Samsung's Tizen looks and works like Android, but lacks app support

[Himanshu Arora]

While Samsung is Android's biggest OEM, it's no secret that the company has been working feverishly on its own Linux-based mobile operating system Tizen for quite some time. And now, with Tizen-powered smartwatches and phones coming later this year, it looks like the OS is almost ready for prime time.

According to a report from Ars Technica, Tizen looks like a "pretty accurate" Android clone. They got a chance chance to hands-on test Tizen on a prototype device at Mobile World Congress. The similarities include Android-like app drawer, home screen pages, pull-down notification panel, widgets, and more. Even the button configuration I.e., Menu, Home, and Back buttons, is the same as many Android Samsung phones.

While it mostly looks and works like Android, Tizen does differ from Google's mobile OS in certain aspects. For example, widgets are resizable; shrinking one to a 1x1 square turns it into an icon, and expanding an icon to a 2x2 square turns it into a widget. Recent applications are displayed in a paginated grid instead of a scrolling list, and you have to press a minus sign to get rid of an app, instead of swiping the thumbnail away. Individual notifications are presented as a two-wide grid of squares, and not as a list.

The prototype phone also contained YouTube and Google Search icons, but were only links to the mobile sites.

From a developer standpoint, any prior experience with Android apps won't help much here, as only either native C++ or HTML5 can be used. And that just might be the biggest problem for Tizen. With no app support why would anyone pick it over Android? And if no one is willing to buy it, why would developers build apps for Tizen? It's a classic chicken-and-egg problem and one that Windows Phone is still struggling to overcome.

Nevertheless, Samsung's push for Tizen suggests the company doesn't want to be bound to whichever direction Google takes Android in and have to deal with its extensive rules and restrictions.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/55846-samsungs-tizen-looks-and-works-like-android-but-lacks-app-support.html

 

[Kibaruk]

Why do these guys try to change what is not broken?!

So now we will have Windows Phones, iPhones, Android phones and......... Samsung's android like without the android services. Why?! WHY?!!

Only the users will suffer from fragmenting the os market AGAIN.

 

[Guest]

I guess it Tizen working!!!

 

[treeski]

Only the users will suffer from fragmenting the os market AGAIN.

Ermm... typically users only benefit when the market gets more competitive. Fragmenting within one OS is an issue, but having multiple, competing OSes is good for us.

 

[Guest]

That Tizen funny!

 

[Maximum Payne]

Ubuntu phone is also coming this year.

 

[BlueDrake]

Why do these guys try to change what is not broken?!

So now we will have Windows Phones, iPhones, Android phones and......... Samsung's android like without the android services. Why?! WHY?!!

The article pretty much nailed it. Samsung doesn't want to be bound, to the restrictions Google is to put on Android. Or more to the point, Samsung isn't being given their own freedoms. Google has noticed their massive popularity, but might want to reign in things to curb them.

Samsung not being too humored, has decided to do their own mobile OS. Possibly was in the cards before this situation, mostly for the sake of having a one up on Google. So if Google decided to screw with Android's agreements, etc then it might not go over well with others. Just they are then bound to those choices, for the sake of selling "Android" based products.

Samsung just has a lot more freedoms with their own OS, it's going to split people into more camps of mobile OS. No doubt about it but still, people will pick what works for them. Devs will fill in the void of missing apps, especially with the enticement of money.

Google might not play ball with the Google / YouTube apps, but that's a very obvious thing moving away from Android. It became clear even with Microsoft, that Google doesn't like to play ball very well. I'm sure Microsoft went within specs, of what Google wants for their apps. Yet rejects it based on some specific reason. Could be ad based issues for all I know..

 

[Kibaruk]

Ermm... typically users only benefit when the market gets more competitive. Fragmenting within one OS is an issue, but having multiple, competing OSes is good for us.

Do you remember, when there was a different system for nokias, samsungs, motorolas, lgs, etc etc etc. Please tell me how things were better back then.

Fragmenting the OS means having multiple stores with excluding apps for all of the parts, some will be like Facebook, Gmail, whatnot. But then you will have developers prefering one kind of system, pretty much like iOS games vs Android games, now there will be iOS vs Android vs WP (Won't even consider here BB).

Right now the most important feature from the different OS (To me at least) is the appstores they have, for this reason I'll probably never get a windows phone.

@BlueDrake: You know what they hate?? They hate the idea Google imposed the limit to versions they are able to sell and having to update their android device, a problem that until a couple of weeks ago they didnt have, that's what changed, they are not thinking in their clients they just don't want to invest into having to update their devices software.

 

[Guest]

Ubuntu phone is also coming this year.

Too bad Ubuntu Phone will be dead on arrival.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Why do these guys try to change what is not broken?!

So now we will have Windows Phones, iPhones, Android phones and......... Samsung's android like without the android services. Why?! WHY?!!

The article pretty much nailed it. Samsung doesn't want to be bound, to the restrictions Google is to put on Android. Or more to the point, Samsung isn't being given their own freedoms. Google has noticed their massive popularity, but might want to reign in things to curb them...

Google wants all it's Android devices to have a similar user experience and Samsung is morphing Android into their own UI and user experience. The effect of that is that users of Samsung phones won't be able to easily use another Android phone that isn't Samsung. So is Google being a jerk by asking Samsung to tone down their UI changes? Or are they helping us (and other phone makers) out by making sure we're able to buy the best Android phone regardless of UI?

We're already free to use a separate Launcher and make our phones into whatever we want. Google isn't taking that away. But I'm OK with them doing what they can to keep Android phones at least all usable to people who know Android.

 

[Guest]

I agree with Himanshu Arora. App support is what makes or breaks the OS. Windows Phone, Blackberry, and Firefox OS all struggled due to their weak app ecosystem. It's the same reason Linux is struggling to gain traction as a desktop OS.

 

[RzmmDX]

Well, as long as the Android apps work on Tizen, I don't care.

Android app development is already quite troublesome given that there are many phones that have different compatibility issues as it is.

I don't want to see a split where apps are working for Samsung devices while the other android phones are being left out.

 

[rub900]

Bye Samsung hello Google phone. would not hurt my feelings at all.

 

[Johnny Doe]

That's like saying a VW Bug looks and works like an McLaren F1. Tizen will become the Windows of the mobile world, by that I mean bloated as hell.

 

[Camikazi]

Why do these guys try to change what is not broken?!

So now we will have Windows Phones, iPhones, Android phones and......... Samsung's android like without the android services. Why?! WHY?!!

Only the users will suffer from fragmenting the os market AGAIN.

I know how dare people move to vulcanized rubber wheels when wooden ones worked, or even to wooden ones when stone wheels worked. Just because something works doesn't mean it can't be made to work better. Having more choice isn't always a bad thing whether you see the need yet or not. Believe it or not the smartphone market is still young and competition is still everywhere, this is why you see side challengers in the OS department (Firefox OS, Tizen, Ubuntu Phone OS and others) and while confusing it is not bad.

 

[Kibaruk]

I know how dare people move to vulcanized rubber wheels when wooden ones worked, or even to wooden ones when stone wheels worked. Just because something works doesn't mean it can't be made to work better. Having more choice isn't always a bad thing whether you see the need yet or not. Believe it or not the smartphone market is still young and competition is still everywhere, this is why you see side challengers in the OS department (Firefox OS, Tizen, Ubuntu Phone OS and others) and while confusing it is not bad.

Please do read the other replies, it's not confusing at all but I won't repeat myself.

Edit: Here, I'll make it easy for you to follow it.

Do you remember, when there was a different system for nokias, samsungs, motorolas, lgs, etc etc etc. Please tell me how things were better back then.

Fragmenting the OS means having multiple stores with excluding apps for all of the parts, some will be like Facebook, Gmail, whatnot. But then you will have developers prefering one kind of system, pretty much like iOS games vs Android games, now there will be iOS vs Android vs WP (Won't even consider here BB).

Right now the most important feature from the different OS (To me at least) is the appstores they have, for this reason I'll probably never get a windows phone.

@BlueDrake: You know what they hate?? They hate the idea Google imposed the limit to versions they are able to sell and having to update their android device, a problem that until a couple of weeks ago they didnt have, that's what changed, they are not thinking in their clients they just don't want to invest into having to update their devices software.