If you’re looking to invest in a television that can withstand years of usage, tune into this new announcement from Samsung.
Speaking to The Korea Economic Daily, Samsung president Yoon Seok-woo said that to “widen the gap in market share with Chinese companies,” Samsung would begin offering seven years of free Tizen OS upgrades to its AI-powered TVs. Earlier this year, Samsung made the same offer to cell phone customers.
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The upgrades will apply to Samsung’s 2024 TVs and a few 2023 TVs. The company hasn’t said exactly what the seven years of upgrades might include, but hopefully, it will bring new features to older sets. 2024 saw the addition of some pretty useful AI-powered features like Real Depth Enhancer, Now+, and Active Voice Amplifier Pro, so this could be an intriguing offer.
It seems like Samsung is going all-in on artificial intelligence with Yoon explaining that “AI TV will act as the hub of the AI home, connecting other AI appliances like refrigerators and air conditioners.” Samsung will expand the AI home era by letting you monitor and control devices through your TV, even when it’s off. That connectivity is one of the biggest differences from Samsung’s competition, Yoon said.
The move follows a similar one from LG, which recently offered customers five free years of OS upgrades.
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Samsung currently holds the top place in the world TV market (it topped our list of the best TVs of 2024), making up 28.8% of revenue. TCL and Hisense, though, are Chinese-based competitors, making up a close 22.1%. It’s not hard to see why Samsung might be trying to widen its lead.
Tizen OS, Samsung’s operating system, is on more than 270 million smart TVs, making it the world’s largest smart TV OS.
