samsung announced that its newer tvs will receive operating system updates for at least seven years. this commitment applies to models released in 2023 and march 2024. the updates will cover ai-based features, marking a significant move in the industry.
Tizen OS Extended Support
this announcement came from samsung’s digital research lab in gyeonggi province. it aligns with samsung’s plan to offer seven years of software updates for the galaxy s24 smartphone series. yoon seok-yoon, president of the visual display business division, emphasized that the seven-year free upgrade of tizen os on ai tvs aims to increase samsung’s market share, especially against chinese competitors.
Rising Market Competition
samsung, the largest smart tv seller globally, faces intense competition from chinese brands like tcl. samsung’s tv market share dropped from 20.3% in q1 2023 to 18.8% in q1 2024. meanwhile, tcl’s share rose from 9.8% to 11.6%. the south korean government has even pushed samsung and lg to cooperate, leading samsung to sell tvs with oled panels made by lg display.
Tackling E-Waste Concerns
samsung’s commitment to longer software updates addresses growing concerns about e-waste and the issue of expensive products losing support. research shows that the average tv lasts about seven years. however, many brands offer software updates for a shorter period. samsung’s seven-year commitment exceeds lg’s recent announcement of four os updates over five years. this move could push other companies to extend support and help users keep their devices longer.
Comparing Other Brands
other companies offer longer support. for instance, apple has provided updates for its first apple tv since 2015. roku continues to update tvs released in 2014. however, most tv oems and streaming device makers could improve transparency by informing buyers how long a device will receive software updates before they make a purchase.
