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The tech industry loves a good buzzword, and right now two are on the tips of (almost) everyone\u2019s tongues: 8K and 5G. Each is exciting enough on its own but put them together and you\u2019ve got something truly wonderful. That\u2019s what Samsung and South Korea\u2019s SK Telecom are hoping at any rate. The two companies announced a partnership to develop what they call the \u201cworld\u2019s first\u201d 8K TV with built-in 5G connectivity.<\/p>\n
We use those quotes because it\u2019s quite possible this will not end up being the world\u2019s first such TV. As recently as this year\u2019s IFA show, Sharp announced its intention to build and sell the world\u2019s largest 8K LCD TV, and it will have 5G. In May, Huawei said it was working on an 8K TV with \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 5G connectivity. Regardless of which tech giant actually claims the first available-for-purchase 8K and 5G TV, one thing is clear: Some of the biggest consumer electronics brands are making big bets that we\u2019re all going to want TVs that have 8K resolution and that 5G wireless data connections are the logical way to deliver that massively hi-res experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 5G-8K TV is the culmination of ultra-low latency 5G networks combined with ultra-high-definition TV technology,\u201d Park Jin-hyo, Chief Technology Officer and Head of ICT R&D Center at SK Telecom, said in a press release. \u201c5G technology will help make the world of hypermedia a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
For those of us living in North America, a 5G-powered 8K world is years away. But in South Korea, both hardwired and wireless data connections are much faster \u2014 and will be faster still once 5G is fully rolled out.\u00a0 When that happens, Pooq, a South Korean video streaming service has said it will give its users the option of watching 8K content over 5G, though there\u2019s no word yet on what kind of content it will stream in this format.<\/p>\n
Speaking of things we still don\u2019t know, the release was silent on several key questions: what sizes this new Samsung TV will come in, how much it will cost, and exactly when it plans to start selling them. Will Samsung beat Sharp and Huawei to the 8K-5G punch? Will it even matter, here in the U.S.? We\u2019ll be sure to keep you posted on the latest developments as they happen.<\/p>\n