Katarzyna Petru
In the world of televisions, a quiet war is ongoing over… updates. LG recently announced that it will support its new TVs for five years. Samsung quickly countered with seven years of support for Tizen OS. And now — with an apparent flourish — Hisense enters the game.
However, the company's declared "up to eight years of updates" is more of a question mark than a real promise.
Hisense Wants to Set a New Standard
Hisense did not hold a press conference, there were no big announcements. The company simply posted a modest announcement on one of its subpages — stating that it "is setting a new industry standard" and will support some of its TVs for up to eight years from the purchase date.
Sounds great? On paper — yes. But only if you have the right model with VIDAA OS. And that can vary.
Not every Hisense is VIDAA
The VIDAA OS system is proprietary software from Hisense, available on around 30 million devices, mainly in Europe. However, the company also sells dozens of models with other systems: Android TV, Google TV, Roku OS, Fire TV, and even less known ones like Titan OS and TiVo OS.
In the USA, the situation is particularly clear: only 11 models with VIDAA OS, while as many as 157 operate on other platforms. In other words - if you are buying Hisense in the States, the chance that you will get “the right” model is small.
What exactly does Hisense promise?
According to the announcement, eight years of updates are supposed to provide:
greater security of user data,
longer compatibility of streaming applications,
better performance of the system,
extended lifespan of the television.
But here is the important word: “up to eight years” — which means it all depends on the model. Hisense did not provide a specific list of televisions covered by this promise, nor how often they will receive updates. Maybe once every two years, maybe once a year — no one knows.
Europe has a better chance — but is it really worth playing this lottery?
In Europe, the VIDAA OS system is much more popular than in the States, which theoretically increases the chances of purchasing a model covered by an eight-year support period. The thing is, even here — as long as Hisense does not publish a specific list of models with guaranteed updates — everything remains in the realm of speculation.
Paradoxically, if you buy a Hisense TV with Google TV, Android TV, or Roku OS, you might be in a much better situation. These platforms are independently developed by Google and Roku, and updates are a given — they occur every 12–24 months, without declarations, without fanfare, they simply… work.
Summary: cool vision, many question marks...
Hisense is trying to open a new chapter in the conversation about the longevity of televisions. And while “up to 8 years of updates” sounds revolutionary, in practice, we currently have only a vague slogan and a lack of specifics.
This is a step in the right direction — because for years, manufacturers have ignored the topic of support. But if it’s unclear which models, how often, and what range of updates will be covered, it’s hard to talk about any “new industry standard.”
Do you have a TV with VIDAA OS? You might get something from this promise. Do you have a different system? You’re probably still in a safer ecosystem.
Source: hdtvtest
