LG is the newest to desert 8K, and for good cause

I bear in mind when 8K TVs first hit the scene round 2019, and I instantly thought: What is the level? Do not get me incorrect, the know-how is spectacular, and the sharpness is extraordinary, however with virtually no 8K content material obtainable, it felt pointless and painfully costly. In the meantime, 4K TVs already ship unimaginable high quality with out making your pockets cry an excessive amount of.

Quick-forward six years to 2026, and never a lot has modified. Streaming companies nonetheless do not assist 8K — YouTube being the uncommon exception — and native 8K gaming on consoles just like the PS5, Swap 2, or Xbox Collection X is not potential. Even on high-end PCs, 8K gaming is a critical problem. And naturally, 8K TVs stay far dearer than 4K TVs.

So when TCL ditched making 8K TVs in 2023, and Sony adopted go well with in 2025, it wasn’t stunning. However that left two main gamers within the 8K enviornment: LG and Samsung.

Now, although, LG seems to be stepping again as effectively. Chatting with FlatpanelsHD, LG Show confirmed it has put 8K panel improvement “on maintain.” The corporate says it may resume improvement if market circumstances enhance, so this is not essentially the top of LG’s 8K TVs eternally.

One of many final 8K TVs LG launched was the QNED99T in 2024, a MiniLED mannequin that has since been discontinued and is now bought out at many retailers. The TV continues to be obtainable on LG’s web site, although, and on the time of writing, it is on sale for $2,500, down from its unique $5,300 value. Moreover, the final OLED 8K TV LG made was the Z3, nevertheless it was discontinued final 12 months.

The writing was on the wall

8K will not turn into viable for some time

Following Sony and TCL’s choice to desert 8K TVs, LG’s transfer to do the identical is not an enormous shock — particularly given the explanations I discussed earlier, like excessive prices and the shortage of 8K content material.

However with this information about LG, one of many solely main gamers left within the 8K enviornment is Samsung. Nonetheless, at CES 2026, it did not announce any new 8K fashions. So, even for Samsung, the way forward for 8K TVs appears murky. For now, Samsung continues to be promoting its newest 2025 QN900F QLED 8K TV, which begins at $3,300 for the 65-inch and goes as much as $5,500 for the 85-inch.

Wanting forward, the large query for 8K is demand, as LG has already hinted at, and proper now it is clearly not there. Even into the 2030s, I wrestle to see an enormous spike in curiosity for 8K TVs. Many individuals I do know are nonetheless centered on upgrading from LCD to OLED 4K, and 8K hasn’t even crossed their minds but. Additionally, for 8K content material to take off, streaming companies would wish extra bandwidth — 4K is already locked behind higher-tier plans on some platforms, like Netflix’s Premium plan, and I do not see individuals speeding to pay extra for an 8K TV and 8K streaming anytime quickly.

For me, and I believe lots of people really feel the identical, 4K is greater than ok. It nonetheless appears nice, and till filmmakers and showrunners resolve to start out distributing in 8K, gaming {hardware} catches up, and 8K is inexpensive, 4K will stay the gold normal. I do not see that altering this decade — and even within the early 2030s. 8K undoubtedly feels prefer it arrived greater than a decade too early, and with TCL, Sony, and now LG not producing 8K TVs, that actually appears the case.