Samsung co-CEO pushes Tizen OS as more than a 'simple alternative for Android'

Posted:
in iPhone edited March 2014
As Samsung looks to lessen its reliance on Google's Android platform, the company views its own custom Tizen operating system as a viable alternative that could power the company's future flagship smartphones.

Tizen
Tizen OS beta screenshot via Wikipedia.


Samsung co-CEO J.K. Shin was very bullish on the prospects for Tizen in an interview with CNet this week, calling the operating system more than a "simple alternative for Android." He believes that adopting Tizen will allow Samsung to offer customers "cross-convergence" between various products, including smartphones, PCs, cameras, and even outside industries such as cars, biotechnology or banks.

Prototype devices running Tizen were officially unveiled by Samsung in February at Mobile World Congress as an alternative for Apple's iOS and Google's Android. Currently, Samsung's flagship smartphones run the Android operating system.

Samsung's existing Android phones are customized with a layer of software and services placed over Google's mobile operating system. These changes help to differentiate Samsung smartphones from other Android phones on the market, but some users also feel the additional software hurts performance and is a downgrade from stock Android.

That's help to create an interest in Google's own Nexus devices, which run "vanilla" Android without any custom skins or extraneous applications. And more recently, Google has opted to begin installing stock Android on handsets made by its Motorola division, ditching the "Motoblur" skin the company had spearheaded before it was bought by Google.

Google is also pushing more aggressively into the hardware space with the launch of the Moto X customizable smartphones from Motorola. As Google begins to encroach on Samsung's lucrative smartphone hardware business, the South Korean firm may look to reduce its reliance on Google's Android, and adopt a mobile operating system like Tizen, which it has more control over.

When Samsung unveiled its new Galaxy S4 smartphone at a media event in March, the company made no mention of its partner Google, and made reference to the Android operating system just once. This despite the fact that Samsung is the largest manufacturer of Android devices in the world, and is the only Android handset maker currently turning a profit.

Samsung's potential Android alternative, Tizen, is part of the Linux Foundation, and is governed by a technical steering group composed of Samsung and Intel. It supports both ARM and x86 processors, and is designed for smartphones, tablets, in-vehicle navigation systems, television sets and more.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 172
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    Tizen: The two birds with one stone for Apple!
  • Reply 2 of 172
    Samsung , who do u think u are ? U think u can build up your own Eco system ? Yes , u can build but unprofitable piece of craps .
  • Reply 3 of 172
    sigma7sigma7 Posts: 7member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by crazy_mac_lover View Post



    Samsung , who do u think u are ? U think u can build up your own Eco system ?




    Yes. Any problem?

  • Reply 4 of 172
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member


    The more ecosystems there is , the better it will be for Apple.

  • Reply 5 of 172
    analogjackanalogjack Posts: 1,073member
    Looks like the icons were outsourced to Kim Jong-il's grandson. Maybe as a token peace gesture.
  • Reply 6 of 172
    chandra69chandra69 Posts: 638member


    BE READY FOR THE PATENT FIGHT AGAINNNNN!!!!

  • Reply 7 of 172
    chandra69chandra69 Posts: 638member


    Those round icons are waste of space.  You cant really show much info on Icon.  

  • Reply 8 of 172
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    You know what they say about copies of copies...
  • Reply 9 of 172
    solomansoloman Posts: 228member
    chandra69 wrote: »
    Those round icons are waste of space.  You cant really show much info on Icon.  

    Are there any icons that they can use without being criticized?
  • Reply 10 of 172
    blackbookblackbook Posts: 1,361member
    Great.

    So now it looks even MORE like iOS.

    When will Scamdung ever learn?
  • Reply 11 of 172


    Just had a look at the Tizen UI overview at https://developer.tizen.org/documentation/ux-guide/ui-overview


     


    Oh boy, is that UI hideous or what?


     


    What it reminds me most of is the UI for the DOS office system 'SmartWare' from the late 1980s. And I hated SmartWare (because it was useless). In other words, the UI concept is about 25 years old.


     


    I don't think Jonny Ive has got anything to worry about.

  • Reply 12 of 172
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member


    Android users already bitch about how long it takes for apps to be ported to Google Play (e.g. BBC iPlayer).  


     


    I think this would be a colossally bad move on the part of Samsung, and I support it 100%.  image

  • Reply 13 of 172
    macapfelmacapfel Posts: 575member
    chandra69 wrote: »
    Those round icons are waste of space.  You cant really show much info on Icon.  

    Well, they are the perfect shape for the clock icon.
  • Reply 14 of 172

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by John.B View Post


    I think this would be a colossally bad move on the part of Samsung, and I support it 100%.  image



     


    Absolutely. The more the Android/Other mobile eco-system is fragmented the better it is for the iOS ecosystem, which will keep on garnering all the app-development profits.

  • Reply 15 of 172
    Do it Samsung, do it. Brouhahaha. This ought to be good for Google.
  • Reply 16 of 172
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Nice Calculator icon colours.
  • Reply 17 of 172
    there is a typo in the lower left icon: it lacks an i.
  • Reply 18 of 172
    disturbiadisturbia Posts: 563member


    And today's news .... Google sues Samsung for copying their Android codes! image

  • Reply 19 of 172
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,727member
    I'm trying to see an upside for it, I'm guessing it will be the only phone that will tell me that my Scamsung fridge door is ajar .... But I will pass thanks.
  • Reply 20 of 172
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Samsung:
    Let's throw more crap at the wall to see what sticks.
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