Samsung Vows To Keep Your Swank TV Relevant For 7 Years With Updates
Back in the old days (think, CRT era), buying a TV was a relatively simple experience—just plug it in and call it a day. These days, however, modern televisions are more complex, capable, and connected than ever before, and like a PC or smartphone, they can benefit from timely software updates. Some good news on that front—Samsung has reportedly committed to dishing out at least seven years of software updates to its TVs going forward.
According to multiple Korean reports, including one in the Korea Economic Daily, Samsung's new policy applies to 2024 TV models released this past March, as well as some TVs that were released in 2023. Samsung is branding these as AI TVs.
"With the seven-year free upgrade of Tizen applied to AI TVs, we will widen the gap in market share with Chinese companies," Yong Seok-woo, president and head of Samsung’s visual display business division, reportedly said during a recent business briefing.
Tizen is the operating system that power's Samsung's smart TVs, and at the end of 2023, it's said that it was installed on over 270 million Samsung TVs. That figure represents a massive 440% leap from 50 million nearly a decade ago. It's the software engine that drives access to Samsung's free entertainment channels, an integrated gaming hub, and other smart bits.
The seven-year commitment is part of an AI push, along with an effort to separate the South Korean brand's offerings from growing competition, with companies like TCL and Hisense becoming major players in the TV space. It also matches Samsung's promise to deliver seven years of security and OS updates for its Galaxy handsets.
Further details have not yet been provided, such as which specific TV models fall under the extended support window. If buying a new Samsung-branded TV, though, your safest bet is to pick up a 2024 model. Despite being the latest models, you can usually find them on sale. For example, Samsung's 65-inch S95D OLED TV is listed for $2,797.99 at Amazon (18% off), while it's 75-inch QN90D mini LED model is discounted to $2,497.99 on Amazon (24% off).
