Samsung’s Internet of Things direction will be away from Android and towards Tizen as it hopes to ease its reliance on the Google-made operating system.
All of the Samsung smart televisions coming to Australia in 2015 will run an open-sourced operating system called Tizen. The strategic move to have televisions running Tizen will help Samsung shift smartphones and other Internet of Things devices towards the platform, said Brad Wright, the director of Samsung’s AV technologies, at the 2015 Samsung Regional Forum.
“Tizen is a larger piece of the smart home platform, with home appliances and wearables technology.
“This is the direction we’re going in terms of the Internet of Things and the future of smart homes. This will really be the central hub.”
Launching more Tizen products will ease Samsung's reliance on Android. It will also increase the adoption of Tizen smartphones and ensure the company no longer has to offer Google Play content in favour of its own content portfolio.
Samsung’s Gear smartwatch already operates on the Tizen platform and the company has recently launched the Tizen-powered Z1 in overseas markets.
The Samsung televisions coming to Australia will not use OLED panels – a technology Samsung introduced, and a technology its rival LG is backing with its upcoming range.
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“We sold a lot more UHD TVs in Australia than we did OLEDs, and we launched them on the same day,” Wright told Good Gear Guide.
“We see the future for us being UHD, beyond the next couple of years, I can’t really say.”
Ultra high definition televisions have a resolution of 3840x2160, which is four times greater than the current Full HD standard. Premium Samsung televisions have the moniker SUHD, as they “provide viewers with 64-times more colour expression” and are “2.5 times brighter than conventional televisions”.
Hindering the adoption of Ultra high-definition is a lack of content. Samsung has since launched the UHD Alliance and has been working with 20th Century Fox in an effort to optimise content for its televisions.
The higher-resolution standard will be available in more affordable models, and the upcoming range will be characterised by more curved televisions.
Curved-screen televisions are growing popularity, claims Wright, while “around nine-to-ten percent of the market actively shop with 3D” in mind.
Three new series of SUHD televisions will be coming to Australia in April, said Wright, with the JS9500, JS9000 and JS8500. Models will span from 55 to 88-inches with pricing expected to be finalised closer to the date of release.
Tony Ibrahim travelled to Samsung’s Regional Forum in Thailand as a guest of Samsung Australia
