Global sales of 8K TVs are set to top 72 million by 2025, according to the latest forecast from Strategy Analytics. China and the United States will be the earliest adopters, and prices – which are currently eye-wateringly high – will "inevitably fall".
That news will be a shot in the arm for the likes of Samsung, Sony and LG. Sales of 8K TVs slumped in 2020 when major 8K showcase events such as the Tokyo Olympics were cancelled or postponed.
Given TV makers sold just 350,000 8K TVs around the world last year, you might be wondering how they're going to shift a further 72 million units in the next four years...
Well, according to Strategy Analytics’ forecasting models, global 8K TV sales are on course to top one million in 2021 and four million in 2022. Uptake will vary by region but North America is tipped to lead the 8K charge with almost 25 million US households set to own at least one 8K TV set by 2025.
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"Long term 8K TV adoption will ultimately be driven by panel supply and the ongoing shift to ever larger screen sizes," says David Watkins, service director at Strategy Analytics. "As we saw with 4K, TV panel manufacturers are likely to switch entire production lines over to 8K as soon as it makes financial sense to do so."
The thirst for ever-larger screen sizes will play a part, too. It’s anticipated the 8K revolution will start with very large screen sizes (70-inches and above), before trickling down to the 60-to-69-inch bracket. "By the end of the forecast period anyone looking to buy an ultra-large screen TV will have an increasingly hard time finding one that is not 8K," says Watkins.
8K TV sets bring a heap of extra pixels to your living room – four times as many as 4K and 16 times the number of Full HD – but since there's almost no 8K content available right now, they've understandably failed to capture the imagination of consumers. They're not cheap, either. But with the Olympics set to be broadcast in 8K this summer, you might want to make the leap...
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