Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more and more common in smart TVs, and it seems Samsung is ready to ramp up the updates for its own TVs. Samsung is now guaranteeing that users of AI smart TVs will enjoy seven years' worth of Tizen operating system updates.
It is believed that this is because the South Korean tech giant wants to compete withh its Chinese rivals by announcing longer support for their devices. The smart TV industry is rather cutthroat and, with Chinese tech companies already on the rise, Samsung is look to maintain its grasp on the market.
Samsung's AI Smart TVs to Get 7 Years of Tizen OS Updates
Business Korea shared a recent announcement made by Samsung Electronics at its Suwon Campus that promised seven years' worth of updates for its AI smart TVs that are powered by Tizen OS. These includes several models that were released last year, as well as those released from March 2024 onwards.
Prior to this, Samsung only offered bug fixes for its Tizen OS for smart TVs and was reportedly scrimping on actual OS updates for its large displays. Because of this new announcement, AI smart TV models release from March 2024 onwards will first get the said seven-year Tizen OS updates from Samsung.
Older devices will later receive the updates. However, Samsung has yet to expound on what kind of updates should be expected for the TVs.
Chinese Rivals Rise in Smart TV Market
This latest move by Samsung allows the company to remain competitive in the market as rival Chinese tech companies continue to rise, particularly in the smart TV market. According to Omdia's study (via The Verge), Samsung currently has a 29% market share in 2024's first half, which is lower by 2% compared to 2023.
On the other hand, Chinese company TCL rose to 12.1%, while Hisense already has 10%. Samsung has claimed that this seven-year free Tizen OS upgrade for AI smart TVs can widen the gap in market shares against its Chinese rivals.
Samsung's AI Smart TVs: Is It Worth It?
Nowadays, a good number of tech and devices found in the market has AI capabilities, including mobile devices, computers, and even smart TVs. It's no surprise then that Samsung, one of the leading companies in the world that offer smart TVs, has ramped up the capabilities of its products.
One of the most significant upgrades made by Samsung is upgrading the AI experience with its Bixby chatbot. This latest update covers devices that are compatible with Bixby, including smartphones, smartwatches, and smart TVs.
While the generative AI experience is best on mobile devices, smartwatches, and computers, its availability on smart TVs allows for AI to experienced at home or in the office.
Samsung has been known as the leader in the TV market, but its updates for Tizen OS has been known for being limited. The newly promised seven years' worth of updates seek to change this, and the company has to wait and see how this will affect their market shares in the future.
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