Chinese brand TCL today at the all-digital CES 2021 announced that all of its 2021 6-Series Roku TVs will feature 8K resolution, up from 4K, with the lineup set to begin rolling out later this year. As with TCL's other recent Roku TVs, these 8K models should support AirPlay 2 for wirelessly streaming audio and video to the TV from Apple devices like an iPhone or iPad, as well as HomeKit for controlling the TV with Siri and the Home app.
TCL also plans to releases its first 85-inch Roku TVs this year, including two 4K models that should support AirPlay 2 and HomeKit. Exact pricing, availability, and specifications have yet to be disclosed for any of the TVs.
In the home audio department, TCL is teaming up with Roku to launch new "Roku TV Ready" sound bars this year, including wired and wireless options, with advantages being TV and sound bar control with one remote, automatic software updates, consolidated on-screen sound settings, and optimized audio/video synchronization.
One of TCL's new sound bars will be the Alto 82i with Dolby Atmos surround sound, dual built-in subwoofers, and support for AirPlay 2, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant, set to launch in the third quarter of 2021.
Apple is planning to debut a high-end secondary version of AirPods Pro 3 this year, sitting in the lineup alongside the current model, reports suggest.
Back in September 2025, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to introduce a successor to the AirPods Pro 3 in 2026. This would be somewhat unusual since Apple normally waits around three years to make major...
Tuesday January 20, 2026 2:34 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Over the last few months, rumors around the iPhone 18 Pro's front-panel design have been conflicted, with some supply-chain leaks pointing to under-display Face ID, reports suggesting a top-left hole-punch camera, and debate over whether the familiar Dynamic Island will shrink, shift, or disappear entirely.
Today, Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital shared new details that appear to clarify the ...
Wednesday January 21, 2026 10:54 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In addition to updating many of its existing products, Apple is expected to unveil five all-new products this year, including a smart home hub, a Face ID doorbell, a MacBook with an A18 Pro chip, a foldable iPhone, and augmented reality glasses.
Below, we have recapped rumored features for each product.
Smart Home Hub
Apple home hub (concept)
Apple's long-rumored smart home hub should...
Tuesday January 20, 2026 4:36 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple's App Store, iTunes Store, and Apple TV service are experiencing an outage at the current time, according to Apple's System Status page.
Apple says that some users may be experiencing issues with the App Store and iTunes Store. Apple also says some users may be seeing intermittent issues with Apple TV. The Apple TV Channels feature is down too, and users may be unable to access some...
Wednesday January 21, 2026 12:31 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is working on a small, wearable AI pin equipped with multiple cameras, a speaker, and microphones, reports The Information. If it actually launches, the AI pin will likely run the new Siri chatbot that Apple plans to unveil in iOS 27.
The pin is said to be similar in size to an AirTag, with a thin, flat, circular disc shape. It has an aluminum and glass shell, and two cameras at the...
Ugh. Nobody needs 8K TVs at these display sizes (unless you're sitting close up in front of them because otherwise you can't tell the difference, even with 20/20 vision). I could only kind of tell a difference in resolution on my 65" LG C9, but I got a sturdy ass mount that extends it out from the wall about 2ft closer. I use that when watching 4K movies and it makes the display size a lot bigger than the apparent size of 77" stuck to the wall. By moving it closer, I can really see the increase in resolution.
But here is the big downside to all these 8K TVs: They'll start only putting the new display technology that matters (better color, dynamic range, panel technology, refresh rate, etc into 8K displays instead of 4K, much like they did with 1080p and 4K back in the day. And this will only serve to keep the prices of TVs very high as 4K TVs drop in price with outdated specs. This is probably a good year to jump on 4K OLED if you haven't already. I did last year and it's great and will hopefully last me for a while. I bought my LG C9 after the CX was announced and saved a lot. I recommend others to do the same with the CX this year if you can afford it. Great TVs.
85" 8K TVs don't really make any sense to me. A 36-42" 8K desktop display makes some sense to me, as you sit a lot closer. But 85"? For most living rooms, 4K would do just as well. For 8K you need like over 120" for it to be worthwhile for most setups, and by that point you're talking about needing a second mortgage. You can probably start to see some benefit around 100" from a typical viewing distance. I guess if you have a tiny apartment and are sitting 5ft from the TV then this might be worth it, but then you have other factors to consider: Do you have enough wall space in a tiny apartment? Will you feel comfortable sitting only 4-5ft from a giant TV display? Will the HDR scorch your retinas from that distance? Are you likely to find much 8K content in the coming years? Many TV streaming services are still only 1080p. I think Fox was the only app I found streaming 4K NFL Playoffs this weekend. As slow as they move I expect it to be another 10 years before 8K starts to come online.
It just seems like the display resolution to screen size to amount of space it takes up is reaching a point of imbalance with extremely diminishing returns. But someone always comes on here and says I'm a luddite or something, even though we're talking about exceeding human vision at this point. There will probably never be enough processing power, but display resolution? Definitely hitting a wall on that.
