For a decade, the story TV marketing told was simple: more pixels is better. SD to HD, HD to 4K — and then 8K was positioned as the next step, with 16K and 32K supposedly waiting behind it.
The reality in 2026 does not follow that story. The 8K television market has contracted until only one manufacturer is still in it. This article covers what happened, why, and where your money should actually go if you live in Hong Kong.
The 2026 state of 8K: four out, one left
| Brand | 8K status |
|---|---|
| TCL | Exited in 2023 |
| Sony | Exited April 2025. Its last 8K set (Z9K) was discontinued and replaced by 4K QD-OLED |
| Hisense | Has largely abandoned 8K |
| LG | Halted production January 2026. The 8K OLED (Z3) has no successor and the 8K LCD is discontinued; LG Display has also put 8K OLED panel development on hold |
| Samsung | The last manufacturer still making 8K TVs |
This is not a pause. When the panel makers stop development too, it means the whole supply chain has moved in a different direction — and that direction is doing more with 4K: finer Mini LED dimming control, wider colour, stronger processing.
Why 8K did not work: three reasons
1. The content never arrived
- Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and Apple TV+ offer no native 8K streaming
- YouTube is the main source of 8K (AV1-encoded) — but that is user-uploaded video, not films and series
- The 8K Blu-ray format does not exist and was never launched
- The only regular 8K broadcast channel worldwide is Japan's NHK BS8K, launched in 2018
⚠ The Hong Kong position is blunter still: local free-to-air digital terrestrial television is 1080i/50Hz — not 4K, and certainly not 8K. The signal you watch most at home is two full steps below 8K.
2. At Hong Kong living-room distances, you cannot see the difference
This is the real reason, and you can check the arithmetic yourself.
20/20 vision is defined as the ability to resolve detail subtending 1 arc-minute — about 0.000291 radians.
At 2.5 m, a very typical Hong Kong sofa distance:
- The smallest detail you can resolve = 2500 mm × 0.000291 ≈ 0.73 mm
- A 65-inch picture is about 1,439 mm wide. One 4K pixel = 1439 ÷ 3840 ≈ 0.375 mm
- One 8K pixel = 1439 ÷ 7680 ≈ 0.187 mm
Both are far below 0.73 mm. Watching a 65-inch TV from 2.5 m, you already cannot resolve the individual 4K pixels — quadrupling the pixel count gives your eye nothing left to receive.
For 8K's pixel density to do real work you need a much larger screen or a much shorter distance. In a Hong Kong flat, neither is easy to arrange.
3. The price never matched the return
With no content and no visible difference, all that remained was the price gap. The market voted with its feet.
So what about 16K and 32K?
To be clear: no 16K or 32K television exists, and no TV manufacturer has announced one.
- 16K (15360×8640) — what exists in the real world are custom LED video walls and lab demonstrations, not televisions
- 32K (30720×17280) — currently just a specification label
⚠ And one correction to a claim that circulates widely: 32K is not "the theoretical upper limit of resolution." There is no theoretical upper limit; 30720×17280 is simply the number that label corresponds to, and it represents no physical or engineering ceiling.
Following the arithmetic above: if 8K already exceeds what the eye can receive at normal viewing distances, then for televisions 16K and 32K are a direction with no demand behind it. That is also why, once four makers exited 8K, nobody carried on talking about 16K TVs.
Beyond resolution: the four things that actually change what you see
If resolution is no longer the bottleneck, where is it? These four — and unlike resolution, these are visible at 2.5 m:
- Backlight and local dimming — Mini LED uses far denser zones, so bright objects next to dark areas do not bloom into a halo. This is the upgrade you notice fastest
- Contrast and black level — OLED lights each pixel individually, so black is genuinely black. The difference is largest in a dark room
- Colour volume — quantum dot (QLED) keeps highly saturated colours accurate at high brightness
- The processor — most of what you watch is not native 4K (free-to-air is 1080i, streaming is compressed). How well a set upscales, denoises and sharpens affects what you actually see more often than the panel specification does
For a full comparison of panel technologies, see Mini LED vs OLED vs QLED.
Our only 8K TV: the Samsung QN800C
We stock exactly one 8K television — Samsung 65" Neo QLED 8K QN800C (2023) — HK$9,980, in stock.
Verified specification: 7680×4320, 120Hz, Neural Quantum Processor 8K, Neo Quantum HDR 8K+ / HDR10+ / HLG, HDMI ×4, 70W 4.2.2-channel audio, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, Tizen.
The honest version
Going back to the arithmetic: at 65 inches and 2.5 m, the 8K resolution itself will do nothing for you. If we sold you this set on "four times the pixels", we would be misleading you.
It is still a good television — just not for the reason on the box:
- Neo QLED (Mini LED) panel — this is what you actually see at 2.5 m
- Neural Quantum Processor 8K — Samsung's top upscaling processor of its generation, and upscaling is the thing that affects your day-to-day picture most
- 70W 4.2.2-channel audio — well beyond the built-in sound on 4K sets at this price
- 120Hz, four HDMI inputs, Wi-Fi 6E
How it compares with the same-size 4K Neo QLEDs
| Model | Resolution | Year | 65" price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung QN70F | 4K | 2025 | HK$5,980 |
| Samsung QN87D | 4K | 2025 | HK$8,480 |
| Samsung QN70H | 4K | 2026 | HK$8,980 |
| Samsung QN800C | 8K | 2023 | HK$9,980 |
How to choose:
- Budget first → QN70F (HK$5,980). Also Neo QLED, and HK$4,000 cheaper
- Newest platform → QN70H (2026, HK$8,980)
- Top-tier processor and audio, and you don't mind a 2023 model → QN800C (HK$9,980)
For more at this size see our 65-inch comparison, or browse the Neo QLED range.
What a Hong Kong buyer should actually do
- Do not wait for 8K, and do not chase 16K or 32K. At the sizes that fit a Hong Kong flat and the distances you actually sit at, 4K already exceeds what your eye can resolve
- Put the budget into the panel and the processor. Moving from ordinary LED to Mini LED or OLED does far more than moving from 4K to 8K
- Measure the distance, then pick the size. Buying the right size beats buying a smaller set with more pixels — see shop by size
- Do not ignore sound. On most televisions the weakest link is dialogue clarity, not pixels
If you genuinely want a very large image, the right direction is a bigger 4K set, not more pixels: 75 inch, 85 inch, or 98 inch and above. And the genuinely new direction in panel technology is backlight work like Micro RGB — not adding pixels.
Frequently asked questions
Is an 8K TV worth buying in 2026?
For the overwhelming majority of Hong Kong households: not for the 8K itself. No streaming service offers native 8K, there is no 8K Blu-ray, Hong Kong free-to-air is 1080i — and at sofa distance you cannot resolve even 4K pixels.
If an 8K set suits you because of its panel, processor and audio, and the price is reasonable, that is fine — just do not treat the 8K resolution as the reason to buy it.
Which brands still make 8K TVs?
Only Samsung. TCL exited in 2023, Sony in 2025, LG halted production in January 2026 (and LG Display has put 8K OLED panel development on hold), and Hisense has largely abandoned it.
Do 16K or 32K TVs exist?
No. No 16K or 32K television exists on the market and no manufacturer has announced one. The "16K" installations that exist are custom LED video walls and display installations, not TV products.
Also, 32K is not "the theoretical upper limit of resolution" — there is no theoretical upper limit; 30720×17280 is simply the number that label corresponds to.
At what distance can you see the difference between 4K and 8K?
Using 20/20 vision (resolving 1 arc-minute): at 2.5 m the smallest detail you can resolve is about 0.73 mm. On a 65-inch screen a 4K pixel is about 0.375 mm and an 8K pixel about 0.187 mm — both are already smaller than what you can resolve.
Making the difference visible requires a much larger screen or a much shorter distance. In a Hong Kong flat, neither is easy.
So where should the budget go?
Three places: the right size (chosen from how far you actually sit), a better panel (Mini LED or OLED), and sound. All three are visible or audible in everyday viewing. Going above 4K is not.
Warranty and contact
The TVs we sell are international versions — not local agent stock; the warranty is provided by us. The policy, stated exactly: free on-site inspection and repair within three years; if parts need replacing, that is quoted separately. Full terms, delivery and installation charges are in the FAQ.
Our Kwun Tong showroom holds stock, and you can arrange to see a set in person.
If you are not sure what to choose, WhatsApp us — tell us how far you sit, what you mostly watch and your budget, and we will recommend a set. If 8K would do nothing for you, we will say so.
For the full Samsung range see Samsung TVs; for everything at this size see 65 inch smart TVs.
