HDMI 2.2 is set to come to TVs and monitors next year, bringing uncompressed 4K at ridiculous frame rates – here’s what to expect from the next-gen connector and who it’s actually most useful for

The first HDMI 2.2 products are likely to arrive in 2027
Massively increased bitrates with 4K 480Hz support or 10K resolution
Great for PC gaming, but won’t make much of a difference to TV viewers

HDMI 2.2 is coming and it could be a very big deal for gamers. That’s because it delivers double the bandwidth of HDMI 2.1: up to 96 Gbps.

This means that HDMI 2.2 is capable of delivering uncompressed 4K at up to 240Hz (current HDMI can only do this using Display Stream Compression, aka DSC) or uncompressed 4K at 480Hz with 4:2:0 chroma subsampling, and it can also deliver uncompressed RGB 8K at 60Hz. And by using DSC, it’s capable of delivering 1440p at rates exceeding 1,000Hz.

There’s one important qualifier, though: Devices can be HDMI 2.2 certified without delivering the fastest data speeds, so you’ll need to study the spec sheets for any potential purchases.

Will HDMI 2.2 be a big thing?

The specs are impressive, although it will be available in three variants, all of which are faster than HDMI 2.1: 64Gbps, 80Gbps and 96Gbps.

Performance for gaming is particularly impressive, but we already have DisplayPort 2.1 at up to 80 Gbps in many of the best gaming monitors, so there isn’t a hugely pressing need to upgrade. And HDMI requires licensing fees that are likely to be higher than for DisplayPort.

Chances are, if you’re into high-end gaming hardware, you’ve already gone down the DisplayPort route, especially if you have a multi-monitor setup, but HDMI 2.2 should mean more choice among premium displays.

HDMI has several advantages in living rooms, thanks to features such as ARC (Audio Return Channel), CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) and ALLM (Auto Low-Latency Mode), so it’s conceivable that the PlayStation 6 could embrace the higher bitrates of HDMI 2.2 – although games only rarely achieve the achievable 4K 120Hz, and it’s not certain that HDMI is already 2chi to. really change with PS6.

But some 4K 240Hz gaming may be possible, and the best gaming TVs may offer the refresh rate to support it, so there may be an advantage for the most hardcore. For most living room use though, HDMI 2.1 is probably overkill – it’s really best for PC connection when it comes to sheer data speed.

However, there is another advantage of HDMI 2.2: LIP, which stands for Latency Indication Protocol. LIP improves audio sync on home theater setups such as soundbars or AV receivers – this can be a fairly common problem with even the best soundbars, so we’ll keep an eye on how well this works.

For most of us, I think HDMI 2.2 is generally something to keep an eye on rather than something to demand as soon as it debuts. HDMI 2.2 is made with 10K resolution in mind, but the vast majority of commercial and streamed videos top out at 4K.

It’s something to think about when buying new AV hardware in the future (there’s a good chance we’ll have to wait for 2028’s CES for widespread adoption in TVs), but at least initially it’ll be more about marketing than real-world benefits for most of us.

And keep in mind that HDMI adoption is really driven by the companies that provide the connection hardware.

Even today, not all high-end TVs have four HDMI 2.1 ports because the most powerful processing chips used by many manufacturers do not support this. Some lower-end TVs from the same manufacturers do because those chips have more up-to-date HDMI controls – it’s a bit of a mess. I suspect HDMI 2.2 will have the same kind of slightly chaotic support.

On PCs, we’ll be relying on GPUs to support the technology, and new models aren’t expected until late 2027 or beyond – so there’s a good chance we’ll see HDMI 2.2 on them. But like HDMI 2.1, it will probably launch on the top models first.

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