Tech giants abandon 8K
February 4, 2026
By Chris Forrester
LG has joined the likes of Sony and TCL in exiting the 8K TV market.
Sony, to its credit, pushed 8K programming and television technology as hard as it could. From sponsoring and backing 4K and then 8K technologies at the MIP and MIPCOM programming markets, the Japanese technology giant echoed the NHK public broadcaster in capturing and showcasing 8K technology. However, Sony has already announced it will no longer build 8K sets.
South Korea’s LG now says the same, while China’s TCL has also abandoned the technology.
There are multiple reasons; the first maybe the most difficult to measure and that the public’s view was that 4K –especially with HDR10+ or Dolby Vision–2 added – was simply “good enough”. Besides 8K sets were – and remain –hugely expensive, and like the finest of fine wine, the benefits were impressive but perhaps not quite worth the investment. 8K was best enjoyed on super–sized sets, over and above 80” and ideally 100+”. They were inherently expensive. Owners would also regularly have complaints about the power consumption.
The only remaining mainstream manufacturer of 8K is Samsung, but even this South Korean giant seems to have extremely modest ambitions in the area.
Then there’s production. NHK remains faithful, but other 8K transmissions are extremely rare other than in China.
Never–say–never, but the time is not right. Perhaps six or eight years from now people might be ready for 8K, but, like 3D TV, it seems the market simply isn’t enthusiastic. Meanwhile, large–screen TVs are growing ever–larger, but only in 4K.