Changhong, a Chinese home appliances company, has put out a new 8K TV that costs around $817 (1 million KRW). It also released a 5G 8K TV equipped with a 5G telecommunication module which is the first in the industry. Because Changhong’s TVs cost not even half of LG Electronics’ TVs, it will be interesting to see what kind of impact it will have on the 8K TV market in the future.
According to the industry, Changhong recently held an online product launching event and introduced Flash series, Explorer, Artist, and D8K series that are Changhong’s 8K 5G TV brands.
Flash series were developed in a collaboration with Huawei. Changhong used Huawei’s 5G telecommunication module chip and BOE’s display for Flash series. Changhong explained that Flash series emphasize speed, large capacity, and low power consumption.
For Explorer series, Changhong put out a new 110-inch 8K TV that is currently the world’s biggest 8K TV. Artist 8K TV is equipped with JBL’s sound system.
One thing that capture’s people’s attention is Changhong’s policy on prices of its 8K TVs. Changhong’s 8KD series out of 8K LCD TVs that it just launched cost between $572 (700,000 KRW) and $1,225 (1.5 million KRW) for 55 inches to 75 inches. This range of price is not even half of prices of 8K LCD TVs of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.
As Changhong is carrying out an offensive price policy for its 8K TVs, it is likely that its policy will have a significant impact on the global 8K TV market in the future. Changhong is aggressively expanding its 8K TV business through 8K OLED TVs and 8K LCD TVs.

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<Changhong’s 8K TV>

“Although there can be differences in specifications and panels, it can be difficult to see that the current price gap between South Korean 8K TV and Chinese 8K TV will continue to be huge.” said a representative for the industry. “If Chinese companies continue to lower their prices on TVs, it will be inevitable that other companies will also have to start lowering their prices as well.”
There is a high chance that other major Chinese TV makers such as TCL and Hisense will also put out 8K TVs at low prices. Although these companies mainly target the Chinese market, they have recently turned their eyes to global markets.
It is also expected that 8K TV will become generalized very soon. The global 8K TV market has had a limited growth because there is a perception that 8K TVs are very expensive. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics recently expanded their lineups of 8K TVs and are focused on expanding the market. If Chinese companies join them with 8K TVs that cost considerably less, generalization of the global 8K TV market will start to gain momentum starting from this year.
According to a market research company called IHS Market, the percentage of global 8K TV sales out of premium TVs that cost more than $2,500 increased from 1.2% in 2018 to 8% in 2019. IHS Market predicts that the percentage will surpass 30% this year and cover more than 50% in three years from now.
Staff Reporter Park, Sora | srpark@etnews.com