Samsung promises seven years of OS updates for its AI Smart TVs

With the launch of the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung joined Google as the second Android phone manufacturer to offer 7 years of OS upgrades and security updates for its smartphones. However, Samsung isn't stopping there as it has announced that its AI-powered smart TVs will also receive 7 years of software updates.

Samsung's decision to provide this duration of software support for its smart TVs is to widen the gap in market share between it and its Chinese rivals according to Yong Seok-Yoon, the president of Samsung Electronic's Visual Display Business Division.

At the moment, Samsung is the market leader in the smart TV segment but China's TCL and Hisense are closing the gap on its almost 29% market share. According to the research firm, Omdia, Samsung had a market share of 28.8% in the first half of the year, two points down from the same period in 2023 while TCL and Hisense have a market share of 12.1% and 10% respectively. 

Samsung smart TVs ship with Tizen OS, a proprietary operating system which it began licensing to other brands in 2022. So it should be able to live up to its promise. However, it is unlikely that TVs made by its licensees such as Bauhn, Linsar, Sunny, and Vispera will get the same duration of software support.

While Samsung hasn't yet released a list of the devices that would benefit from the new software update policy, it has been reported that models released in March 2024 will be on the list. There will also be some models from 2023, too.

Samsung isn't the only TV manufacturer promising better software support for its smart TVs. LG, its Korean rival, announced in January that it would support its TVs with five years of support. The supported LG smart TVs, which are powered by webOS, include all of its 2022 OLED TV lineup, the LG OLED Flex, the LG 2022 QNE Mini LED 8K, and the Posé Smart Lifestyle TV (curr. available on Amazon for $1696.99).