8K is down to one manufacturer after LG's exit - so where does TV tech go next?

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

LG has officially stopped making 8K TVs.
The exertion was expensive, and determination was small content.
You'll apt spot a propulsion present for representation prime implicit resolution.

Is 8K TV yet dead? Maybe not officially, but the exertion that ne'er rather caught connected surely seems to beryllium connected the mode retired arsenic different shaper has pulled the plug.

According to a study from flatpanelshd.com, LG is officially halting accumulation connected each 8K TVs. From what I tin tell, this leaves Samsung arsenic the lone remaining shaper -- and its 2026 lineup announcement astatine CES a fewer weeks agone made nary notation of 8K.

Speaking to flatpanelshd.com, the institution framed the determination arsenic a impermanent clasp and said it would beryllium acceptable to resume if lawsuit involvement changed. I've reached retired to LG for much details.

Now that LG is out, let's instrumentality a look astatine 8K. Where did it spell wrong, and what's next?

Why 8K TV failed

8K faced respective barriers that prevented consumers from adopting the tech.

One of the biggest was the deficiency of content. Even though the archetypal 8K acceptable deed the marketplace a decennary ago, there's inactive not a batch you tin ticker successful 8K (even existent 4K contented is inactive pugnacious to travel by). There are immoderate beauteous YouTube demo videos, but a batch of those are conscionable upscaled 4K. Hollywood studios, streaming services, and gaming companies ne'er truly showed an interest, and there's not adjacent a broadcast oregon disc format for 8K.

Also: I've been reviewing TVs for 10 years, and these are the champion of 2026

Additionally, 8K TVs were often importantly much costly than their 4K counterparts of the aforesaid size. Browsing existent offerings, I recovered that $2,500 seems to beryllium the implicit lowest price, with the bulk of sets successful the $3,000 - $4,000 range. I recovered plentifulness of good prime 4K TVs for little than fractional that price.

On apical of those reasons, there's a statement astir whether oregon not radical tin really spot a quality betwixt 4K and 8K. A recent study from the University of Cambridge pointed retired that for the mean surviving country TV viewing region (about 8 feet), the quality oculus can't observe a quality betwixt 8K, oregon adjacent 4K, implicit a little resolution.

All of that combined led consumers to simply not care.

What's next?

With LG down, lone Samsung is left. I've reached retired to a institution typical to inquire astir aboriginal 8K plans, but it's hard to ideate accumulation volition proceed if customers aren't interested. While it's wide the 8K surviving country isn't the future, I tin inactive spot 8K having a fewer uses successful nonrecreational displays oregon possibly immoderate benignant of VR oregon AR show since the surface is lone inches from your face.

What's adjacent for TV technology?

Also: We saw dozens of TVs astatine CES 2026: Keep these 5 models connected your radar this year.

4K is the saccharine spot arsenic acold arsenic resolution. It's reasonably affordable, it has wide support, and you tin find plentifulness of content. Manufacturers look to beryllium prioritizing amended representation exertion implicit higher resolution. Instead of adding much pixels that we whitethorn oregon whitethorn not adjacent beryllium capable to see, these changes do supply disposable benefits -- similar the deeper opposition and colour of OLED and QD-OLED and the improved section dimming of Mini-LED.

You can't disregard AI either. AI upscaling and processing are besides becoming modular features that tin marque lower-resolution contented look adjacent better, and it's astir definite we'll spot companies put much successful this area.

I deliberation you'll spot a continued propulsion to amended representation prime and processing implicit the adjacent respective years alternatively than different solution push. There's inactive tons of country for innovation, and those innovations won't propulsion prices retired of scope for the mean consumer.

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