The partnership will allow iOS devices including iPhone, iPad and Mac to stream directly to Samsung’s 2019 Smart TVs via Airplay 2
Rivals in smartphone sales globally, Samsung and Apple will collaborate with each other starting March 2019. The partnership, as per Samsung, will help provide its smart TV viewers with more content in 2019.
An official statement released by the South Korea based technology giant read, “Samsung customers in over 100 countries will have exclusive access to Apple’s new iTunes Movies and TV Shows app on Samsung TVs when it is launched.”
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president for Internet Software and Services, in a press release had earlier said, “We look forward to bringing the iTunes and AirPlay 2 experience to even more customers around the world through Samsung Smart TVs, so iPhone, iPad and Mac users have yet another way to enjoy all their favorite content on the biggest screen in their home.”
A win-win situation for Apple and Samsung
Jaipal Singh, associate research manager at IDC, commenting on the development said, “The collaboration will create a win-win situation for both Apple and Samsung. Content is becoming the key factor to differentiate in the devices business, and adding iTunes content and airplay 2 feature to its smart TV portfolio will help Samsung add a more premium feel to its smart TVs. Apple will also be on the gaining side as the share of people watching its content on big screens will help it to further increase it’s revenue from services”
Faisal Kawoosa, founder and lead analyst, techARC, said, “Partnering with Apple will bring the right content on Samsung Smart TVs, which will further help Samsung in attracting global audiences. It will help Samsung add premiumness in the content services along with the hardware and specs.”
It is to be noted here that Samsung was able to register profit of Rs 221.9 crore through its TV and home theater segment in India in FY 2018. It is also worth mentioning here that Apple does not manufacture or sale smart TVs in any market in the world.
Samsung’s New Bixby platform to power smart TVs
The brand said that their 2019 range of smart TVs is equipped with a universal guide that analyzes users preferences and viewing patterns, and provides personalised content suggestions. Samsung’s AI assistant, New Bixby platform, as per the company can hear voices from a greater distance, cutting the need to press the speaker button in order to do voice based content searches.
Samsung’s official statement read, “New Bixby is an AI platform that asks intuitive questions, encouraging sequential conversations to better understand what users have in mind. Just like how people get to know each other better through each conversation they have, new Bixby learns more about a user’s preferences from each interaction, so the AI platform can make informed suggestions about what to watch.”
Smart TV market growth forecast for India
A report by Research and Markets had earlier forecast that smart TV market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 30.2 per cent during 2018-24. The report mentioned that households in the country are at a cusp of transition and a shift in preference has been witnessed from conventional TV sets to smart TV sets.
It read, “Changing lifestyle of middle income population is attributed to rise in income level, increasing awareness, adoption of new technology and increasing internet penetration. Additionally, government initiatives primarily in tier-II and tier-III cities are some of the key factors which are likely to bolster the growth of Indian smart TV market during the forecast period.”
Interestingly, a lot of new players are also entering the smart TV market in India. Some of these have even made claims of selling a good number of smart TVs in the country.
