Departure from Google: All Philips TVs from 2026 with Titan OS

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When TP Vision recently presented its new Philips brand television in Berlin, one thing was particularly noticeable: All Philips Ambilight TVs will be equipped with the Titan OS operating system. The system developed in Catalonia will also be used in the new top OLED models. Until now, they ran on Google's Android TV and Google TV operating systems.

The television division of Philips, spun off as TP Vision in 2012, saves on license fees by parting with Google TV, explained Philips developer Danny Tack, responsible for image optimization, in an interview with c’t. Furthermore, with its own operating system, TP Vision can simultaneously generate advertising revenue, for example from ads on the home screen and from ad-funded FAST channels (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV), as well as through data from automatic content recognition (ACR, Automatic Content Recognition).

Both are also reasons for major TV manufacturers like Samsung and LG to rely on their own operating system, in their case Tizen (Samsung) and WebOS (LG). This is because all advertising revenue on the home screen goes to the owner of the operating system, and manufacturers would rather not leave this business to Google.

European Operating System with Limitations

Philips also wants to score points by emphasizing that, unlike Google TV, the Titan OS operating system is a European product. Development actually started in Barcelona, is still based there, and the main investor in the last financing round in December 2025 was Highland Europe. However, TP Vision's owner, TPV, also has a significant influence on the Catalan company, as only Philips TVs have used Titan OS so far. The Philips division TP Vision is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based monitor and TV manufacturer TPV Technology Limited.

Furthermore, the Spanish company Titan OS S.L. sets the terms of use for the TV portal and thus determines the partner for ACR content recognition in Titan TVs. And that is Samba TV, Free Stream Media Corp. from San Francisco, which analyzes the data collected via ACR in the USA.

Sporty Change

Given the development status of Titan OS, one wonders if the complete switch is somewhat premature, at least for the top models. Until now, they had a mature operating system with extensive functions and all conceivable apps from the huge Google Store on board with Android or Google TV.

The first Titan TVs initially lacked important streaming apps, including MagentaTV and Disney+. The provider has since added many (including Disney+), but the devices still fail to support some functions that are standard in modern smart TVs. For example, Apple AirPlay 2 for wirelessly streaming audio and video content from an iPhone or iPad to the large TV screen. The head of technical product management, George Karathanasis, assured that this application is currently in the final control phase. Therefore, one can expect its integration soon. However, wireless transmission of streams or photos from Android smartphones to the large screen is still only possible via a proprietary casting app called AirServer. You also cannot record TV programs on the Titan TV yet (TV comparison test with Philips Titan OS TV from 2025).

AI-powered voice-controlled content search, which is now found in the TVs of all major providers, is also missing. Titan TVs can only be controlled with predefined keywords, which is cumbersome and requires a certain amount of memorization from the viewer. Since you always have to press the microphone button on the remote control for voice input, a far-field microphone built into the TV chassis is at least unnecessary.

The home screen stages are pre-populated with video recommendations from streaming provider apps like Netflix and Prime Video. You can tidy up the apps in the main bar of the home screen, but even apps removed from there still appear in the recommendation stages on the home screen.

The Titan operating system, developed in Spain, is also a prerequisite for the new AmbiScape function in Philips TVs. In addition to the Ambilight LEDs in the TV frame, the light extension synchronizes thread-compatible light sources with the image content via the Matter smart home standard. This makes AmbiScape essentially a Hue replacement for Ambilight TVs, as they no longer communicate with the lamps and the Hue Bridge of the spun-off lighting company Signify.

Prefer a Google TV?

Those who prefer an OLED TV with Ambilight function and Google OS and can do without light synchronization via AmbiScape might consider buying a Philips OLED from the previous year. Last year's models are often considerably cheaper, as a quick check has shown. The price drop is not as drastic for Philips as it is for Samsung or Sony, but it is noticeable here too (from just under 3700 euros to 2300 euros).

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You will then have to forgo some new features, such as the improved tone mapping and the slightly higher luminance, Dolby Vision 2, and four HDMI 2.1 inputs instead of just two HDMI 2.1 and two HDMI 2.0. The update cycles for software and firmware are set at 8 years, and product support including spare parts delivery for 7 years from the end of market placement. Therefore, there is no need to worry that last year's model with Google TV will no longer be supported soon. The EU committed all TV manufacturers to this regulation some time ago in the interest of sustainability.

Picture Quality Remains Unaffected

The change of operating system does not affect the picture quality, Danny Tack assured us. It received a remarkable update with two new OLED series and a new LCD TV with RGB Mini LEDs in the backlight. Like other major TV manufacturers, TP Vision will also use colored LEDs in the backlight in one model in the future. These ensure richer colors and higher luminance in the display. TP Vision has developed the control of the small diodes for its 10th generation P5 processor; it is intended to enable fine color gradients and minimize halos around moving objects. The Pentonic 800 SoC from Mediatek enables four HDMI 2.1 with up to 48 Gbps bandwidth, which is particularly interesting for gamers who benefit from a VRR refresh rate of up to 330 Hz when the vertical resolution is halved.

However, according to Tack, the RGB LED TVs, despite 3840 RGB dimming zones, do not reach the picture quality of the better OLED televisions. Therefore, TP Vision positions the LCD TVs – according to Tack, also in terms of price – between the LCD models of the 700 series and the OLED TVs of the 800 series.

(uk)