We’ve been talking about this for a while, even before Unpacked last week, that Samsung is looking to go all in on Tizen and drop Android. Now according to an analyst at ABI Research, Samsung is trying to distance themselves from Android as much as they can to plan for the “Great OS Escape.” This is said to reduce Samsung’s dependence on Android over the next two years. If you watched Unpacked on Thursday, you probably noticed that they only said “Android” once, and that was during the Knox portion of the unveiling. Samsung has also replaced just about everything that Google/Android has. Android Beam is S Beam, Google Now is S Voice, and the list goes on from there.
Basically the goal of the Galaxy S4 is to build as many of their own features as possible and start getting their customers away from Google services. We’ve talked about this before on our podcast, but there’s an early version of Tizen with Touchwiz running on the Galaxy S3, and it’s basically identical to Android with Touchwiz on the Galaxy S3. So the average consumer won’t even know that they are running a Tizen device.
Samsung is said to be making their first big Tizen push this year with a flagship device, and if it does well the Galaxy S5 will more than likely run Tizen. This analyst from ABI Research also says:
“Bada is dead, and one can’t knit a high-end escape rope out of Firefox OS, so the hero’s role is now reserved for Tizen,” he writes. “It will be given a kick start with the software and service portfolio that Samsung has accumulated during its Galactic era, and an extra shot in the arm from the brand equity that Samsung’s gargantuan marketing budget has by now bought it. In these circumstances Tizen is certainly worth a punt.”
So basically Samsung wants their own operating system and to be able to control it. Well doesn’t everyone? So when you’re buying future Samsung devices, you’ll want to be careful and make sure that it is Android and not Tizen. Also, have they put enough bloat on the Galaxy S4?