Samsung Commits to 7 Years of Updates for Smart TVs, Starting with 2023 Models

Samsung is extending its seven year update commitment beyond mobile devices

Samsung hopes that pushing AI and better software updates will allow the company to be more competitive against a growing number of affordable sets out of China. It's become increasingly apparent that software updates are critical for keeping your computers, phones, and tablets safe on the web. For their part, Google and Samsung have both gotten more proactive regarding mobile updates. Several flagship phones now offer seven years of OS and security updates. But one product category that tends to get neglected? Smart TVs. Thankfully, Samsung is finally doing something about it. New reports from Business Insider and KED (via ArsTechnica) were the first to break the news that Samsung has announced it is extending its seven-year Android update policy to its Tizen OS-powered TV sets. As with its mobile efforts, this pledge includes not only critical security fixes but also general software updates. To be fair, Samsung isn't the first TV manufacturer to commit to better update practices. In fact, it's actually kind of late to the party, but at least Samsung now offers the longest guarantee. Late last year, LG committed to at least four years of OS upgrades for all 2024 models, as well as some 2023 and 2022 models retroactively. We've also seen many smaller platforms disappear in favor of more secure, better-maintained platforms like Android TV and Fire TV. For example, Panasonic recently dropped its myHomeScreen in favor of Amazon's streaming platform. Samsung might be late, but we're still pretty excited to see a seven-year update cycle here. After all, most of us keep our TVs for at least five years. Heck, I have an old "dumb" TV in my daughter's bedroom that's now about 13 years old. Previously, you'd buy a new smart TV only to find that new streaming services and apps weren't supported after a couple of years. But this new change should make that a thing of the past. It also means you don't necessarily need the latest set to have the best software experience possible. It's worth noting that Samsung clarifies this commitment will apply to AI TVs. In the words of Samsung Electronics' President of the Visual Display Business Division, "With the seven-year free upgrade of Tizen applied to AI TVs, we will widen the gap in market share with Chinese companies." Samsung has been using this term more frequently to describe its newer AI-equipped TVs, which hopefully means any model released in 2024 will get this new promised update cycle. It's also possible that a few of the higher-end 2023 models might see more frequent updates as well.

Samsung TVs will get 7 years of updates, starting with 2023 models

Some Rokus and Apple TVs receive longer update windows, though. Samsung will provide operating system updates for its newer TVs for at least seven years, the company announced last week. The updates will first apply to some TVs released in 2023 and TVs released in March 2024. According to Business Korea, Samsung made the announcement regarding the Tizen OS at the Digital Research Lab of Samsung Electronics' Suwon Campus in Gyeonggi Province. As spotted by FlatPanelsHD, the announcement follows previously announced plans from Samsung to provide seven years of software updates for the Galaxy S24 smartphone series. Per Korea Economic Daily, speaking at last week's event, Samsung Electronics' president of the Visual Display Business Division, Yoon Seok-Yoon, said: "With the seven-year free upgrade of Tizen applied to AI TVs, we will widen the gap in market share with Chinese companies." Samsung is the biggest smart TV seller in the world, but rival companies from China are close behind. According to numbers from Omdia, Samsung's TV market share (based on units shipped) declined from 20.3 percent in Q1 2023 to 18.8 percent in Q1 2024. Market share for Chinese brand TCL, meanwhile, increased from 9.8 percent to 11.6 percent (LG's market share was about flat at 11.8 percent in Q1 2024). Market competition has gotten so fierce that the South Korean government reportedly pushed rivals Samsung and LG to cooperate so that they could stay competitive. This has resulted in Samsung selling TVs that use OLED panels made by LG Display. Samsung hasn't provided a specific list of each model guaranteed to receive seven years of updates. However, the company's announcement suggests the news will apply to TVs with AI-based features that came out in the aforementioned release window. (Samsung has been pushing the term "AI TVs" lately and also says building AI features is also a way for it to compete against Chinese brands.) A step in the right direction Samsung's upgrades commitment comes amid growing concern about e-waste and expensive products suddenly no longer getting software updates, resulting in bricked, slowly operating, or buggy experiences. Research suggests that the average TV lasts about seven years. However, as UK consumer advocacy group Which? has found, the average TV brand offers software updates for less than seven years. With Samsung being the world's biggest TV brand, offering longer-term software support could encourage more in the industry to do the same. It could also help users keep their devices for longer. Samsung's seven-year commitment is longer than what LG recently announced it would offer, which is four OS updates over five years (you can see LG's webOS update plan here). However, other TV hardware companies are doing better. Apple has provided updates for its first Apple TV since 2015, FlatPanelsHD pointed out, while Roku's still providing OS updates to Roku OS-based TVs released in 2014. However, in general, TV OEMs and streaming device makers could make it easier for prospective buyers to know how long a device will continue getting software updates before they buy it.

Samsung Might Bring 7 Years Of OS Updates For Its AI Smart TVs As Well: All Details - News18

Samsung phones launched in recent years get a long OS support but soon we could see it happen with its smart TV lineup as well. Samsung is going to make a change for its smart TV lineup as per reports. The brand could soon offer an important upgrade for some of its AI-powered smart TVs and provide seven years of Tizen OS updates. At the beginning of 2024, the company revealed its plans to support its flagship Galaxy smartphones with seven years of major OS upgrades. This new policy allows customers to keep their Galaxy devices for longer without missing out on the latest One UI features and risking security vulnerabilities. The details about its plans have come via a report from KED Global. The free seven-year Tizen OS upgrade policy will add more value to Samsung's TV lineup, letting users benefit from new features and enhanced security for an extended period of time. It is worth noting that the upgrade policy will initially cover 2024 AI TV models and a few models released in 2023. Smart TVs from Samsung and other brands typically offer two or three years of updates. Hence, this updated policy will add more value to the TV lineup, ensuring Samsung TV users get new features and improved security for longer. This policy will further cement the company's position as a market leader in the smart TV industry. Earlier this week, president and head of Samsung's TV division Yong Seok-woo at the business briefing said, "We will widen the gap in market share with Chinese companies with the seven-year free upgrade of Tizen applied to AI TVs." It is likely that the new 7 year Tizen OS upgrade policy will cover some TVs released in 2023 but we don't have clarity on when it will happen and will older models running on Tizen OS will also get it or not. Meanwhile, Samsung's domestic TV rival, LG Electronics, also announced a similar update policy earlier this year. The tech giant said that it would update a couple of its models debuted in 2022 over the next five years. Smart TVs are just like smartphones but with a bigger screen. They also run on Android OS which faces security risks and needs major update support to keep these devices secure at homes.