Android TV or Tizen OS: Introduction
Comparing Samsung’s Tizen OS to Google’s well-known Android OS is obvious given that Samsung holds close to 30% of the market for Smart TVs.Many enterprises opt for an Android TV app development company to get an app for their platform. Then what distinguishes Tizen above Android, which is one of the most well-known and widely used operating systems at the moment and powers a sizable portion of smart devices worldwide? In this article, we’ll contrast Android TV or Tizen OS .
Android TV: An Overview
Google created Android TV in 2014, the previous year Tizen was made available. The main purpose of this operating system is to integrate set-top boxes as well as digital media players onto web-based TV devices, as well as Smart TVs. The entire Android TV OS is taken from Android. Many top manufacturers of Smart TVs, including Sony, have adapted it to serve as a Smart TV middleware for their products. It is an operating system built on the foundation of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that uses Google Play’s APK package manager.
Tizen OS: An Overview
Samsung Electronics created the Linux-based operating system Tizen OS for the exclusive use of Samsung goods, such as Smart TVs and Wearables. In 2021, Samsung and Google reached a deal for Wear OS, a version of Android that will run on wearables, to replace Tizen OS, which will only run on Samsung Smart TVs. Tizen OS, a Unix-like platform primarily written in C, C++, and HTML5, differs significantly from Android in that it does not allow any apps made for Android. As a result, it is quite likely that you will need to create a Tizen app specifically for your platform if you want to reach a significant portion of Smart TV customers with a Smart TV app.
Technical Framework
In terms of technical architecture, Tizen OS can be regarded as being far superior to Android TV. Starting with the fact that Tizen provides a 64-bit processor, which Android TV is still lacking, Tizen OS performs far better than Android TV in terms of smooth scrolling, app startup, and switching between dynamic app interfaces across Tizen-supported Smart TVs than Android TV.
Additionally, Tizen apps are quite small in size without sacrificing audio-visual quality. Automatic firmware updates are supported by both Tizen and Android, eliminating the inconvenience of manual updates or settings. Android TV does not have Tizen’s automated tethering to peripheral devices, though.
Accessibility
Improved user experiences are particularly well-known for Samsung products. Samsung’s triumph in the smart TV industry may be attributed in large part to Tizen’s outstanding UX. Tizen OS is well-suited to make the most of the cutting-edge technology of Samsung to provide users a TV experience like never before, leaving aside the vivid video and audio performance that accompanies Samsung Smart TV hardware.
To put it simply, Tizen OS is optimized for TV viewing, a capability that Android TV has not yet added. I and other owners of Samsung Smart TVs can attest that Tizen offers a more TV-like feeling than Android TV. I’ll elaborate on this subject now. Do you remember when TVs supported by cable or DTH were commonplace? We could browse through the live channels at our ease and remain with the ones we liked. Tizen OS for Samsung Smart TVs replicates that experience. Apps on Smart TVs indeed run on the web rather than TV channels live streaming content or SVOD. These apps allow you to browse them like channels, though. In Tizen OS, the menu bar only takes up 40% of the screen, allowing users to browse TV channels the way they used to.
The Smart TV is presented, in my opinion, as a second streaming device, similar to your smartphone or tablet, by Android TV. Think of it as a large tablet that is mounted on a wall. While it does make certain services including gaming or screen-casting (enabled by Chromecast) more user-friendly in Smart TVs running Android TV, it also detracts somewhat from the familiar traditional TV experience.
Voice Assistance
Google Voice Assistant is included in Android TV. Let’s face it, the majority of us have previously experienced Google Assistant and are aware of its superiority as a voice assistant AI system. It has a substantial database and almost perfect voice recognition. As a result, one may say that Android TV’s voice assistant feature is quite good.
But here’s the problem. Being a Google-owned product, Android TV exclusively supports Google Voice Assistant. Your Android TV device cannot be paired with many other voice assistants including Alexa or Bixby. You may select from a variety of voice assistants on Samsung Smart TVs, including the built-in voice assistant for Tizen, Alexa, Bixby, and now even Google Assistant. Because you have more options and can link your Tizen device with your existing voice assistant devices rather than being forced to use Google Assistant alone, this gives Tizen a slight advantage over Android TV.
There is a caveat for Tizen here though. In Android TV, you can search for specific content using Google Assistant, but Tizen only allows you to search apps or channels. This is a bit of a bummer as you cannot simply utter the name of a movie and access it directly from your Tizen device. However, also note that Android TV prioritizes proprietary Google app content like Youtube or Google Play Movies in their search results.
Tizen offers a more laid-out search bar with an efficient Guide feature that makes navigation rather straightforward in Tizen devices. Navigation in Android TV is not as easy, especially with all the unsorted options and a Google-centric search.
App Availability
Android TV clearly beats Tizen in regard to app support. The tens of thousands of apps that are supported by Android TV give you a wide range of app options. The Tizen Appstore, in contrast, has a smaller selection of software. Whereas Android TV offers a selection of both free and pay-for apps from the Playstore, every Tizen apps are available for free download.
It’s interesting to note that Tizen has a built-in web browser while Android TV does not. For a seamless web browsing experience, Tizen has a Samsung Internet Browser built in. Android TV lacks a built-in web browser notwithstanding Chrome, a proprietary Google Web Browser, as one of the best ones available right now. Of course, you can download Chrome on your Tizen or Android TV device to enjoy the same great Chrome experience we all love.
However, Android TV features a sophisticated auto-suggestion engine that adapts to your preferences over time and may offer you quite decent content recommendations, even if the ideas are a touch-off at first. Tizen OS’s auto-suggestion is even less sophisticated than Android TV’s, and it lacks the feature that lets you quickly access frequently used apps.
Gaming Support
Definitely not intended for gaming is Tizen OS. While Tizen OS, at its finest, may turn your Smart TV feel like a big smartphone, Android TV has the ability to quickly transform your Smart TV device into something like a gaming console. There are roughly 60 games on Tizen. These are straightforward games that may be played on mobile devices. On the other side, Android TV offers thousands of games, including those that are incredibly immersive and have cutting-edge visuals and gaming controls. The gaming capability of Android TV gadgets is mainly constrained despite the fact that it does have a chipset that is comparable to Tizen’s.
Conclusion
Samsung is largely an electronics company, so it makes sense that it would place a lot of emphasis on high-quality hardware. Tizen OS basically makes effective use of the top-tier Samsung hardware to provide viewers of Smart TVs with an immersive TV experience. In contrast, Android TV focuses more on providing a great streaming experience than a great TV experience. Users must ultimately base their decision on the type of experience they want from the Smart TV devices. Both Tizen, as well as Android TV, are cutting-edge platforms with a bright future in their own niches. The two operating systems’ market shares are just one factor in determining their excellence.
