, except surprise there should therefore not be ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) as on l’A8. Pity.

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