Andrew Heinzman
During Google’s I/O 2021 event, Samsung announced that it is joining forces with Google to merge the companies’ smartwatch operating systems into a new version of Wear OS. But while Samsung is abandoning Tizen on its wearables, the company will keep using Tizen on its smart TVs.
News of Google and Samsung’s Wear OS partnership quickly led to rumors that Samsung would start using the Android TV software in its smart TVs. But a Samsung spokesperson shot down the idea in a conversation with Protocol, stating that “Tizen still is the default platform for our smart TVs going forward.”
If you’re a fan of Samsung’s smart TV software, then this must come as good news. But Android TV is a great operating system, and it’s only getting better thanks to new personalization features, like a universal wishlist. Android TV is also fairly customizable and tends to have the latest streaming apps before they arrive on Tizen.
Maybe Samsung is sticking with Tizen because its smart TVs are so darn successful. Why change a good thing? And like all smart TV manufacturers, Samsung generates a ton of money tracking users and taking a percentage of streaming services’ profits—it’s possible that Samsung would make less money using Android TV. Of course, this is all just speculation.
Source: Protocol via 9to5Google
