'8K TV' Losing Momentum... Shipment Volume Declines for Third Consecutive Quarter

Q3 Shipments at 81,900 Units, First Year-on-Year Decline
Lack of Exclusive Content and High Prices Undermine Competitiveness

Samsung Electronics' Neo QLED 8K TV

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyeyoung] The shipment volume of next-generation premium '8K TVs' with the highest level of resolution has decreased for three consecutive quarters. The lack of dedicated content and high price points are analyzed as the reasons for lower preference compared to other products.

According to market research firm Omdia on the 19th, the shipment volume of 8K TVs in the third quarter of this year was 81,900 units, down about 10% from the previous quarter. This is 600 units less than the same period last year (82,500 units), marking the first time since the initial launch of 8K TVs in 2017 that quarterly shipments have declined year-over-year.

Since 135,800 units were shipped in the fourth quarter of last year, 8K TV shipments have shown a decreasing trend for three consecutive quarters this year. Although the annual shipment volume of 8K TVs has steadily increased?approximately 18,600 units in 2018, 118,500 units in 2019, and 302,000 units last year?the share of total TV shipments remains minimal at around 0.1%.

As of the third quarter, Samsung Electronics holds a 67% market share in the 8K TV segment, followed by LG Electronics with 10.3%.

88-inch 8K OLED by LG Display (Provided by LG Display)

8K TVs have a horizontal pixel count of 8,000 (K) pixels (actual 7,680 pixels). Multiplying by the vertical pixels (4,320 pixels) results in a total pixel count of over 33.17 million. TV resolution is categorized by horizontal × vertical pixels into HD (1366×768), Full HD (1920×1080), 4K UHD (3840×2160), and 8K (7680×4320).

In theory, 8K TVs can deliver four times the resolution of 4K TVs, leading to high expectations that they would change the landscape of the TV market at launch.

However, the reality has been different. Dedicated 8K TV content still falls far short of consumer expectations, and the 'high price' barrier has resulted in less enthusiasm than anticipated. According to the industry, the average selling price of 8K TVs in the third quarter was $4,550 (approximately 5.4 million KRW), nearly six times the average price of 4K TVs at $776 (approximately 920,000 KRW).

Domestic terrestrial broadcasters are partially transmitting 4K UHD broadcasts, but the level remains minimal, and dedicated 8K content is virtually nonexistent.

The industry expects the 8K TV market to gradually expand due to price reductions driven by technological advancements, but it is anticipated that it will take more time for a full-fledged market to form.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.