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Samsung is opening up the Tizen OS to other TV brands. It has announced licensing partnerships with ODM (Original Development Manufacturing) companies such as Atmaca, HKC, and Tempo to make Tizen-powered smart TVs for brands like Akai, Bauhn, Linsar, Sunny, Vispera, Axen, and more. Products have already started hitting markets and will gradually expand in availability in the coming months.
Samsung first announced its Tizen TV Platform Licensing program at the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) 2021 last October. The idea is to license the platform to other TV brands and earn a royalty from it. Some unofficial reports last month suggested that the company has reached agreements with some brands through this licensing program. It has now officially confirmed the reports.
According to Samsung, this licensing program will give third-party TV brands access to industry-leading smart features, apps, modern UI, and content discoverability tools. The company will offer its Samsung TV Plus service on all Tizen-powered TVs. This service gives users free access to hundreds of live channels, entertainment, news, shows, and sports content.
Additionally, Samsung’s Universal Guide will allow users to easily discover content across different streaming apps. They will get personalized recommendations based on their browsing history. With built-in Bixby voice assistant support, users can also get several things done hands-free over voice commands. On top of all this, Samsung will help brands with hardware optimizations for the seamless adoption of the Tizen platform.
Samsung starts licensing the Tizen OS to other TV brands
Samsung released the first version of the Tizen OS in 2012. The company planned to develop the Linux-based platform as an alternative to Android for smartphones but failed to do so. It shelved the Tizen smartphone project after just four models, keeping the platform for smartwatches and smart TVs. Last year, it switched to Google’s Wear OS ( previous Android Wear) for its smartwatches too. Tizen is now limited to its TVs.
The Korean firm says around 200 million people from 197 countries are using Tizen-powered Samsung Smart TVs. With the launch of this licensing program, the number will grow rapidly in the coming years. The first batch of third-party Tizen TVs will be available in Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Turkey, and the UK. Samsung plans to get more brands on board in the future and expand the availability of Tizen-powered TVs from other brands to more markets in the future.
“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.”