Samsung Electronics is reportedly working on new Tizen powered low-cost smartphones, with their launch expected by the end of the calendar year 2015. Further details of Samsung’s plans are yet to be divulged, as the company is still to make a public announcement.
As we all are aware, Tizen is Samsung’s in-house operating system, which the company deploys in its smartphones, smart TVs, smartwatches and other devices compatible with the smart technology.
The Korean manufacturer introduced its first low-cost Tizen powered smartphone in India with the launch of Z1, and has been relatively successful selling more than 1 million units since its launch in January. Moreover, it was reportedly also the top selling smartphone in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka during the first quarter of 2015. Sales of Tizen powered smartphones primarily contributed to more than half of the 97% growth rate in the under $100 smartphone category during the first quarter, according to reports.
“It has been better than expectations for us,” said Asim Warsi, vice president for marketing, mobile and IT at Samsung India. “It stacks up equal and better with some of its neighboring models in our portfolio.” Samsung has five models in the sub-$100 price band.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Korean manufacturer launches these Tizen backed smartphones in the United States and the European Union, though chances of that happening seem rather bleak at the moment.
Meanwhile, Samsung will also be unveiling its new UX and SDK at its Tizen Developer Summit scheduled for July 30 and 31 in Bengaluru, India. The conference is essentially aimed at expanding the Tizen ecosystem, with its current focus on TVs, IoT along with the wearables market. At the same time, we can also expect Tizen to be featured on refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and even robot cleaners in the coming future.
The new UX is expected to feature aesthetic design changes with more sophisticated and easy-to-use icons along with revamped UI and controls. While experts also suggest the possibility of Samsung unveiling the new Tizen 3.0 at the upcoming conference and SDK to be made available to the public.
Samsung’s forthcoming Tizen powered smartphone is likely to be unveiled in Q2 2015. In addition, the company recently opened new Tizen stores in around 180 countries to attract third-party developers build more applications for its forthcoming Tizen smartphone.
