The HDMI 2.2 standard is set to double its bandwidth to 96Gbps, although most users will wait until next year before anything useful happens.
For those not in the know, the new standard was teased at CES 2025 and formally released by the HDMI Forum in June 2025. This means that we should see uncompressed 4K video at up to 240Hz when manufacturers can be bothered.
The spec can hit 4K at 480Hz using 4:2:0 chroma subsampling and handle uncompressed RGB 8K at 60Hz. With compression still available, it can wander into daft territory such as 1440p above 1,000Hz.
According to Techspot gamers will be the obvious target. More headroom makes it easier to push high refresh rates at 4K and beyond without so many compromises, workarounds and cable-related tantrums.
The bandwidth leap comes from FRL2, the updated signalling technology behind HDMI 2.2. The silicon side is already moving, although not fast enough to justify buying anything today.
HDMI Licensing Administrator CEO and president Rob Tobias told ARMdevices at Computex 2026: “We’re hearing chip manufacturers will start to sample their FRL2 chips this year. And so we should start to see some 96 or up to 96 gigabit HDMI 2.2 products next year.”
Certification work is still underway, with the first compatible devices expected in 2027. That means the shiny future remains parked behind the usual wall of chip schedules, product cycles and marketing fog.
The headline 96Gbps figure is a bit slippery. HDMI 2.2 will arrive in several tiers, including 64Gbps and 80Gbps versions, and certification does not force kit makers to support the top speed.
That means two products wearing an HDMI 2.2 badge could behave very differently. Buyers will need to read the spec sheet.
On PCs, HDMI still has a fight on its hands. DisplayPort 2.1 already delivers up to 80Gbps and has become common on high-end monitors.
For enthusiasts running several displays, HDMI has not been the favourite cable for a while. Licensing costs could slow HDMI 2.2 adoption further, because nobody in tech likes paying fees unless customers do it first.
HDMI’s stronger kingdom remains the living room. ARC, CEC and ALLM are already baked into tellies, soundbars and AV receivers, often with just enough weirdness to keep installers employed.
HDMI 2.2 adds Latency Indication Protocol, or LIP, to tighten audio and video synchronisation. That should help with soundbars and receivers, where lip sync can still go sideways on expensive gear.
The problem is that current content does not need most of this. Games and video still sit well below HDMI 2.1 limits, and 4K at 120Hz remains more promise than everyday reality.
Future consoles may use higher refresh rates, but that needs hardware, software and display panels to line up. They rarely do that without several rounds of consumer confusion.
GPU support is not expected until late 2027 or later. Early adoption will probably live in premium hardware where the price tag is large enough to require emotional support.
TV support could be patchy, too. HDMI features often depend on the processing chips inside the set, which has made even high-end models oddly inconsistent before.
For now, HDMI 2.2 is mostly future-proofing and product-positioning ammo. It sets a higher ceiling, while most users remain stuck in rooms where HDMI 2.1 is barely being stretched.
