“Google has become too big an organization to influence,” said Diederik Houtman, head of TV product management at TP Vision Europe. This company produces and develops televisions under license with the Philips brand name.
Samsung and LG are the largest TV providers and have been using their own operating system for years. Philips is the third brand in Europe and used Google TV until now. This will change from May.
Vision
“We want to distinguish ourselves and develop further. We need a flexible partner for this and that is Titan OS,” says Houtman. “We have a shared vision of how television viewing is changing on the European market. The television is no longer used as standard for watching television. It must be able to handle all kinds of content.”
With the new operating system, Philips wants to make watching TV easier. In the future, headphones can automatically connect to the TV and it should become easier to search for films and series that consumers want to see. “There is so much supply and how are you going to find that supply? Much more is being made,” says Houtman. With the new Titan OS, the viewer has to spend less time searching. Titan OS will learn who is watching at what time of day and will then adjust the films and series that appear under the Favorites. Ultimately, under the list of favorite apps, there will be a row of films and series that Titan OS thinks will suit the user who is currently watching.
Google has become a superpower in almost everything it does and that means there is less room to move, says Houtman. According to him, this is necessary to bring the best experience to the consumer. The real difference for Philips is in the experience when using the TV and that experience “for us lies more with Titan OS than with Google.”
Titan OS was developed specifically for the European market because “consumer behavior varies from country to country.” In addition to the freedom that Titan OS offers, it is also financially attractive for Philips to switch. “It is not unknown that all advertising revenues made with Google TV remain with Google. We will be better off with Titan OS than with Google.”
Google has ‘no response’ to the question of the impact of Philips’ partial switch to the new operating system. Within Google, “no one was familiar with the situation.”
Updates
During the first experience with the new Titan OS, it is noticeable that the user-friendliness has really taken a step forward. In particular, the speed at which apps such as Netflix and Disney+ start up is a clear difference compared to the TVs that run on Google TV. The new operating system does need time to learn what type of content the viewer often uses and, according to the developers of the system, this will take a number of weeks. While Google does not share updates quickly, Titan OS promises regular updates that should increase user convenience. These updates are done without the consumer noticing.
The first Philips TVs with the updated operating system will be available in the Netherlands from May. Some of the most expensive devices continue to run on Google TV. Furthermore, the intention is that some of the TVs purchased last year will automatically switch to Titan OS.
