In the years after major TV manufacturers made their big promises about 8k TVs, almost all TVs were in use for the first few years, or had a total drop in 8k. In 2025, only Samsung announced new models, and they are too expensive for what they offer. That’s why we don’t recommend any 8K TV this year.
This seems odd because 8K TVs are top-notch TVs based on their price and solution, which is easy to assume. How do we not recommend the “best” TV on the best TV list? The truth is that while the 8K TVs we tested are usually good, they perform largely over models with technologies that have effects on image quality, such as OLEDs and Mini-LEDs, while they are cheaper per inch of screen.
8K’s failed promise
If we take a step back, it is no surprise to see how we get here. 8K TVs have hope for more detailed, clearer images, but few really deliver on that promise. Although there are four times when there are as many pixels as 4K TVs, the potential of 8K TVs is limited, as there are very few 8K content. There is no real 8K content, all you can show on these TVs is up-tuned 4K content. Although the upconversion gets pretty good, it’s not the same details as the actual 8K content.
There is no doubt that this is the old chicken and egg farm. Why make an 8K TV when there is no 8K content? But why do you need to make 8K content when there is no 8K TV? This is an early issue with 4K, if we go back, even early HDTVs. In the latter case, multiple industries have a great push to keep everyone away from the old standard defined TV.
The push for 4K is similar, as it allows for larger screen sizes, and most importantly, most old content can benefit from the extra resolution. This is because most movies and TV shows are historically captured in movies. Without going too far, generally, the details of 35mm film are more detailed than captured with HD, usually similar to what you can get with 4K. This is a super broad statement, but for our purpose, the bigger problem is that about 8k can’t say the same problem.
HESENSE’s 8K starts in 2023.
Of course, maybe there are about 35mm negatives, maybe the 70mm negatives for a few big budget movies, which look better in 8K vs 4K, but that only makes up a small part of the total number of movies and TV shows. Although many shows and movies now use at least 4K cameras, there is little use of 8K. Even production using higher than 4K cameras is rarely, if any, released high-resolution content. At best it’s 4K.
Another question is, where will you even get 8K content from even more available? The mainstream streaming service is set to 4K, and in theory, 8K content can be delivered on some devices (again, chicken and egg). Cables and satellites are still working on delivering 4K content in many areas. That said, 8K TVs are racing cars, without tracks, and can not drive well on the street.
Where did 8K TV go?
Scott Ramirez, vice president of home theater product marketing and development at TCL, has some insights in his broader speech with CNET:
“I don’t think 8K won’t be very important in the near future at least. There’s almost no 8K content. Without 8K content, there’s really not much advantage for consumers, and the price premium is still important. Another is that the image quality of 4K has become so good…more important, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential, more influential. [for] The quality of the picture has been increasing contrast, increasing color purity, color range, and increasing brightness. [and] The overall impact of HDR. These things seem to have a greater impact on consumers than from 4K to 8K. ”
Ondre Clarke, director of TV Product Marketing, said HESENS is taking a more observant approach:
“HESENS has been pushing the shift to larger, high-performance TVs that make quality big screens easier to access than ever before. We’ve seen incredible growth in this space, and we’ll continue to push the boundaries of performance, quality and functionality, which is most important to our audience today. Meanwhile, we’ve been actively developing 8K, and our demands have not yet made our demands have not made our lineup bad yet, and we can put 8K to the top.
While acknowledging reality, LG also sees the potential of 8K. David Park, Director of Customer Value Support, Media Solutions Supervisor, told us:
“There is an element of “proof of the future” when buying 8K TVs, but 8K adoption among consumers is very slow due to the lack of available 8K content. With that in mind, LG is currently focusing on delivering the best picture and viewing experience on our 4K OLED, QNED, QNEND and UHD TVs.”
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What does “expensive” mean? Let’s take a look at Samsung’s 2025 lineup, compared to its own (excellent) QD-old Model and some other options. The cheapest 8K model is the 65-inch QN900F, with a recommended retail price of $3,299. Its 65-inch S95D OLED, which we describe as “the best all-around image quality we’ve tested,” is $2,000. There is no magic sauce, especially the AI sauce that is not found in its new model, which will make the 8K LCD look better than the QD-older.
But, let’s say you want to expand. The 77-inch S90D OLED is currently $2,100. 75-inch QN900F 8K? $4,299. The comparative inclination supports OLED more than the high-end 8K model QN990F line. Then, the 65-inch price is $5,499 and the 75-inch price is $6,499.
If you want to go real Big, if you want to get a ROI for all of these pixels, you need a 98-inch QN990F, which is a disgruntled $39,999. You can currently get a 100-inch HESSENS for 5% That. Of course it’s “only 4K”, but since there is no 8K content, the smaller pixels will be wasted unless you’re really close.
Do the above comparisons tend to last year’s model? Well, they are for sale at the time of writing, so I think no. Plus, if you replace them with new models, they’re still cheaper than 8K TVs.
Looking to the future
Does this mean we will never recommend another 8K TV? Hedging a little bit, we’ll take a look. The issues listed above have nothing to do with any manufacturer’s ability to produce products. We know they can make 8K like they do. The problem with 8K is the lack of content. There are few companies (sony besides) that can do this. As mentioned earlier, without 8K content, an 8K TV makes little sense.
If the TV is the same or cheaper than its 4K peers, that wouldn’t be a big problem. However, they are often more expensive and can only show as good or worse as some of their competition. Since resolution is only one aspect of picture quality, not one of the most important aspects, this makes 8K an expensive feature you can’t really use.
So for 2025, we don’t recommend any 8K TVs. If prices drop, 8K content suddenly becomes widespread, or there are some other major and unexpected changes that we may be in the future.
