Two months after its South Korean reveal, Samsung is finally ready to bring its lavish 98-inch 8K QLED TV to the States in the form of the Samsung QN990C.
Announced at CEDIA — a consumer tech trade show that’s dedicated to higher-end AV technology — the TV uses both quantum dot and Mini-LED technology for higher brightness and better color saturation. In terms of audio, the QN990C uses a 120W speaker array for out-of-the-box Dolby Atmos, and will support HDR10+ alongside basic HDR10 forms of HDR.
So how much is it going to set you back? Well, the Samsung QN990C is certainly not cheap. When we reported on it last month we ballparked the TV at around $38,000 based on its Korean price of 49.9 million won — but now, Samsung has revealed that the QN990C will cost $40,000; it's now available to purchase on Samsung's website.
Want to see it for yourself? The bad news is that, unfortunately, this isn’t a TV you’re going to find at an electronics store like Best Buy — you’ll have to go through a custom installer, hence why Samsung chose CEDIA to announce it.
Is 8K the future of TVs?
There are few people who would turn down a 98-inch QLED TV — especially one from Samsung that offers Dolby Atmos out of the box. That said, prices for TVs at this size are still prohibitively high.
The cheapest 98-inch TV we've seen announced so far this year is the Samsung 98Q80C 4K QLED TV that was announced back in June, but even that model costs a cool $8,000 — about four times the cost of a more reasonably sized Samsung TV.
If you look at the historical data, however, TVs have only come down in price over the last two decades. Before, it wouldn't be feasible to find a 4K 65-inch TV for under $2,000, and now almost all of them cost below that.
So what's the takeaway? While we don't expect many folks will be rushing to the bank to take out a loan for the new 98-inch QN990C 8K QLED, chances are good that in just a few years a similar model will cost a fraction of the price. However, even if you have one of the best 8K TVs, there isn't much content out there that can take advantage of its resolution.
Not ready for a 98-inch TV? Check out our list of the best 75-inch TVs that offer slightly more screen real estate without the exorbitant price tag.
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