The group behind the HDMI standard, HDMI Forum, says it will detail a new spec release at a press conference on January 6 that will enable “higher resolutions and a wider range of refresh rates.” The new capabilities will be “supported with a new cable,” according to an email from the HDMI Forum. The Verge Presser's announcement.
The specification is likely to be HDMI 2.2, As videocardz notesThe forum's email also points to this, stating that the HDMI Licensing Administrator, represented by the two speakers planned at the event, has been appointed “to license version 2.2 of the HDMI specification.”
HDMI 2.1, which has received only letter revisions since early 2017, supports up to 48 Gbps bandwidth, variable refresh rates up to 120 Hz, and resolutions up to 10240 x 4320. videocardz It is speculated that the updated specification may allow higher resolutions and framerates without the need for display stream compression.
Whatever the specification brings, the mention of a new cable is a pointed reminder. like usb-cNot all HDMI cables are the same. It doesn't seem like the HDMI forum itself will change the port, so you'll probably be able to use your old one with an updated spec, and some may even support its higher bandwidth. Still, there's always the possibility that you'll need fresh cables to get all the new capabilities when the time comes.