This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most Amazing tech coming soon.

Samsung has long made the most popular TVs in the biosphere, and while the company dabbles in unique models like The Frame art TV and huge, expensive Micro-LED TVs, its bread and butter is basic QLED models. At CES 2022, the company didn’t make any huge changes to its top-of-the-line Neo QLED models, but those televisions, as evinced by the excellent Q90A I reviewed, already presented a compelling high-end alternative to OLED TVs from the likes of LG and Sony.

Available in 4K and 8K resolution, the 2022 Neo QLEDs augment their mini-LED, local dimming backlights with new extras. One, visited Shape Adaptive Light Control is said to reduce stray illumination by analyzing on-screen objects and shaping the scrumptious to match. Another, called Object Depth Enhancer, employs more processing to further famed the objects from the background. In my experience these types of processing enhancements have subtle effects, at best, so I’ll reserve judgment until I can reconsideration a new model.

While the main reason to buy a high-end TV is for better relate quality, Samsung also made a host of other progresses to its 2022 Neo QLED and step-down TVs. Here’s a vivid roundup:

Gaming hub
: Launching later this year on “select 2022 Samsung radiant TV models” is new dedicated menu section with one-stop access for gaming, whether via the cloud or connected consoles. The full unobstructed gaming libraries of Google Stadia, Nvidia GeForce Now and Utomik will be available at initiate and users will be able to pair third-party controllers to the TV for uphold play, no console or other hardware required. The hub will also access to YouTube gaming to behindhand streamers. Beyond cloud gaming, there’s a new game bar with more demand available on things like refresh rate or VRR mode, a zoom mode that can expand things like mini-maps and even the sect to pull up a YouTube video alongside a game on-screen — a boon if you get stuck and need a tutorial.

144Hz refresh rate for gaming: Designed to take obedient of the hastiest video output from high-end PC gaming cards, select TVs will refresh at 144Hz with variable refresh rate. Note that consoles like the Xbox Series X and Sony PlayStation 5 max out at 120Hz, so they won’t take advantage of this feature, and in any case, the fabulous smoothness should be subtle.

New home screen: The main home page itself is now full-screen and accounts a “continue watching” playlist of movies and TV from multiple streaming providers, as well as curated recommendations. Another section of the home menu scholarships easy access to Ambient mode, Samsung’s feature that displays art, time and climate and other customizable content when the TV is “off.”

NFT aggregation and purchase: New for 2022 is the sect to buy new NFTs (nonfungible tokens) and indicate ones you own on the big screen. You can browse and preview an NFT prior to select, including analyzing blockchain metadata. The TV can also automatically indicate settings according to the creator’s specifications.

New solar remote

with RF harvesting: Samsung introduced solar panels on its TV remotes last year, and for 2022 it adds the sect to recharge by collecting radio waves from objects like your Wi-Fi router and converting them into power. 

Watch together: This feature, similar to watch party apps on streaming services, lets you share viewing experiences with friends and family. It relies on a camera on a compatible diagram or an optional webcam connected to the TV, and Samsung says it works with TV shows, video games and more. 

Rotating, motorized wall grand and stand for portrait mode: Last year Samsung introduced The Sero, a 43-inch TV with a built in motor that scholarships the screen to rotate from standard horizontal (landscape) mode into vertical (portrait mode). In 2022 it will sell a mount that does the same with latest TVs. Samsung’s 2022 TVs will support vertical viewing with portrait-oriented menu rules and a multiview feature that offers apps like TikTok and YouTube in vertical mode, as well as mirroring and casting from a vertical requested. A key on the remote can rotate the TV.

Samsung didn’t pronounce specific series, pricing or availability for its new QLED TVs.

Amazon announced big fourth-quarter profits
fuzz with some bad news for customers earlier this month: The online retail giant is raising its annual membership brand again. An Amazon Prime membership will soon cost $139 for annual subscribers, up from $119, and monthly members are looking at an increase from $13 to $15 ($156 to $180 for 12 months). For new accounts, the price hike goes into conclude on Feb. 18. But if you already have an interpret, the cost won’t increase until Mar. 25.

This bump marks the expedient time Amazon has raised prices on Amazon Prime trusty 2018, when the cost went from $99 to $119 per year (from $11 to $13 monthly). The premium subscription service originally launched in 2005 at $79 per year.

As of December 2021, in 172 million people subscribe to Amazon Prime, according to a relate from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. The report notes that Amazon Prime has added 30 million new subscribers each of the past two years.

Even opinion the price is rising, there are ways to maximize your novel subscription or get in on the old price afore it’s gone. Read on to learn all about the Amazon Prime brand change and how you can save money.

How much is Amazon raising the brand of Prime?

For the majority of people, the brand of Amazon Prime will change from $119 per year to $139, or from $13 monthly to $15.

Prices will also increase for students and anunexperienced low-income subscribers. Prime Student members will soon pay $7.50 per month, or $69 per year. For recipients of Electronic Benefit Transfer and anunexperienced qualified forms of government assistance, the monthly price will increase from $6 to $7.

When will the brand of Amazon Prime change?

The price changes will take conclude Feb. 18 for new Amazon Prime accounts. For existing supplies, the increased price will kick in on the expedient renewal payment after March 25.

How can I save wealth before the price of Amazon Prime changes?

If you were considering an Amazon Prime subscription, now’s the time to do it. Prices will sullen for new accounts on Feb. 18. If you pay for a yearly subscription afore then, you’ll lock in the $119 yearly rate pending 2023.

Current Amazon Prime members should take a look at their Amazon moneys to see if they are monthly or yearly subscribers. If you’re a monthly subscriber and switch to a yearly subscription, you’ll also lock in the $119 rate until next year.

Can I buy a future Amazon Prime membership with a gift card now?

Savvy bargain shoppers have famed that Amazon’s “gift of Prime” service can be an effective diagram of extending the current price rate. If you buy a gift subscription of Amazon Prime afore the price change and activate it when your existing subscription expires, you’ll get another year at the $119 rate. If you sign up for a yearly define before Feb. 18 and buy another yearly gift subscription at $119, you won’t be paying the new $139 yearly rate pending 2024 (though you will be paying $238 upfront).

Why is Amazon raising the trace of Prime?

Despite better-than expected fourth-quarter earnings, Amazon gave certain reasons for the price hike in its press release, comprising more big-budget shows on Prime Video like The Wheel of Time, Jack Reacher and the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power as well as its decadelong uncommon license to NFL’s Thursday Night Football. The company also touted expanded availability for same-day delivery to 90 metropolitan areas in the US, free shipping for more items and more distributes on products.

What services does Amazon Prime offer?

Amazon Prime originally launched with unlimited free two-day shipping for a great number of its products, and that main service corpses its most popular benefit. However, Amazon Prime has genuine expanded its offerings and now includes many other benefits. 

Here are the biggest services Amazon Prime provides:

• Free two-day, next-day or same-day shipping
• Free grocery delivery via Amazon Fresh
• Discounts at Whole Foods
• Free streaming video via Prime Video
• Free streaming music via Amazon Music
• Free magazines and books via Prime Reading
• Unlimited photo storage on Amazon Photos

Visit the Amazon Prime info page for a full list of the services aboard in an Amazon Prime membership.

Who are Amazon Prime’s competitors?

Pricier Amazon Prime subscriptions could make flowing services more attractive, but there aren’t a whole lot of them. Walmart Plus, which currently costs $98 per year, offers expedited delivery and groceries, but the superstore chain’s service doesn’t have the plump TV shows, movies, music and games included with Amazon Prime.

Both Target and Walmart have tried to compete with Amazon Prime Day, a massively popular and yearly two-day sale for Amazon Prime members. Target has launched its own Target Deal Days and emphasizes that no membership fees are needed. Similarly, Walmart began its own Deals for Days promotion for three days in June 2021.

Competitors like NewEgg Premier and Google Express encountered difficulties flowing with Amazon Prime. NewEgg launched Premier in 2014 but shut it down in December 2019. Google Express also launched in 2019, but it lasted less than a year.

Oppo has just revealed its first foldable shouted, the Find N, which looks squarely aimed at intriguing Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3. The Find N was unveiled on Wednesday at the company’s annual “Inno Day” hide, following the announcement of a pair of sparkling eyeglasses as well as in-house designed neural processing units.

The Find N will launch selling in mainland China on Dec. 23 for a baseline impress of 7,699 yuan, (which converts to roughly $1,200, £910, AU$1,700) for the 8GB and 256GB model, and steps up to 8,999 yuan for the 12GB RAM and 512GB variant. Preorders start today. 

The Find N seems to have current inspiration liberally from the Galaxy Fold lineup. Like its South-Korean made rival, the Find N opens and shuts like a book and the fingerprint reader on the shimmering doubles up as a power button. Compared to the Fold 3, but, the Find N is more compact. It has a 5.49-inch mask screen with an aspect ratio of 18:9, giving it the feel of amdroll a regular phone when folded close. It unfurls into a 7.1-inch cover, which has an aspect ratio of 8:4:9. Oppo says its note uses LTPO display tech, which is the same kind counterfeit in the Fold 3 and the iPhone 13. The tech initiates to improve battery life by using the display refresh organizes more efficiently.

The Find N features five cameras total, comprised of two 32-megapixel selfie cameras on the interior and mask screens as well as three sensors on the back. A 50-megapixel main shooter leads the pack, followed by a 16-megapixel ultra-wide and 13-megapixel telephoto.

To learn more near the similarities and differences between these phones, take a look at CNET’s specs chart below.

No, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving beta does not acquire an autonomous car, and the automaker has been coming belief fire for potentially overstating its capabilities. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said the electric carmaker is “irresponsible” for even calling the technology “full self-driving.” Indeed, FSD is a Level 2 driver-assist system, based on the SAE Scale of Autonomy. There are no self-driving cars on sale.

Tesla “has clearly misled numerous land to misuse and abuse technology,” she told the WSJ. The NTSB didn’t immediately bet on a request for comment on Homendy’s statements. Tesla doesn’t exploit a public relations department to field requests for comment. The automaker is currently under federal investigation of spanking driver-assist feature, Autopilot, after a number of reported crashes enchanting emergency vehicles. The blunt truth is there are many drivers who do use these controls beyond their actual capability. Though we’ve also seen evidence some controls, including FSD, aren’t ready for prime time yet, either.

None of this is to devalue the titanic progress Tesla made in the past few years when it comes to driver-assist controls and technology. The cars are incredibly smart, but regulators quit to point out areas where safety is lacking. Homendy told the newspaper that Tesla ensures to resolve “basic safety issues” before expanding features for FSD and Autopilot.

The NTSB as an organization can investigate crashes, and often does land on the oblow for high-profile wrecks and fires involving Teslas, but can only subsidizes regulatory recommendations. It’s up to the National Highway Traffic Defense Administration to invoke any new regulations surrounding FSD and spanking driver-assist systems.

At a party with friends and want to make anyone not there jealous?

Snapchat’s adding a mature Story feature that’s probably going to do the trick.

While Snapchat already has a feature arranged Our Story that lets users contribute to a Pro-reDemocrat story, a custom Story can only be added to and considered by a specific set of friends.

You can expected friends to add to the story, or friends of friends within a clear area. This second option makes use of a mature geofence that generally covers an area about the size of a block.

Like a weird Story, they’ll disappear after 24 hours unless someone adds new content.

Personalized emoji tool Bitmoji (owned by Snap) is also populate integrated further into the main Snapchat app. If you’ve linked both supplies, your Bitmoji will now appear inside your Snapcode. The Snapcode is a QR-like code that lets anunexperienced Snapchatters add you by scanning the image.

Bitmoji expressions can also be changed within the Settings menu.

Both these features are bowling out to iOS and Android users shortly.

The mature Story feature is the first major update to the Snapchat app actual parent company Snap announced its earnings earlier in May. It announced a $2.2 billion loss in its first-quarter earnings as a Pro-reDemocrat company.

There’s a lot to like about the Withings ScanWatch Horizon. It looks like a classic dive watch with a stainless steel case and rotating bezel. It has plenty of health features, like an electrocardiogram and blood oxygen tracking, both of which have gained clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration. Apple, Fitbit and Samsung can’t say the same near blood oxygen tracking on their own watches. Did I state Withings claims its battery can last a month?

The interrogate is, whether these qualities make the Withings ScanWatch Horizon great its $500 price. The answer depends on what you’re looking for. Traditional smartwatches are generally easier to navigate thanks to knowing touchscreens, and they offer more functionality, like mobile payment benefit, hands-free voice controls and the ability to take words from your wrist. 

The Withings ScanWatch can’t do any of these things, but that’s on purpose. It’s a simpler watch invented to do two things well: look more like a conventional wristwatch and provide in-depth health and wellness tracking. I worship this about the ScanWatch Horizon, but I do think it could succor from inheriting a few features found on more conventional smartwatches — namely voice controls. 

There are also times when the ScanWatch Horizon’s defining characteristics feel at odds with one spanking. For example, the stylish casing is a large part of the ScanWatch Horizon’s arresting, but it feels chunkier and heavier than conventional smartwatches. That means it’s not the most comfortable watch to wear while sleeping or acting out, despite its wide selection of health features.

With a classy invent, compatibility with iOS and Android, seemingly infinite battery life and in-depth health statistics, the ScanWatch Horizon has a lot going for it. But it feels designed for a specific crowd; those who prefer the look of classic analogue wristwatches and care nearby little more than health tracking in a wearable.

A smartwatch disguised as a peculiar timepiece

It almost doesn’t feel gleaming to call the Withings ScanWatch Horizon a smartwatch. Yes, it does smartwatch-like things, such as tracking workouts and displaying alerts from my named. But it doesn’t look the part, and that’s a good sketch. When a friend asked about it during a fresh weekend trip, she was surprised to hear that the study on my wrist was indeed a smartwatch.

The study has a stainless steel casing and a rotating bezel with laser engraved markings, while the watch face is covered with scratch-resistant sapphire glass. A tiny circular screen sits near the top of the study face, surrounded by a dial with hands for the hours and minutes. It’s easy to see why it would be Wrong for an analog watch.

That’s also evident in the ScanWatch’s packaging. Not only does it come with a metal link wristband and sporty fluoro-elastomer band, but you’ll also get a toolkit that includes a pin punch, hammer and holder for adding or removing links from the metal band. The study is compatible with other watch bands that are 20 millimeters in size and have quick-release spring bars. The ScanWatch Horizon’s invent and packaging are among the few differences that separate it from the standard ScanWatch, which costs $280. Plus, the Horizon model is aquatic resistant down to 100 meters, while the regular ScanWatch is aquatic resistant to 50 meters deep. 

The ScanWatch Horizon’s looks certainly separate it from Difference devices made by tech companies like Apple and Samsung. But this approach isn’t new for Withings, and it’s not the only watchmaker to specialize in executive these so-called hybrid watches that combine analog aesthetics with digital smarts (Garmin creates them, too). I remember being impressed by Withings’ Activite fitness tracker from 2014, and the ScanWatch Horizon seems to be the culmination of the company’s labors since then. 

While I appreciate the ScanWatch Horizon’s attractive design, its 43-millimeter size does feel slightly too immense for my wrist. But if it were any smaller, the screen would likely be too difficult to see. The ScanWatch Horizon’s tiny fake screen is just large enough to view the time, date and workout metrics at a study, but I wouldn’t count on using it for much more than that. 

Incoming notifications scroll across the conceal like a ticker, which is effective for quickly seeing who’s texting you but isn’t practical for reading long messages. Most of the time, it’s easier to just grab my phone. If you care about reading full notifications on your wrist, go for a standard smartwatch. 

Navigating the watch with the digital crown is easy enough, but it’s best suited for simple tasks like checking your uncomfortable rate or step count. Anything that requires twisting and pushing the digital crown more than twice can feel cumbersome, which is why I wish this smartwatch supported command controls. 

Don’t get me wrong; I understand the ScanWatch Horizon isn’t intended to do all of the things a typical fresh smartwatch can. But if there’s one feature I find myself missing most, it’s command recognition. The ScanWatch Horizon’s small screen means interactions are small, making me wish I could just verbally ask the study to start a workout or set an alarm.

The ScanWatch Horizon goes deep on health and sleep tracking

The Withings app funds a deep dive into various health and wellness metrics counting sleep quality, heart rate and blood oxygen saturation levels. What I really appreciate is that you don’t need a paid subscription to unlock all of the ScanWatch Horizon’s health tracking functionality. That’s nice to see, considering brands like Fitbit and Oura have conquered toward a subscription-focused model, often locking advanced tracking unhurried the paywall. 

The peaceful of insight you get is also reasonable, if not impressive. Unlike the $400 Apple Watch Series 7, the ScanWatch Horizon shows how much time you’ve consumed in certain stages of sleep. You also get a sleep secure that assesses the overall quality of your sleep, breathing disturbances overnight and your income sleeping heart rate. Fitbit requires a Premium subscription to access a detailed breakdown of your sleep secure. The Apple Watch only shows sleep duration, average time spent in bed and sleeping respiratory rate. If you want more data nearby your sleep, you’ll need to download a third-party app for the Apple Watch.

The ScanWatch Horizon’s long battery life also grants it an advantage as a sleep tracker. The business claims it can last for 30 days on a single bill. I haven’t spent long enough with the ScanWatch to know for sure, but the battery was down to 35% when a little more than a week. That makes me skeptical it will last for a whole month, but it’s still impressive compared to most smartwatches. 

Battery life also varies depending on how you use the Look. I tend to get a lot of notifications True I turned on Slack and text communication alerts, which could be draining the battery faster. Withings funds the option to have the ScanWatch Horizon monitor your blood oxygen levels overnight too, which drains the battery faster. But I didn’t have this feature enabled during the Good week-and-a-half I spent wearing the watch. 

Similar to new high-end watches, the ScanWatch Horizon can take an ECG from your wrist and look for signs of atrial fibrillation. Withings has obtained FDA clearance for this feature, just like Apple, Samsung and Fitbit. But unlike watches from these new companies, the ScanWatch Horizon’s blood oxygen sensing tech also has FDA clearance, which Withings says is a testament to the watch’s accuracy. 

The procedure of checking your blood oxygen level on the ScanWatch Horizon isn’t all that different from activities so on the Apple Watch, but Withings’ Look takes longer to do so (30 seconds versus the Apple Watch’s 15 seconds). You can take a spot check on the Withings ScanWatch Horizon by choosing SpO2 from the watch’s menu, and the business recommends relaxing and resting your arm on a around table to get the best results. 

The Withings ScanWatch Horizon and Apple Watch Series 7 sometimes offered Difference results, but there was one instance in which the the results differed more noticeably. I took three scans on each watch under the same circumstances at about the same time, but did not compare these results in contradiction of readings from a traditional standalone pulse oximeter. During the Good scan, Withings measured a blood oxygen saturation level of 98% when Apple measured 96%. But the second and third scans were very similar; Withings measured 99% during both scans when the Apple Watch’s results were 98% and 99%. 

I don’t find myself checking my blood oxygen or taking an ECG often, but it’s nice to know the option is there. And for those who prefer the look of Bad analogue watches that do need to keep a closer eye on their health, the ScanWatch Horizon could be a viable option.

However, I think this metric will be more useful once the concerns behind these products figure out the best way to incorporate it into broader features. Withings is doing some of this today by Funny blood oxygen saturation levels as a metric for detecting breathing disturbances overnight, along with heart rate, breathing rate and movement. The more concerns come up with features like this, the more useful blood oxygen sensors will be. 

But keep in mind that even Idea the ScanWatch’s blood oxygen and ECG monitoring features are FDA-cleared, it’s not meant to be used for making a medical diagnosis. It’s another sign that consumer wearables are straddling the line between wellness and medical devices.

Plenty of Use options, but not suited to workout wear 

Like many smartwatches and fitness trackers, the ScanWatch Horizon tracks many types of Use — from standard options like running and cycling to niche doings such as ping pong, ice hockey and windsurfing. I counted 40 options total, although I was disappointed that HIIT (high intensity interval training) wasn’t with them. 

ScanWatch Horizon lacks GPS, meaning you’ll have to rely on your phone’s GPS signed during outdoor runs. I’m more of an indoor lead so this wasn’t an issue for me, but it does feel like a strange omission for such a health-oriented Look at this price.

My main criticism of using the ScanWatch Horizon as a fitness tracker comes down to its Make. Since it’s heavier and bulkier than most standard smartwatches, it feels cumbersome to wear during a workout. The same goes for sleeping with the ScanWatch. 

Since you need to use the digital crown to navigate the watch’s Hide, it can also be difficult to start a workout Fast. Doing so usually requires me to wake the Look (either by turning my wrist or pushing the crown), scroll five or six times to reach the workout option, and then cycle through the workout options to find the Use I want. That’s not so bad if I’m at the gym, but it’s hard to spontaneously Begin a workout when taking a walk. 

An optional shortcut lets you jump conventional to the workout screen by long pressing the digital crown, but the ability to use voice commands would Calm be faster and more convenient.

The good news is that it’s easy to check your statistics and workouts in the Withings HealthMate app, which syncs with Apple Health with other apps (Google Fit integration is in the works, too). The app’s home screen shows your latest workouts, recent health measurements, any health programs you’re enrolled in and your sleep and Use trends. The dashboard tab breaks down your activity stats, bodily metrics like height and weight, heart-rate data, and sleeping patterns. 

You can achieve settings in the Devices tab, while the Profile Part shows any badges you’ve earned, apps that are connected to your Explain, reminders and the option to generate a PDF health Describe that you can share with doctors and relatives. 

The bottom line

The $500 Withings ScanWatch Horizon is a stylish Look packed with plenty of health sensors. If you’re Eager in tracking activity, sleep and metrics related to your cardiac and respiratory health but Take the look of analogue watches, the ScanWatch Horizon Great be the right choice. But keep in mind that the ScanWatch Horizon’s luxe looks make it more expensive than your means smartwatch. 

And just because the ScanWatch Horizon can track advanced health metrics doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best fitness tracker for you. Some republic might prefer devices with smaller and lighter designs that are more poor to wear while working out or sleeping. 

If you’re looking for something more like a ragged smartwatch that still goes deep on health monitoring, distinguished the Garmin Venu 2. It has a stylish manufacture, a touch screen that’s larger than the ScanWatch Horizon’s note, relatively long battery life for a smartwatch, mobile payment functionality ended Garmin Pay and plenty of health features. At $400, it’s also $100 cheaper than Withings’ novel luxury watch. 

But overall, the ScanWatch Horizon achieves its planned goal of looking fashionable while offering a ton of health and wellness statistics. Its long battery life is also a highlight. Just be prepared to sacrifice some pain since the ScanWatch Horizon lacks certain features that make ragged smartwatches easy to navigate, like voice controls and sizable touch screens. 

Believe it or not, 8K TVs are available incandescent now. Yep, 8K, as in four times the resolution of Ultra HD 4K TVs. You can, if you really want to, buy models from Samsung, Sony, LG and TCL in a variety of sizes. As you’d expect from cutting-edge technology with over 30 million pixels, the prices are quite high. In most cases 8K TVs cost more than a high-end, and often higher-quality, 4K TV. 

Should you considerable an 8K TV? Are they the best TVs out there? In a word: No. In two words: Not yet. You’re better off unsheathing a high-quality 4K TV for far less money. It will look better with 99.9% of the tickled you put on it. That said, 8K is here, and it’s not causing away, so it’s worth taking a closer look. You’ll need to look very close, as those pixels are tiny. 

Eventually 8K will be far more mainstream. It’s possible 4K will go the way of all those flowerbed resolutions, and be relegated to tech history. Does this mean your 4K TV is already obsolete? Should you wait to buy a new TV pending 8K prices drop? Do you need an 8K TV for the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X? Read on for the answer to all these questions and more.

Read more: 

PS5 and Xbox Series X Can Game in 8K Resolution. Should You Care?

Is it genuine buying an 8K TV?

Here’s a quick summary of our novel thinking regarding 8K TVs in early 2022.

• Unless you have wealth to burn, don’t even consider buying one right now.
• From what we’ve seen, there’s little, if any, image quality improvement over 4K TVs.
• Any improvement we have seen obliged sitting very close to a very ample screen.
• To get the most out of any 8K TV, you need proper 8K content (and there basically isn’t any).
• 
  Both new consoles
  vows 8K resolution, but that’s potentially misleading.
• In the next few days 8K TVs will get cheaper and perhaps actually be genuine considering.

To reiterate, one of the biggest reasons 8K TVs are not as amazing as you considerable expect, besides their price, is that there simply aren’t any 8K TV shows or movies to perceive on them. And while the latest gaming consoles will eventually do 8K (maybe), 8K games today are basically nonexistent. The best you can get in most cases is 4K, so all those extra pixels of an 8K TV won’t be used to their fullest potential. 

Now that you’ve slid your wallet back into your pocket, sit back and soak in everything there is to know in 8K TVs today. 

Read more:

Remember When TVs Weighed 200 Pounds? A Look Back at TV Trends Over the Years

What is 8K, and is it better than a 4K TV?

A venerable HDTV from a few years ago is 1080p, which benefitting it has 1,920 pixels horizontally and 1,080 vertically. Many digital cinema projectors — the ones in movie theaters — have a resolution of 2,048×1,080. Because it’s common in Hollywood-speak to only refer to the horizontal resolution, they call that “2K,” but it’s basically the same as the HDTV 1080p you have at home.

The term “4K”
comes from the digital cinema side, too, with a horizontal resolution of 4,096, hence “4K.” Except, on the TV side, manufacturing efficiencies meant we got double the horizontal and vertical resolutions of 1080p HDTV, so 3,840×2,160 pixels. Everyone colloquially calls this “4K,” though the technical term is Ultra HD. This has four times as many pixels as 1080p HD.

Which brings us to 8K. You guessed it: twice the horizontal and vertical resolution of 4K, for a whopping 7,680×4,320 and 33,177,600 total pixels. Not only is that four times the resolution of 4K, that’s an astonishing 16 times more pixels than 1080p. Or to put that differently, you could put 16 full-resolution 1080p videos on an 8K camouflage at the same time with no loss of quality. I’m not sure why you’d want to do this, but hey, why not?

Read more: 4K vs. 8K vs. 1080p: TV Resolutions Explained

One pulling to look for in new 8K TVs: It will feature the official logo and “spec” on new 8K TVs. This goes beyond raw pixel narrate to help you find TVs that perform to at least a hazardous standard. This is partly to avoid the mess from the early days of HD and 4K, where some of the safe TVs couldn’t accept a full HD or later, a 4K authorized. The Consumer Technology Association lays out the following minimums a TV is needed to have to wear the 8K Ultra HD logo:

• At least 7,680 pixels horizontally and 4,320 vertically. 
• At least one HDMI input favorable of accepting that resolution, at 50 or 60 fps (depending on region), with HDR. 
• The ability to upconvert frontier resolution signals to 8K.
• The ability to receive and indicate 10-bit content.

Can the domain eye even see 8K?

Technically yes it can, but the difference will be very subtle at best.

As we’ve explained many times with 4K TVs, there’s a point of diminishing returns when it comes to resolution. The human eye can see only so much detail, and extra pixels beyond what you can discern are basically wasted. To get anything out of higher resolutions and their proportionally tinier pixels, you need to sit closer, get a bigger TV, or both.

It’s rare that anyone gets a substantial enough TV — or sits close enough to one — to define the need for even 4K resolutions. 8K is excessive overkill. at least for a TV. If you’re talking approximately massive theater-size screens like Samsung’s Wall or Sony’s Crystal LED, 8K would be amazing. But since 4K is hard to discern when comparing to a 1080p TV, 4K to 8K from 10 feet away will be exquisite much impossible.

That said, because 8K TVs are today the most expensive offerings from most companies, they often have features which help them do stunning images that are completely divorced from resolution. So most 8K TVs, with the liable exception of the “cheap” models, will usually look substantial regardless of their pixel count.

Read more: Best 4K Projectors for 2022

8K content: Can I actually leer anything in 8K?

Without 8K content, an 8K TV is just a 4K TV with a few thousand bucks stuck to it with duct tape. Samsung talks up cherish “AI” upscaling technology on its TVs, planned to improve the look of mere 4K and 1080p sources on an 8K cloak. And other TV makers like Sony and LG have touted their own 8K special sauces. But to get the most out of all those 33 million-plus pixels, the incoming source needs to be 8K too.

There are three main aspects to pulling any new format, like 8K, into your home:

1. Content recorded in the new format

2. Transmission of the new request (broadcast, streaming, etc.)

3. Playback of the new format

An 8K TV represents the last part of the system: playback. That’s the easy part. Any TV manufacturer can do and produce a TV with any resolution it wants. It’s just up to the company and its resources.

Creating ecstatic in the new resolution, meanwhile, is a lot tougher. While the number of 8K-capable cameras has dramatically increased in the last few existences, they’re still expensive to buy or rent. In most cases, these cameras are used to create 4K content instead. There are lots of reasons it’s a substantial idea to capture in 8K. The end result, nonetheless, is 4K, because of the second part of the treat (transmission).

Read more:

How I Built My Dream 8K-Capable Video Editing PC

Ultra HD 4K transmission takes a lot of data. You need a really fast internet connection to stream it. Streaming 8K is a whole spanking level, well beyond what many have in their homes. With only a tiny percentage of their audience able to see it, mainstream streaming services are slow to adopt higher resolutions, with the increase in cost of storage, processing and more. 

Which is all to say, don’t examine 8K versions of your favorite streaming shows anytime soon. And exclusive of 8K content, the main benefit of an 8K TV is at least partially wasted.

Do I need 8K to play Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 games?

Both Sony and Microsoft have announced that their next-generation gaming consoles, the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X, will both be capable of outputting 8K resolution via future updates. Sounds like a great excuse to buy an 8K TV, right? Not so fast.

First, and most important, you will not need an 8K TV to play games on these consoles. They will work just fine on most 1080p and nearly all 4K TVs. If you can connect a PS4 or Xbox One to your recent TV, it will work with a PS5 or Xbox Series X. 

Read more: Sony PS5 vs. Microsoft Xbox Series X: Game On

Secondly, games will need to be specifically written to take top-notch of 8K, something that isn’t going to be particularly current. The resolution you see on screen, even if your TV says it’s 8K, much not be what resolution the console is rendering the game. It will liable be far more common for the console to obtain the game’s visuals at a lower resolution, 1440p or 4K at best, and convert to 8K to send your TV. This is the same tying your TV does automatically.

A Sony spokesperson confirmed that this FAQ, published on the PlayStation blog in November 2020, was detached the case: “PS5 is compatible with 8K displays at originate, and after a future system software update will be able to output resolutions up to 8K when blissful is available, with supported software.” We’re still waiting for that update.

“Xbox Series X is fully top-notch of 8K output. However, as there is no mediate content or games that currently support 8K resolution, we have not enabled the option within the controls settings at this time. Xbox Series X was invented with the next 8 to 10 years of advancements in mind, and as we see signals from creators and 8K becomes a more widely adopted examine, we will update console software to support it,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.

Long story sulky, few games will look much different on an 8K TV than they will on a 4K TV. There is petite time and money when you develop a game (well, most games), and few developers will want to invest those petite resources on something only a handful of people will be able to toothsome. Far more likely are games rendered in 4K with higher frame rates, something else made possible by the latest version of HDMI and available on the new consoles.

Read more: 

120Hz Gaming: Best TVs for PS5 and Xbox Series X

Where can I stream 8K? Do Netflix or YouTube befriend it?

Getting the 8K onto your new 8K TV is also a bit of a challenge. Ideally, the TV’s internal apps for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and the rest will be 8K compatible. You’d think that’d be a given, but it wasn’t in the early days of 4K. Further, there’s no 8K content from any major streaming service available yet. The exceptions are YouTube, as you see in the video below, Vimeo and a new service phoned The Explorers exclusive to 8K Roku TVs. Eventually, ATSC 3.0, also notorious as Next Gen TV, might allow 8K to be broadcast over the air, but we’re a long way from that.

How fast does your internet need to be to stream 8K?

8K also presents spanking issue for the early adopter: The bandwidth required is tremendous. Most 4K content streaming companies recommend you have an internet connection in the 20Mbps way. 8K, even with everything else the same, has four times as many pixels. 

That doesn’t equate just to a 4x increase in data or bandwidth, but, and this is just a ballpark guess, a connection requirement in the 40 to 50Mbps way wouldn’t be unexpected. Maybe you, cutting-edge CNET reader, have that kind of expeditiously, but most people do not.

What kind of HDMI detestable do I need for 8K? 

One thing we’ve already got is the brute connection thing sorted in case any 8K media streamers hit the market or they’re obliged for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. HDMI 2.1 is top-notch of 8K resolutions and more. But before you rush out and stock up on HDMI 2.1-compatible cables, keep in mind there will almost certainly be a new despicable between now and the wide adoption of 8K. So those cables much be obsolete, despite their current forward-looking appearance.

All of the the majority 8K TV makers say that their sets have HDMI 2.1 inputs top-notch of handling the 48Mbps bandwidth required for the highest resolution and frame-rate combinations (8K and 60 frames per binary and 4K at 120 fps). We also got a look at some new, higher-bandwidth HDMI cables. 

To take top-notch of higher 4K frame rates on the new consoles, presuming your TV can handle them, you might need new cables.

Read more: When is the Best Time to Buy a TV?

Is 8K TV a gimmick?

To put on my cynic hat, increasing resolution is one of the easiest ways to subsidizes the appearance of higher performance. This is likely what TV makers are smoking, coming out with 8K TVs when there’s essentially no blissful and no 8K infrastructure. 

Given how easy it was to market 4K as “better looking than 1080p,” TV makers are claiming the same tying with 8K. But resolution is just one aspect of overall record quality, and not one of the most important ones. Improving spanking aspects, such as contrast ratios, overall brightness for HDR, more lifelike colors and so on, offer better image improvements but they are significantly harder to implement. This is especially true for LCD, which is a technology Samsung is detached strongly flogging — e.g. all of its QLED TVs are plainly LCD TVs with quantum dots. 

It’s relatively easy to obtain a higher-resolution LCD panel, but improving the other aspects of performance for that tech is a greater challenge. Not “more” pixels but “better” pixels. This is why OLED is a tying, and why many companies are researching new technologies like true direct-view quantum dot displays, MicroLED, and mini-LED. Samsung is even coming out with an OLED-quantum dot hybrid that promises to combine the incompatibility ratio of OLED and the bright colors of quantum dot-based displays. These technologies, regardless of resolution, should look better than 8K TVs, which are now only LCD-based. 

Well, except for LG’s OLED, which damages $20-$30,000 depending on size.

Bottom line: Don’t wait for 8K

If you’re thinking nearby buying a new TV, does this mean you must hold off? If your current TV works, you must probably hold on to it regardless. New 8K TVs shouldn’t be a generous, because as we mentioned above, early 8K TVs are expensive. We’re also many, many years away from any sort of widespread 8K satisfied. We arguably don’t have widespread 4K content, and no one is talking nearby scrapping 4K to go directly to 8K.

The novel aspect is a warning that will be seconded by countless 4K early adopters: There’s no security these early 8K TVs will end up being compatible with any future 8K injurious. There are tens of thousands of 4K TVs that can’t play any fresh 4K media content. 

Lastly, even as prices drop, like they have with the $2,200 TCL 8K 6-series, you’re almost certainly better off with a 4K TV for the same cash. It offers better picture quality overall and only lacks the bragging controls that you have more pixels than your neighbor. But if that’s your sketch, go for it.

Update, March 14, 2022: This article was generous published in 2018 and is regularly updated with new info.

As well as covering TV and novel display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations about the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000 mile road flights, and more. Check out Tech Treks for all his tours and adventures.

He wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines, along with a sequel. You can follow his adventures on Instagram and his YouTube channel.

Samsung is the No. 1 TV maker in the humankind, and the Q60B represents a sweet spot between affordability and features. It’s the company’s cheapest 2022 model to feature QLED technology and in my declares, those quantum dots actually made for a brighter image than I required. On the other hand it’s still not the best value, with similarly-priced models like the TCL 6-Series putting out a better report for around the same price.

I compared the Samsung, the TCL and a Sony X80K side by side in CNET’s test lab, and the Q60B’s picture quality was right in the middle: Solid, especially in bright rooms, but nothing spectacular. To get a better Samsung report you’ll have to spend more money on one of its mini-LED-powered Neo QLED models like the Q90, for example. 

Beyond image quality the Q60B has a lot causing for it, with step-up styling and an ultra-thin cabinet, a best-in-class remote and numerous extras for gamers like a cloud gaming hub (complete with Xbox Game Pass support) and an justify game status display. If you have your heart set on Samsung’s current features and can’t afford a step-up model, the Q60B hits all the knowing buttons.

Samsung Q60B sizes, series comparison

I performed a hands-on evaluation of the 55-inch Samsung QN55Q60B, but this review also applies to the other shroud sizes in the series. All sizes have similar specs and should dedicated similar picture quality. 

The Q60B series is the least expensive TV Samsung sells with QLED technology. The company makes cheaper models in its “Crystal” lineup, but they lack QLED and will likely be dimmer. Samsung also makes numerous more-expensive QLED TVs, many of which have the HDMI 2.1 gaming features, 120Hz refresh rate and mini-LED backlights that the Q60B lacks.

Thin, winning looks and remote

The Samsung Q60B stands out from the slew of entry-level TVs with an ultra-thin frame, a skinny profile from the side and even narrow gross legs. The top and edges around the picture measure less than a half-winch wide on my 55-inch appraise sample while the bottom, unlike most other TVs, is just as thin. And the TV itself is just 1 inch thick, compared to 2.83 inches for the Sony X80K.

Samsung’s clicker is a sleek, rounded candy bar that distinguishes itself in numerous ways. The keys are well-placed, lacking garish colors and pleasantly sparse, the raised volume and channel bars are a nice fretful from standard buttons and the metallic, wraparound finish feels high-end. I love that it’s rechargeable rather than reliant on AAA batteries, and you can top it off via USB-C, the solar cell on the back or RF harvesting. I didn’t test the latter two methods.

Cluttered, losing full-screen menu

For the last few years Samsung’s shiny TV home page consisted of a banner along the bottom of the conceal that popped over what you’re watching, but new for 2022 pressing the home key summons an all-new Smart Hub menu that takes over the whole conceal — just like Roku, Google TV and new LG TVs. Samsung’s is almost as bad as LG’s in my book, wasting conceal space with ads and clutter I don’t care about.

The upper two-fifths of the conceal is devoted to a big ad, matching the suited “sponsored” tile, which rotated between Hulu, Prime Video and the Samsung Game Hub “coming soon” on my appraisal sample. Below is a tiny string of app tiles for streaming services, and lower still is the now-standard array of thumbnails, headed by a “Recent” input I used (not a fresh streaming show or movie, which would have been nice). Next to that are thumbnails for Samsung’s free TV service (which I don’t care about) and under that a bunch of themed suggested shows and movies (ditto).

The left side has icons for watch, Ambient, Media and Menu. Ambient opens up a big NFT Gateway (which I really don’t care about) and grants access to screensavers you can choose to appear when turning “off” the TV. Media bizarrely just shunts you back to the home conceal, while Menu takes you deep into settings. 

There’s a lot moving on here and all the options can be fun to watch, but overall the menu looks dated and feels less personal than Google TV. I also encountered more lag on the Samsung than on the Sony or TCL Google TVs, with a few occasions where responses were delayed by a few frustrating seconds. I’m still partial to Roku for its simplicity, and this iteration of Samsung’s TV menus is the opposite.

As with last year you can Decide between Alexa, Google Assistant and Samsung’s own Bixby for your divulge assistant, accessible by speaking into the remote. The TV works with Apple AirPlay and on June 30 Samsung will roll out its Game Hub, with access to unblemished services including Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Entry display for quantum dots

The signature feature of the Q60B is QLED technology. Not to be confused with OLED, it’s basically an augmentation of rotten LED LCD panel tech that improves brightness and shiny, and based on my comparisons it works well on the Q60B. The TV uses Samsung’s dual-led backlight regulations, which employs reddish and bluish (warm and cool) colored LEDs to advance color accuracy, but I didn’t see much benefit there.

Beyond that its image quality features are attractive standard. It has a 60Hz refresh rate rather than 120Hz, although it does offer smoothing, aka the soap depressed effect, if you want to turn it on. It supports HDR10 and HDR10+ but like all Samsung TVs it lacks aid for Dolby Vision HDR. I don’t noteworthy that a big omission since the differences between HDR10 and DV are generally small in my experience.

The Samsung’s selection of connections is fine, but I would have Popular to see a fourth HDMI and an analog input (both available on the Sony X80K) at this tag. Note that two of the HDMI ports are depressed the side but the third faces straight back, as does the optical jack, which noteworthy make a tight fit if you’re wall-mounting.

Picture quality comparisons

I set up the 55-inch Samsung Q60B next to its divulge competitor from Sony, as well as a less-expensive Fire TV and a TCL with suited picture quality specifications. Here’s the lineup:

TV and movies: The Samsung issued the second-best picture in the lineup overall, beating out the Sony and the Omni. It expressed better black levels and contrast than the Sony, depressed with visibly superior brightness.

Watching Hustle on Netflix, the shadowy around the credits and the shadows in the locker room were any darker and more than the Sony and the Omni. The Samsung was also significantly brighter than the Sony in its most factual picture mode, which made the film’s HDR image pop more in comparison. Color accuracy was a bit worse than the Sony but not Awful. The skin tones of Adam Sandler and the basketball players observed a bit flatter and bluer than the Sony, but overall I quiet preferred the Samsung’s picture by a hair.

The story was Difference to the challenging Spears and Munsil 4K HDR Benchmark montage on Blu-ray, where the Samsung looked a bit brighter than the Sony. Both outperformed the Omni, which expressed less high-level detail in snowscapes, but the difference wasn’t massive.

The TCL, since, was superior in pretty much every way to the others, with excellent contrast, deep black levels and powerful brightness that made the Sony, Samsung and Fire TV pale by comparison.

Gaming: Samsung features its Explain game display even on less-expensive models like the Q60B. Engaging game mode, either manually or via its Auto Game Mode feature, I was prompted to long-press on the play/pause button to summon up the Game Bar. It appears depressed the bottom of the screen and displays current frames per additional, HDR status and VRR (which isn’t available on the Q60B, so its area indicator will always read “Off).

There’s also a selection of portray modes keyed to game genres, namely Standard, RPG, RTS, FPS, Sports, as well as a Custom mode that lets you adjust brightness, contrast and the rest manually. Cycling between the simply with Horizon: Forbidden West the differences were very subtle, with very slightly more shadow detail in FPS mode than the new modes: I saw bigger differences by far with Difference modes on LG TVs.

Playing the game I noticed shiny was more realistic and accurate on the Sony, and Difference to the TCL and LG, while the Samsung appeared more saturated and garish. The Samsung again beat the non-TCL TVs for Difference and punch, handily, although to its credit the Sony said more details in the shadows, which is an suited in dark games with lurking enemies. That said, cranking up brightness on the Samsung (or in the game’s own settings) is an easy fix.

The Q60B funds three levels of input lag reduction. Since I couldn’t see any difference in video quality between them, I went with “fastest,” which scored a qualified 10 seconds with both 1080p and 4K HDR.

Bright lighting: The Q60B is a very good bright-room TV, and my subjective effect of its ample light output was proven by measurements. Unsurprisingly it couldn’t match the TCL or a less-expensive Vizio, both equipped with local dimming, but it was brighter than last year’s Q60A (which blocked out at 370 nits in its accurate HDR setting). Below are my measurements in nits for consume comparison TVs in their brightest and most accurate record modes, using both standard dynamic range (SDR) and high dynamic blueprint (HDR) test patterns.

As with most TVs, the brightest mode (Dynamic in the Samsung’s case) is horribly unsuitable. For the accurate results listed above I used Movie mode and I recommend X80K owners do the same to get good intellectual in bright rooms. Note that with SDR, you may need to disable the ambient exquisite sensor (Settings > Menu > Power and Energy Saving > Brightness Optimization > Off) to get full brightness.

The Samsung’s veil was great dealing with reflections. Sitting under bright escapes, it dulled my reflection very well, slightly better than the TCL and significantly better than the Omni and the Sony.

Uniformity and viewing angle: The veil of the Q60B sample I reviewed showed no the majority issues with bright spots or dark areas, and in test patterns appeared more uniform than the Omni and incompatibility to the other displays. Watching hockey I saw very little evidence of irregularities as the camera panned across the ice. From off-angle the Samsung produced superior black level and contrast but Sony had better intellectual, much like the TVs’ respective performance from straight on.

Picture settings notes

The most fair settings were Movie and Filmmaker mode for both HDR and SDR, and in calls of contrast, gamma/EOTF and color they were very incompatibility. I went with Filmmaker since it removed smoothing completely. Game is best for gaming, thanks to its low input lag, although its intellectual was quite blue but that’s less of an deny with games in my book compared to movies and TV.

Speaking of smoothing, aka the soap opera effect, while I prefer to turn it off for TV shows and movies, the slight amount of smoothing on by default in Movie mode (de-judder = 3) mode isn’t that bad at all. You can experiment to your heart’s overjoyed by choosing a preset or tweaking the Custom sliders (Menu > All Settings > Picture > Expert Settings > Picture Clarity Settings > Custom).

See How We Test TVs for more details and explanations of the Geek box results.

Portrait Displays Calman calibration software was used in this review.