Samsung today announced a collaboration with leading international ODM (Original Development Manufacturing) companies such as Atmaca, HKC, and Tempo, allowing non-Samsung smart TV models to use Tizen OS for the first time. This year, new TVs from Bauhn, Linsar, Sunny, Vispera, and other brands will be available in Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, allowing more consumers to enjoy a premium smart TV experience powered by Tizen, an open source operating system for Samsung Smart TV.
The new Tizen-powered smart TVs come after the announcement of Samsung’s Tizen TV Platform Licensing programme at the 2021 Samsung Developer Conference (SDC). The licencing programme enables other TV brands to use Tizen OS, which offers industry-leading smart features, content discovery tools, apps, and a modern user interface for the ultimate smart TV experience.
Samsung works with a number of partners on content licencing and hardware optimizations to support the smooth adoption of Tizen OS. These collaborations provide many TV brands with access to a world of entertainment that Samsung Smart TVs only provide, while also allowing Tizen to strengthen its offerings by leveraging its ever-expanding ecosystem. Users of licenced TV brands will have access to the following features:
- Samsung TV Plus, Samsung’s free streaming TV and video platform that will allow users to enjoy hundreds of live channels, entertainment, news, shows and sports — for free.
- Universal Guide, allowing easy browsing and discovery of all content across different streaming apps, along with personalized recommendations so users can spend more time watching and less time searching.
- Bixby, a voice assistant platform that will provide users with more convenient way to explore smart TVs. Users can tell Bixby to search, watch, or perform various features.
Tizen OS has grown at an exponential rate since Samsung collaborated with the Linux Foundation to release the first version in 2012. To date, approximately 200 million people from 197 countries use Tizen-powered Samsung Smart TVs, and this number is expected to grow with the latest addition of Tizen-powered smart TVs.
“2022 has been a memorable year for Tizen OS as we celebrate its 10th anniversary and the very first Tizen-powered smart TVs available from other brands,” said Yongjae Kim, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “Starting with these new Tizen-powered smart TVs, we will continue to expand the licensing program and introduce Tizen OS and its ecosystem to more products and brands around the world.”