Samsung has announced that it will release free updates to its Tizen smart TV platform for the next seven years, as reported by FlatpanelsHD.
Starting with the 2024 models, and continuing with some 2023 models later, Samsung TV owners can expect updates to the Tizen smart TV platform built into their TVs. While specific details are still scarce, this should mean that users will get many of the same new features that will be found on newer models from 2025 onwards.
This follows in the footsteps of LG, which announced a five-year commitment to upgrade models from 2024, 2023, and even 2022 with free updates to the relevant webOS, just behind newer TVs. For example, 2022 models will get webOS 23 in 2024, webOS 24 in 2025, and so on.
Samsung was one of the last brands to hold off on these upgrades. The latest version of its Tizen smart TV platform was reserved for newer models, while brands like Roku, Google TV, Fire TV, and more all offer upgrades to their smart TV platforms for both older and newer models with each update. This makes it preferable to use a streaming box over your TV’s software if it’s more than a few years old.
It’s time
It’s surprising that Samsung, maker of some of the best TVs on the market, has taken so long to provide these free updates to Tizen. This has forced Samsung fans and Tizen users alike to jump to the latest models whenever they want access to the latest version of Tizen, especially if they want to avoid having to jump to Fire TV, Roku and the like, which are available on some of the best streaming devices.
Thankfully, it has now listened to users and seen what the competition, primarily LG, have been doing and followed suit. In recent reviews of Samsung TVs, such as the Samsung S95D (the best OLED TV of 2024 in terms of raw performance) or Samsung QN85D (a more entry-level mini-LED set) Tizen has been a consistent highlight and while it might not be everyone’s favourite, its easy-to-use layout and strong library of apps and features mean it’s one of the better smart TV platforms out there.
By offering these free updates, Samsung is addressing one of the biggest issues that has been criticized by users and critics alike: it prevents users from feeling like they need to upgrade their TV unnecessarily, for fear of apps disappearing or performing poorly or features missing.
It’s a welcome announcement that puts consumers first, which – after a year of news about smart TV platforms featuring ads, ads, ads – is a sight to behold.