Once upon a time, 8K resolution felt like the future of TVs. In recent years, however, TVs that feature native 8K resolution have been largely missing in action. As we look ahead to another year of the biggest TV brands battling it out by way of some of the best TVs money can buy, it's worth asking: Is this the year that 8K finally takes off?
Before we start prognosticating, though, let's take a closer look at the current state of 8K displays. More specifically, let's delve into why 8K TVs are so hard to come by today, and why they've always been hard to come by for the decade I've spent covering the TV industry.
Why haven't 8K TVs been a success?
8K TVs are expensive to manufacture and too pricey for the average consumer.
There are two primary reasons why 8K resolution hasn't become the new standard for TVs: the costs associated with 8K and the lack of native-8K content.
When it comes to cost, 8K TVs are expensive to manufacture and too pricey for the average consumer. There aren't too many 8K TVs left on the market and the ones that do exist tend to be much more expensive than similarly sized 4K sets.
But perhaps more importantly, there just isn't that much 8K content out there to enjoy on an 8K TV. While it seems like the 4K standard has overstayed its welcome, the reality is that 4K TV shows and movies have only recently become the standard for streaming platforms. Live TV (like cable and over-the-air broadcasts) are mostly sub-4K by the time they reach your screen.
This creates something of a cycle; without 8K content, no one wants to shell out for an 8K TV, and since very few people own 8K TVs, content creators have little reason to spend even more money producing 8K content.
The possible expansion of 8K content is made more difficult to imagine when you consider that some TV brands (including LG) have recently pulled back on their support of ATSC 3.0, the format that makes it possible to pipe in native-4K content via an indoor antenna. If TV-makers are already comfortable giving up on 4K, over-the-air broadcasts, what hope does 8K have?
But 2026 is a whole new year. In just a few short days, the biggest TV brands in the business will be gathering in Las Vegas for CES, the world's largest consumer electronics show. Traditionally, this is the trade show in which TV-makers unveil their biggest and brightest TVs of the year — and the future of home entertainment is always on display.
Will there be any 8K TVs in 2026?
Having covered the TV industry for over ten years, I've learned that surprises are always right around the corner, particularly at CES. After all, the event presents one of the best opportunities of the year for brands to show off their most future-facing products in order to capture bold, eye-catching headlines.
With all of that said, I don't expect that 2026 will be the year of 8K TVs. In fact, there's an argument to be made that we're closer to the end of the road for 8K TVs now than when I started reviewing TVs in 2014.
For one thing, Sony recently revealed that the Z9K, the brand's only 8K set, has been discontinued. It made its debut in 2022, kicked around on shelves for a few years, and now its stock is all but gone.
The brand hasn't officially shut the door on 8K TVs, but for the time being, Sony is out of the 8K TV business. It's much lonelier out here for 8K TVs than it was just a year ago.
In 2025, Samsung was the only major TV-maker to release a brand-new 8K set. The Samsung QN990F dazzled us with excellent HDR brightness and fantastic Mini-LED-based backlight control, but there's no denying that its price is way too high for the average shopper.
Throughout the year, competing brands like Hisense, LG and TCL made virtually no mention of 8K TVs. And, with CES 2026 rapidly approaching, we're about to find out if any of these companies are about to throw their hat back into the ring with new 8K models.
While it's certainly possible that I'll be staring at some surprise 8K TVs in just a few weeks' time, I'm willing to bet that 8K TVs will once again be scarce at the tech industry's biggest trade show. If we do see some 8K action, it will likely come from the brand that has stuck with the display resolution for longer than any other company: Samsung.
At this point, Samsung seems determined to be the world's go-to supplier of new, up-to-date 8K TVs. Despite the writing on the wall, Samsung keeps putting out impressive (albeit expensive) 8K TVs. In just a few short years, perhaps the brand will be seen as being responsible for dragging us all into the future.
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