Samsung has announced that its joining up with SK Telecom to develop the world's first 5G 8K television, in a move that could revolutionize streaming as we know it.
According to What Hi-Fi?, the 8K TV will be able to "stream images with four times as many pixels as 4K over a super-fast 5G network, thanks to the higher bandwidth capabilities it brings".
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The two companies have agreed to both "develop and commercialize" the TV, according to a press release from SK Telecom, which means we can expect the pioneering technology to come to consumers at some point in the future, rather than remaining just as a cool concept.
The race to 5G 8K television
The new 8K TV, with the high bandwidth afforded by 5G connectivity means that streaming your favorite shows from platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video could be faster than ever, with lower latency, and of course, four times the pixels than 4K TVs.
However, it looks as though the TV will only be available in South Korea to start with, as the press release specifically mentions that users will be able to watch 8K shows and films from POOQ and oksusu, which are both South Korean content providers.
If you've already bought the Samsung Q900R 8K TV, don't worry – Samsung says that existing models can be equipped with 5G dongles.
The news of Samsung's upcoming TV will likely be a blow to Huawei, which is reportedly working on its own 5G 8K TV. Sharp is also working on its own 8K+5G initiative – both companies will need to hurry up if they want to beat Samsung to the punch, though.
Via What Hi-fi?
