Coming fresh off the heels of the Samsung Galaxy S5 global launch, the Korean juggernaut has announced plans to release a high-end smartphone running on the home-brewed Tizen OS, before the end of Q2, according to Reuters
Just like Android, the Tizen Operating System is also open-source, and it bears striking similarity with Android. It is the very OS on which the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch runs. By launching a Tizen-powered high-end device, Samsung will be taking a major step towards cutting off its over-reliance on Android. Considering that Samsung only recently signed a global licensing deal with Google, one would question Samsung’s choice to make attempts at branching off, barely 3 months after. And they are reportedly still committed to making Windows 8 phones.
Could this be a case of Samsung wanting to eat its cake and have it? Or is Samsung perhaps not yet confident enough about how well Tizen will do in the market, considering the previously numerous failed starts? Well, according to VP of Samsung’s product unit, Yoon Han-kil, Android still needs to be their main business, while Tizen or Windows will be targeted at markets that Android could not address.
Sounds to me like he means emerging smartphone markets, where a bulk of users couldn’t care less what OS their phone runs on, as long as it’s a Samsung.
