Samsung promised to bring out Evolution Kits until at least 2016, and so far it is following through on that promise. Samsung tells FlatpanelsHD that it will release a new 2015 Evolution Kits in the second quarter that adds the Tizen Smart TV platform to older TVs.

Update: There are some reports that 2013 and 2012 owners will not be able to use the new Tizen Evolution Kit. We are trying to confirm this.

2015 Evolution Kit with Tizen
No new Evolution Kits were on display at Samsung’s CES floors, but during a tech room talk Samsung confirmed to FlatpanelsHD that it will release kits in 2015.

Only a few details were shared with us, but Samsung confirmed that it will have the new Tizen platform, allowing owners of 2014 high-end Smart TVs to upgrade to the new platform. Owners of Smart TVs without the Evolution Kit port will not get Tizen.


The Tizen-based TVs that Samsung unveiled at CES 2015 included support for HEVC as well as VP9. HEVC is used to stream Netflix and Amazon in 4K, and VP9 is required to stream YouTube in 4K. However, Samsung did not confirm whether the Evolution Kit will support both HEVC and VP9.

An Evolution Kit will be available for Full HD as well as Ultra HD models. It will be launched sometime in the second quarter of 2015 after the new 2015 TVs have been launched.