Huawei’s making an 8K 5G TV – and we’re as confused as you are
Huawei is planning to release an 8K 5G TV by the end of the year, if reports are to be believed, and outside of being a big win for those of you playing buzzword bingo, the real question is why?
The box is packing a 5G modem to let it stream remote content without any additional internet connection, or even a cable box. In fact, if reports by Nikkei are accurate, Huawei’s new TV could even as as a router to share its 5G connection with other devices in the home.
The TV could very well need 5G speeds if it wants to pump out 8K content. However, as it stands there isn’t much in the way of 8K content out in the wild, and that’s unlikely to change before the end of the year. Similarly, it’s likely that the amount of data you’re using could be prohibitively expensive if you have to pay for a set allowance.
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In fact, many people could choose to just slap an ethernet cable into the back, because most of the content is likely to be 4K or even 1080p at this point.
It’s early days though, so let’s try to remain optimistic.
It’ll be interesting to see Huawei try to make inroads into the TV marketplace. They’re currently best known for top notch smartphones, with some inroads into laptops and wearables.
However, recent privacy worries have seen Huawei come under scrutiny with allegations that they’re spying for the Chinese government. Whether these claims are real or imagined, there’s no denying that scepticism over Huawei’s data security could hinder sales of a new device to squat in your living room.
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Add to this the fact that 5G and 8K technology is largely in its infancy, and you could be asking users to take a gamble on their TV, as traditionally these are items with a long upgrade cycle that sit in position like a sentinel of the living room for a decade or more.
Get past these, and the simple fact remains: TVs are expensive to make, which means profit margins are low. Wrap all of this together, and Huawei have their work cut out to make this work.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
