LG has officially pulled the plug on its 8K OLED ambitions, marking the end of an era that never quite took off.
The Korean giant froze all development and production of 8K OLED panels late in 2025, with its last 8K OLED model, the Z3 series, discontinued without a successor on the horizon.
Samsung now stands nearly alone as the only major manufacturer still pushing 8K TVs, though their commitment continues to shrink.
The Z3 series, which debuted in 2023 and carried over through 2024 and 2025, was LG’s final attempt at making 8K OLED a reality.
The 77-inch model launched at £7,999 in the UK and $9,999 in the US, pricing that instantly put it out of reach for most consumers.
Despite featuring cutting-edge tech like the α9 AI Processor 8K Gen6 and Brightness Booster Max, the Z3 failed to gain traction in a market that simply wasn’t ready for it.
The content problem no one solved
Here’s the brutal truth: there’s virtually nothing to watch in 8K. Netflix doesn’t stream it, Disney+ doesn’t offer it, and even physical media maxed out at 4K Blu-ray. The human eye can barely tell the difference between 4K and 8K at typical viewing distances anyway.
Research shows you’d need to sit uncomfortably close to an 8K screen to actually perceive the extra resolution, making the whole thing feel like a solution in search of a problem. Add in the fact that broadcast TV hasn’t even fully adopted 4K yet, and you’ve got a format that arrived way too early to the party.
Samsung stands nearly alone
LG joins Sony in abandoning 8K, Sony discontinued its Z9K model back in April 2025, leaving Samsung as the primary carrier of the 8K flag. TCL also abandoned 8K production earlier.
Samsung launched two 8K models in 2025, the QN900F and QN990F, but even their enthusiasm is clearly waning. The 8K Association membership has collapsed from 33 companies in 2022 to just 19 in late 2025, with major players like Hisense and TCL jumping ship.
The writing’s on the wall. 8K was supposed to be the future, but the industry finally admitted what consumers figured out years ago: 4K is more than good enough, especially when paired with technologies like HDR, Dolby Vision, and better panel tech.
LG’s exit isn’t surprising, it’s just the latest confirmation that 8K was always more marketing hype than practical necessity.
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