Samsung is looking to release a number of Tizen powered smartphones this year (reports Reuters) in a bid to establish its alternative operating system to Android. Following the release of the Z1, the Tizen handsets are likely to become available at various price points, but there will likely be a focus on the lower-end of the market.
The Tizen Powered Samsung Z (image: Samsung PR)
If the South Korean company is hoping that handsets running the long-promised Tizen OS are the answer to its weakening financial success in the smartphone market, it’s asking the wrong question. The problem is that switching to Tizen is a tough bargain for existing Android users, and it’s just as tough a sell for someone starting out in the smartphone world.
Tizen does follow Samsung’s TouchWiz UI, which means that in operation the UI will be familiar to users of the Samsung Galaxy Android devices, and by extension other Android users will find UI elements in similar places. In terms of ‘where is X?’ and ‘how do I do Y?’ a move to Tizen should not incur any issues in basic navigation around the system or how to reach certain functions.
That begs the question why bother moving away from Android if you are an existing user? There is a lock-in with Android, but it is over many manufacturers and does still create consumer choices. Anyone moving to Tizen is going to end up with a handset that has the same look and feel as Android, but with fewer apps and fewer services available.
Where’s the extra value in switching to Tizen?
Much of the value in Android is outside of the core OS. As companies who have spun out their own Android forks have come to realise, selling a smartphone is less about the core features and the base OS, but more about the compatibility and accessibility that Android can offer.
For the vast majority of users that means Google’s Android ecosystem. From Google’s own suite of applications to the Google Play Store and millions of third-party apps, Android handsets that are Google Play Certified have a huge advantage over Android handsets without the certification. The advantage is even stronger compared to handsets running alternative operating systems that boast of ‘Android compatibility’. It’s all very well being able to install an Android app on a BlackBerry or a Jolla, but without the extra hooks and code that the Play Store offers, the ecosystem on offer to consumers is going to be far more limiting.
Tizen cannot come close to that sort of third-party catalogue, and that’s a vital consideration. Peer pressure to run the same applications, to be on the same messaging networks, and to have the current hip device and web services is very important. Even with the support and software it has coaxed out of the developer community, Windows Phone was shunned by many developers and never built up the requisite street cred.
How will Tizen be any different?
Next page: The competition is stronger than Tizen…
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