Despite Google TV being seen as a more modern and user-friendly operating system compared to the Tizen operating system (OS), Samsung will not be using the open-source OS on its smart TVs and Monitors in the near future. This is despite the fact that Samsung and Google have partnered on other projects, such as Wear OS and all Samsung smartphones run Android.
There are a few reasons why Samsung is sticking with Tizen OS for its smart TVs. For instance, Tizen is a mature operating system that Samsung has been developing for years. It is well-optimized for Samsung TVs and offers a wide range of features and functionality, just like the now almost discontinued Exynos processor, the closed-source OS is Samsung’s attempt at an ecosystem of its own.
Without giving up its TV source code, Samsung will retain control over the user experience on its TVs, this means developers have to work directly with Samsung to have apps on Tizen OS, which is not the case over on TVs running Google TV which is a fork of Android TV. In contrast, Google TV is an open-source operating system, which means that the source code is publicly available. This makes it easier for developers to create apps for Google TV.
This also gives Samsung more control over the development of the whole Tizen OS and allows it to keep certain features and functionality proprietary like Samsung Knox etc.
Tizen OS is based on the Linux kernel which is open-source, but it includes a number of proprietary components. This makes it difficult for developers to create applications for Tizen OS, as they need to have access to the proprietary components.
Samsung is also betting on its own smart TV platform to compete with Google TV. Tizen OS offers a number of features that most Google TV does not, such as support for AirPlay 2 and HomeKit (although some new 2023 Google TVs will start getting this).
It is unclear how Samsung’s decision to stick with Tizen OS affects its relationship with Google or if it’s a dealbreaker while buying a TV for consumers, however, it is clear that Samsung is not backing down, it is committed to its own smart TV platform and is not interested in giving up control of the user experience to Google.
Let me know if you’d like me to write a comparison between Tizen and Google TV OS down in the comment section below.
