Samsung plans to launch an
Android Wear device as well as a Tizen smartphone in 2014, Reuters reports.
Samsung is working to introduce at
least two smartphones running on its own Tizen operating system, a major step
in the market leader's bid to break out of the Android universe, a top
executive says.
The company wants to build its own
ecosystem around Tizen to reduce its heavy reliance on Google's Android, which
powers majority of the South Korean firm's mobile devices, according
to Yoon Han-kil, senior vice-president of Samsung's product strategy team.
It also wants to open its own stream
of revenue from sales of third-party apps and services on its devices,
challenging the mobile software duopoly of Android and Apple's iOS.
But expectations for the platform
have sharply weakened after a series of delays in product launches. A global
patent cross-licensing agreement between Samsung and Google in January further
dampened prospects for a Tizen phone, as the deal was seen by some as locking
Samsung deeper into Android.
Yoon said that although Android
"still needs to be our main business", Tizen or Windows Phone would
be used for markets that Android could not address.
"We had tried to launch [Tizen]
with DoCoMo and Orange ... but couldn't because of poor market conditions. We
have changed our strategy and will release the phones in a few countries where
we can do well," he said, adding that he thought Tizen would have to
account for up to 15 per cent of Samsung's total smartphone shipments to become
a successful platform.
Samsung's first Tizen phone, which
will launch around the end of the second quarter, would be a high-end model and
the second would mainly be aimed at the middle of the market to drive volume
growth.
Speaking of smartwatches, Yoon had something to say on those, too: first,
that Samsung eventually wants its Gear watches to be compatible with all
Android smartphones rather than just its own Galaxy devices; and second, that
it plans to launch an Android Wear smartwatch later this year.
Seems like Samsung thinks there’s plenty of scope for it to enjoy the best
of both worlds.
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