
#Samsung smart tv application software
The two market leaders’ proprietary software is absolutely terrible, and they should be ashamed.īut there are two big holdouts, which also happen to be the market leaders in the U.S.: LG and Samsung.
#Samsung smart tv application android
Others, like Hisense and Sony, switched to Android TV rather than making their own interfaces. TCL, one of the fastest-growing brands in the U.S., has long licensed the Roku OS for use on its TVs. But it does make you wonder why some manufacturers still insist on delivering sub-par software experiences to customers sometimes paying in excess of $1,000 for a unit - especially when many of their competitors have already moved on.Ī few years ago, as the inevitability of streaming became clear, most of the largest brands in the TV space essentially admitted to the obvious: making TV software is really hard. I’d go so far as to add that watching 4K HDR video on a properly set-up OLED (motion smoothing turned off, colors properly calibrated) is a near-religious experience.

I’ve said before that most 4K TVs, at any price point, are incredible.

In the end, I finally relented and got them an Apple TV 4K box with a far simpler - though by no means perfect - interface to use with their new TV. My aunt described using LG’s webOS as “frustrating and unintuitive” and having spent time using it myself, I have to agree. This wasn’t my aunt and uncle’s first encounter with an internet-connected TV - a few years ago, I got them a Roku so they could watch Netflix on their 15-year-old behemoth - but they’d decided to get a premium OLED from LG for their big upgrade, which meant a whole new user interface. This TV looks amazing, but actually using it is a nightmare. Between turning off the motion smoothing and getting all the apps they wanted organized, I just about lost it.

Here’s a holiday scene that may sound familiar: over my Christmas vacation, I spent about four hours helping my aunt and uncle figure out the quirks of their new smart TV.
