Last week, we reported on US pricing for Sony's hotly anticipated second-generation QD-OLED TV, the A95L, which is actually a fair bit lower (by $200 for the 55-inch model and $500 for the 65-incher) than the preceding A95K was at launch. We considered that to be very good news indeed, and hoped that the same would be true for the UK.
That hope has now been dashed, and in quite some style. We now have official UK pricing for the A95L, and it's significantly more expensive than the A95K was at launch.
In the UK, the 55-inch A95L (XR-55A95L) will set you back £2999, while the 65-inch model (XR-65A95L) is £3499. Those are price increases of £300 and £200 respectively. There's also a 77-inch model (XR-77A95L) available for £5999, but there was no 77-inch version of the A95K with which it can be compared.
Here's the full breakdown of the pricing:
| Size | Sony A95K (2022) | Sony A95L (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | £2699 / $3000 / AU$n/a | £2999 / $2800 / AU$TBC |
| 65 | £3499 / $4000 / AU$5995 | £3699 / $3500 / AU$TBC |
| 77 | No such model | £5999 / $5000 / AU$TBC |
The price increase for the 55-inch model feels particularly egregious, seeing as it works out at over 10 per cent but, let's face it, it's the fact that one region has seen welcome price cuts while the UK has seen price hikes.
It's fair to say that we were seriously impressed by the A95L when we had an extended hands-on session with it just last week (read all about that in our Sony A95L hands-on), but we rate all products on a performance-per-pound basis, so this higher pricing means the TV will have to perform even better in our full, comparative test if it's to get a five-star rating and be in the running for one of our prestigious Awards.
It's worth noting that the TV it will primarily go up against is the LG G3 which, it must be noted, launched at roughly the same price as the A95L in the UK. However, having been out for some time now, the G3 has already been discounted a fair bit, and can be bought at the time of writing for £2199 at 55 inches and £3099 for the 65-inch model.
One potential ray of light is that Sony's A80L OLED has received uncharacteristically hefty discounting in the UK since launch, and perhaps the same could end up happening for the A95L. Here's hoping that's the case, as it could otherwise prove a stretch too far for many premium TV buyers.
We have reached out to Sony and asked why the A95L is more expensive than the A95K in the UK when the opposite is true in the US, and will update this story when we get a response.
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