Sales of ultra-high-definition 8K TVs are set to skyrocket over the next four years, reaching 72 million households by 2025, according to new research.
The forecast by Strategy Analytics predicts more than one million 8K TVs will be sold this year following a sluggish 2020, with around four million sales tipped for 2022. North America is set to be the leading region with 25 million households owning at least one 8K TV by 2025, followed by the Asia-Pacific.
Fewer than 350,000 8K sets were sold last year in what Edouard Bouffenie, Senior Analyst, Connected Home Devices at Strategy Analytics described as a “challenging year” for the global display industry.
“Major 8K content showcase events such as the Olympic Games were delayed as a result of the global pandemic, removing a key opportunity for TV manufacturers to boost their 8K TV marketing messages.
“Meanwhile, prices for 8K TVs are still very high, making many consumers think twice about whether now is the right time to upgrade, or hold off until prices inevitably fall over the next few years,” he said.
According to David Watkins, Director, Connected Home Devices, long-term adoption of 8K TV will be driven by supply of panels, as well as the shift to larger screen sizes.
“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. This transition will start with the very large screen sizes over 70-inches before trickling down into the 60 to 69-inch and even into some sub 60-inch sizes.
“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,” he said.
The data comes from the firm’s new report, Global Ultra High Definition TV Forecast 2012-2025.
