Yong Seok-woo, president and head of Samsung’s visual display business division
Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s top smart TV maker, plans to offer seven years of a free upgrade of its open-source smart TV operating system Tizen for its artificial intelligence-powered TVs as the company strives to cement its market leadership.
The move also comes as the South Korean tech giant faces growing competition from Chinese rivals such as TCL Technology Group Corp. (TCL) and Hisense Group, which are fast encroaching upon Samsung’s AI TV market share.
“We will widen the gap in market share with Chinese companies with the seven-year free upgrade of Tizen applied to AI TVs,” said Yong Seok-woo, president and head of Samsung’s visual display business division, at a business briefing on Thursday.
Initially, the 7-year free update service will apply to models released this March and some products released in 2023.
Yong said connectivity offered by the Tizen OS, is a differentiator that sets Samsung apart from Chinese companies.
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According to market research firm Omdia, Samsung captured a 28.8% share of the global TV market in the first half, maintaining its No. 1 ranking for the 19th consecutive year.
Crosstown rival LG Electronics Inc. comes in second with a 16.6% market share in terms of value, while Chinese brands TCL and Hisense followed with 12.1% and 10.0%, respectively.
The two Chinese brands control a combined 21.2% of the global TV market share, closely following industry leader Samsung.
TIZEN: HUB OF AI HOME
Tizen is a Linux-based, open-source web OS that supports various devices including TVs, mobile devices, home appliances and even signage.
As of the end of 2023, Tizen powered over 270 million Samsung smart TVs, up 440% from 50 million in 2015.
Since its launch in 2015, Tizen has become a dominant OS for smart TVs
With the Tizen OS, Stellar TV users will access a variety of features offered by Samsung such as Samsung TV Plus, a vast array of free entertainment channels and on-demand content; Gaming Hub, a gaming platform that provides an integrated gaming experience of over 1,000 titles; and SmartThings: a smart home connectivity device.
Last month, Samsung said Tizen will be embedded in German premium TV brand Loewe’s latest model Stellar, further extending its Tizen licensing program.
Analysts its deal with Loewe will strengthen Samsung’s bid to challenge Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS not just in hardware such as TVs, home appliances and robots but also in the software segment amid the AI boom.
“AI TVs will serve as the hub of AI home that connects other AI appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners,” Yong said. “We aim to advance the AI home era by allowing users to monitor and control peripheral devices through the TV even when the TV is off or when the user is outside.”
AI TV FEATURES
A leading smartphone maker, Samsung also offers a seven-year free software update for its flagship Galaxy S24 series released earlier this year to take the lead in the AI smartphone market.
Samsung’s Tizen OS powers German premium TV brand Loewe’s latest model Stellar
On Thursday, Samsung unveiled a new AI voice technology that can perform multiple commands at once unlike previous smart TVs, which only performed one command at a time.
For example, the technology makes AI TVs understand a user request like: “Find a movie that features both a chicken and a detective, then turn the TV off after two hours.”
Samsung’s AI TVs offer the generative wallpaper function, in which AI recommends images that match a user’s feelings and mood of the day.
AI TVs’ Relumino Mode configures content on the screen by amplifying contrast, brightness and contours for users with low vision.
From next year, Samsung plans to add a real-time translation function that shows Korean subtitles for English broadcasts.
By Chae-Yeon Kim
why29@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.
