Preparing for the Next Wave of Smart TVs: How to Navigate OS, AI, and UX Trends
In the battle for eyeballs, the big screen seems to be winning. YouTube’s CEO, Neal Mohan recently confirmed that TV screens have overtaken mobiles as the primary device for YouTube viewing in the US. And while the US leads the way, this shift is happening globally. Research from Ampere Analysis (Feb 2025) shows 76% of internet users in Europe now own a Smart TV. That’s a 25% increase over the past three years, mirroring a 25% rise in share of viewing for these devices since 2021.
At Magine Pro, we’ve been developing Smart TV streaming apps for over 12 years, giving us a front-row seat to this transformation. As more consumers shift to the big screen, we hear one major concern from OTT service providers: How can they stay ahead of the curve when Smart TV technology is so fragmented and constantly shifting?
Every year, CES and other tech expos are filled with announcements from giants like LG and Samsung showcasing features and upgrades aimed at driving consumer TV sales. Meanwhile, the already crowded Smart TV OS landscape keeps expanding. How are OTT services supposed to keep up? Should they invest resources into supporting multiple operating systems for reach, or focus on the latest trends to future-proof their apps?
To help answer these questions, I’ll break down some of the biggest trends likely to shape the industry in the next few years. Importantly, I’ll look at how smaller OTT services can prepare for them. In this blog I’ll explore:
- AI-Based Upscaling
- Auto-Translation
- Voice & Gesture-based Control
- Emerging Operating Systems
If you’re reviewing your OTT service’s Smart TV strategy, you can also download our e-guide: Go big or stay small? Why the Smart TV experience is essential for online streaming services.
Now let’s get stuck into those emerging trends!
AI-Based Upscaling: Seamless Smart TV UX Without The Compromises
For years, Smart TV app performance has been constrained by device limitations, bandwidth restrictions, and processing power. High frame rates, smooth animations, and seamless transitions require significant resources. As developers, we’re often forced to sacrifice visual fluidity to maintain stability across different TV models. But AI-based upscaling is set to change that, shifting the burden of performance optimisation from app developers to TV hardware itself.
AI-powered upscaling, like Nvidia’s DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), has already transformed the gaming industry, using machine learning to boost resolution and frame rates in real-time. Now, Smart TV manufacturers are integrating similar technology to fill the gaps in frame rates and motion smoothness. This means that an app running at 30 frames per second (FPS) today could soon appear just as fluid as a 50FPS app, without developers needing to rewrite code or optimise animations for every individual device.
At Magine Pro, we see this as a major leap for OTT UX on Smart TVs. Historically, upscaling on TVs has focused only on the video, forcing app developers to strike a balance between animation quality and responsiveness in the UI, sometimes choosing simpler transitions or reducing visual effects to maintain app stability. With AI-enhanced motion processing becoming standard in new TVs, we expect this to allow for more upscaling in the app UI, allowing the next generation of streaming apps can be more dynamic, visually polished, and immersive, without compromising performance.
Key Takeaways for OTT Services
So what does this mean for OTT providers currently planning their Smart TV strategy? You can afford to focus less on maxing-out your FPS across multiple TV platforms to compete with the big names in streaming. Concentrate instead on creating consistent, scalable experiences and building engaging, visually rich interfaces, knowing that AI will handle the performance lift on supported devices. As AI-based processing becomes the norm, even smaller streaming services will be able to deliver a premium app experience, without the premium engineering overhead.
It’s not just about smoother UI animations. AI-powered upscaling could transform how OTT services approach video delivery for Smart TVs. If the TV itself can take lower-resolution streams and enhance them to near-4K or even 8K quality, operators can optimise their encoding strategy accordingly to cut CDN costs without sacrificing viewer experience.
On-Device Subtitle Translation: Lowering Barriers to OTT Localisation
Localisation has long been a challenge for OTT services expanding globally. Now, once again, hardware integration with AI could alleviate some of the hard work for content owners, getting the Smart TV hardware to perform automated, real-time translations directly on the device.
AI-driven translation tools are already familiar in web browsers. Now Smart TV manufacturers are beginning to integrate real-time subtitle translation directly into their operating systems. This means that rather than requiring streaming services to upload a separate subtitle file for every supported language, TVs will be able to dynamically translate dialogue into the viewer’s preferred language on the fly.
For OTT providers, this could significantly reduce localisation overhead—especially for smaller services looking to scale quickly into new markets. Instead of managing, storing, and encoding hundreds of subtitle variations, services could rely on the TV’s built-in AI to generate subtitles in real-time, unlocking faster time-to-market for new territories.
However, this shift comes with new UX considerations. If Smart TVs are generating and overlaying subtitles at the OS level, OTT services must ensure that their UI design doesn’t create conflicts. If a platform hardcodes subtitles into the video stream or places on-screen graphics in common subtitle areas, there’s a risk of clashing visual elements—leading to a messy, unreadable experience for viewers.
Key Takeaways for OTT Services
At Magine Pro, we know Smart TV apps must be built with flexibility in mind, ensuring subtitle placement adapts dynamically to maintain a consistent UX on all devices as individual manufacturers change their functionality. With Magine Pro’s white-label OTT platform, streaming services get expert guidance on Smart TV UI adaptations, ensuring their apps remain consistent and future-proofed as on-device AI capabilities evolve
While the AI-powered upscaling we already covered is an easy win for streaming services, AI-generated translations introduce a new layer of complexity. Generative AI is still imperfect, and OTT providers will need to weigh the benefits of rapid market expansion against the potential risks of inaccurate subtitles.
Voice and Gesture Control: The Future of Hands-Free Smart TV Navigation
For decades, the TV remote control has been the primary way viewers interact with their screens. But as Smart TVs become more sophisticated, voice and gesture-based navigation will revolutionise how users browse and control streaming apps. While these technologies are still evolving, major Smart TV manufacturers are already investing in AI-driven interfaces that allow users to interact with their TVs in more natural and intuitive ways.
Voice control is already mainstream – AI assistants like Alexa and Siri are now household names. On Smart TVs, voice-enabled remotes now let users search for content, change channels, and control playback with simple voice commands. Some platforms now also use camera-based tracking or motion sensors to allow viewers to navigate menus with hand movements instead of button presses. LG’s Magic Remote, already supported in the Magine Pro OTT Platform, is a step towards this, allowing users to employ their remote control like a mouse rather than being restricted to sequential up-down-right-left navigation.
Both voice and gesture control offer convenience and, for those who struggle to use traditional remotes, accessibility. However, there are still significant challenges with these technologies, especially when it comes to accuracy, consistency, and user adoption.
New search and navigation methods may require a rethink on button layouts, hover states, and menu navigation to accommodate touch-free interactions. Gesture-based navigation could also introduce new UX challenges, such as avoiding accidental selections or ensuring that on-screen prompts guide users effectively.
Key Takeaways for OTT Services
At Magine Pro, we believe OTT services should monitor these developments closely and ensure their apps are designed with flexibility to accommodate future interaction models. Since these technologies are still evolving, smaller OTT services should wait for greater standardisation before investing heavily. For now, it’s important to focus on creating clear, structured UIs that are adaptable to evolving Smart TV capabilities, as well as concentrating on improving metadata to power voice search and ensure content can easily be found by voice assistants. As an added benefit, the metadata work will also enhance personalised content recommendations for increased engagement in the shorter term.
Navigating The Shifting Smart TV OS Landscape
One of the biggest challenges for OTT service providers is keeping up with the fragmented Smart TV operating system (OS) landscape. With Samsung’s Tizen, LG’s webOS, Vizio, Roku, and Android TV, plus a steady stream of new or proprietary OS announcements, it’s difficult to predict which platforms will gain traction and which will fade into obscurity.
Each OS has its own development requirements, UI constraints, and feature set, making it costly and time-consuming for streaming services to build and maintain native apps for every platform. Additionally, while major players like Samsung and LG are working toward better standardisation, Smart TV platforms still have inconsistencies—from differing CSS rendering engines to unique input navigation behaviours.
Key Takeaways for OTT Services
For OTT providers, the key to future-proofing against OS fragmentation is flexibility. Instead of committing to bespoke app development for every new platform, a modular, scalable approach ensures that apps can adapt quickly as new operating systems emerge.
At Magine Pro, we solve this challenge by providing a single-codebase solution that supports multiple Smart TV platforms, ensuring a consistent user experience across devices. By focusing on cross-platform compatibility, streaming services can avoid getting locked into the complexities of individual OS ecosystems and instead scale efficiently as the market evolves.
Want to know how Magine Pro customers like Passionflix approach Smart TV apps? Download our e-guide: Go big or stay small? Why the Smart TV experience is essential for online streaming services.
