Samsung Confirms That Tizen Will Be Here To Stay

When it comes to mobile products, Samsung is probably best known for their Android devices. However in the past couple of years, the South Korean tech giant has turned to alternative operating systems such as Tizen. So far it does not seem like Tizen will be taking over the world just yet, but this does not mean that Samsung will be giving up just yet.

Speaking at SAS 2015 Forum in Seoul, Samsung Electronics Software Center VP Jong-deok Choi reassured attendees that Tizen will not be going anywhere. According to Choi,  “We are preparing for the Internet of Things, and Tizen as ‘The OS of Everything’ will be the core platform.”

Besides being used for smartphones, Samsung has also used Tizen to power their wearables, like the Samsung Gear S and if the rumors are to be believed, Samsung’s upcoming round smartwatch is also expected to be powered by Tizen as well. In fact Samsung’s first and only Android Wear smartwatch, the Gear Live, is no longer listed on Google Play.

In any case like we said, there is more to Tizen than just smartphones, so while Tizen might have a hard time trying to compete against iOS and Android on mobile, it seems that in other areas Tizen might shine, like in connected objects such as smart TVs, fitness bands, home electronics, and more.

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Samsung Wants To Build Tizen Apps From India Via Digital Academy

Tizen was meant to be the software bearer for Samsung. But right now it's nowhere close to Android, iOS, Windows and even BlackBerry 10 in terms of performance and popularity. Just to give that a kick start Samsung has worked out its strategy from ground level.

Literally speaking, the Korean major has formed an alliance with Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises or MSME to set up digital academies that will be entrusted with nurturing youth of the country to take forward their Tizen ambition.

In many ways, what Samsung is trying to do is, relying on untapped youth population of the country to set up shop for Tizen and help them in understanding the operating system at a technical and developer level. "Digital Academy course in collaboration with the Ministry, will seek to train youth to develop apps that run on the Tizen OS across a multitude of devices such as smartphones, televisions and tablets", as emphasised by the company.

Adding further to the whole establishment, Samsung has charted out the roadmap that the course will employ and what will be part of the student's curriculum. Samsung Digital Academy course will cover topics such as an introduction to the Tizen platform, the Tizen app development process, testing and debugging, device Application Program Interface (APIs) as well as packaging and installation of designed apps on various devices" the company statement highlights.

And if that isn't enough then students will also get the chance to test out various apps being designed for the platform on their very own Tizen Z1 phones. "Students will also be trained on how to migrate existing apps on to the Tizen platform. The curriculum will be developed by Samsung Research Institutes in Delhi and Bengaluru. "Samsung will also provide the Tizen Software Development Kit (SDK) as well as Samsung Z1 phones for testing purpose", as confirmed by the brand.

The enrolling students aren't required to be proficient in developer languages as per the company and all one needs to be is 12th pass out or a polytechnic student. They've decided to start off this project with 10 centres positioned in cities like Delhi, Ludhiana, Hyderabad and Varanasi among others and going forward they aim to touch 68 centres in the coming years.

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Samsung ties up with Ministry of MSME for Digital Academy

Samsung India has tied up with Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises to open MSME-Samsung Digital Academy which will offer students a skill development course based on the Tizen OS platform, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Tizen is an open and adaptable platform offering multi-application capability across a wide range of devices, including smartphones, tablets and TVs.

The academy aims to create a pool of trained youth who can leverage the software development and testing opportunities presented by innovative digital technologies based on the Tizen OS.

In its first phase, the academy will be rolled out across the 10 MSME-Samsung Technical Schools which have been set up following an MoU in August 2014, the statement said. It will eventually be scaled up to include 68 other MSME Technical Centres across the country, as well as IITs, IIITs, NITs, and other key institutes.

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Samsung bringing Tizen OS to some of its older 4K TVs with its 2015 Evolution Kit

When Samsung unveiled its 2015 smart TV lineup at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, owners of Evolution Kit-compatible sets wondered if they, too, were in line for an upgrade to the new Tizen smart-TV platform. The South Korean giant was quick to reassure them, saying it would release a special hardware kit for this purpose sometime during the second quarter. Well, the wait is almost over.

According to Tizenexperts.com, the 2015 Evolution Kit (SEK-3500U) will be compatible with Samsung’s F9000 series (2013) and HU series (2014) ultra HD televisions. The kit’s addition will bring them at par with the company’s latest smart-TV offerings—some of which it began shipping last month—both in terms of software and hardware capabilities.

As you may know, Samsung’s 2015 smart TV range is the first to run on Tizen, a Linux-based operating system the Korean firm developed in partnership with Intel and a few other companies. Once you have plugged the add-on device into the TV’s proprietary Evolutionary Kit port, you will be able to update your TV to Tizen and the new five-panel Smart Hub user interface. And with the update including HEVC and VP9 codecs, the site says you can look forward to delighting in some glorious, buttery-smooth 4K/60p video action.

On the hardware front, the upgrade kit includes an octa-core processor, extra RAM, a new touch remote, and HDMI 2.0 ports with HDCP 2.2. Samsung has the 2015 Evolutionary Kit listed for preorder for $400.

Why this matters: Introduced in 2012, the Samsung Evolution Kit initiative presents TV owners with a way of revitalizing their aging sets from time to time. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, let’s get real: Not everyone is going to want to do so every one or two years. And let’s not discount streaming sticks and other streaming paraphernalia—a much more affordable way of making TVs smarter. We, therefore, don’t foresee such upgradable TVs going mainstream anytime soon.

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New Tizen phone leaked: Remember it's not all just Android and iOS

Samsung push may be more for non-phone devices, but it's coming

A second Samsung Tizen phone has been leaked showing that the nice mobile OS - which has the great merit of not being Android - hasn’t been forgotten by the Korean Company.

Details of the new phone have appeared on the site Tizen Experts which not only shows the phone but gives some details of the specification. It’s got an unnamed 32-bit Quad core processor, 1Gb memory, and 540 x 960 Screen. This all fits with the bottom end of the market where you find the existing Z1, but while that is only available in a few markets the opening up of the Tizen web store to 182 countries points to wider distribution - and that may be the aim of the Z2. It’s slightly more upmarket than the Z1 but still low cost.

The addition this time round of a sensor for spotting when the phone is being held against a head and upgraded front facing camera shows how Aldi the older model is, although that did have a VGA camera on the front.

Samsung has been pushing Tizen towards watches and TVs: the new phone is expected to reflect this with the New Tizen 3.0 User Interface showing similarities to Samsung’s SUHD TV UI. The web browser has been beefed up and there is a 2000 mAh battery.

The Z2 is slated for release 1H 2015, that is to say, pretty soon. ®

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Samsung 2015 Evolution Kit upgrades old smart TVs to Tizen

If you own one of the Samsung smart TVs that hit the market in 2013 or 2014 and you are, feeling left out now that the new 2015 smart TVs from Samsung run Tizen, you can upgrade. Samsung has announced a new 2015 Evolution Kit SEK-3500U that will update your 2013 or 2014 model Samsung smart TV to Tizen.

The upgrade kit works with Samsung F9000 series Smart TVs from 2013 and the 2014 HU series smart TVs. After the upgrade kit is installed, Samsung says the TVs will have a redesigned, smoother, and faster user interface.

The Evolution Kit includes the software update to Tizen with a redesigned Smart Hub. The kit also includes new hardware with a faster Octa core processor and additional RAM. It also ships with an updated Touch Remote with pointer operation.

A One-Connect Box is included along with a One-Connect cable. It appears that all the new hardware is inside that box so the TV doesn't have to be opened up for any reason. The Evolution Kit will sell for 399 Euros.

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Samsung takes Tizen app store worldwide to give its OS a boost

By making the app store for its own OS available nearly everywhere, the electronics giant may be trying to tempt more developers into creating apps for the platform.

The app store for Samsung's Tizen, its alternative mobile operating system, has expanded from just two countries to 182 -- including the US, the UK and China.

The South Korean electronics giant confirmed the big jump late Thursday. The Wall Street Journal previously reported on the expansion.

The application marketplace was previously available in India and Bangladesh, but is now also operating in such places as Australia, Canada, Japan and Mexico, according to a list published by Tizen-focused site Tizen Experts. For now, only free apps are listed in the marketplaces in the new countries.

By making the Tizen Store available globally, Samsung could be trying to tempt more developers into making apps for the platform. While Tizen has attracted some prominent developers to build titles for its platform, including game maker Electronic Arts, the Tizen marketplace is an afterthought for most developers. Google's Android and Apple's iOS mobile operating systems are where the vast majority of users are. Cash-strapped developers trying to get their apps to go as far as possible benefit the most from developing apps for those platforms. It's an issue that other second-tier operating systems, like Windows Phone and BlackBerry, deal with as well.

Tizen was initially designed to be Samsung's answer to the two dominant forces in mobile operating systems, Android and iOS. However, after a string of delays and setbacks, Samsung decided that it would offer Tizen as an alternative to customers in emerging markets who were seeking low-cost smartphones.

Earlier this year, Samsung finally launched its Tizen-powered smartphone, the Z1, in India and Bangladesh. The device is available for under $100 off-contract, making it affordable for customers who want to jump into the smartphone market but don't have the cash to buy a higher-end alternative running Android or iOS.

Tizen has also made its way to other Samsung products, including the company's wearables. A handful of wearables, including the Samsung Gear S and the Gear 2, are running on Tizen. Samsung said in January that Tizen will run on all of the company's smart televisions in 2015.

Now that the Tizen Store is available worldwide, Samsung could be positioning the marketplace for more usage and thus, attract more popular apps. Having more devices running on Tizen, including the smart TVs, could help its efforts in that area.

Here's the full list of the countries:

Android Wear ported to the Tizen-powered Samsung Gear 2

Though Samsung has a smart watch on the market with Android Wear, many other models are powered by its own Tizen operating system. Even the original Galaxy Gear, powered by Android at release, was updated to Tizen to many owners dismay. But it looks like the great folks at XDA are hard at work to get Android Wear on the Samsung Gear 2.

The port isn’t exactly functional, but the basics work. It boots and the touchscreen works, which is already a big step. Considering that Android Wear is not open source and therefore not so easy to work with, getting to this level is a big accomplishment. And it’s been four months in the making.

While this isn’t particularly useful to Gear 2 owners at this point, it’s awesome to see someone working on porting over Android Wear to those who want it. Would you buya cheap secondhand Gear 2 if it meant you could run Android Wear on a budget?

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Samsung Gear A release date, price and specs: Round smartwatch with Tizen to take on Android Wear and Apple Watch

Samsung Gear A set to come packed with tech, round screen and rotating bezel

Wearables are now a solid part of the mobile technology category and Samsung was rumoured to launch a round smartwatch at MWC 2015 codenamed the Orbis which is liekely to arrive as the Samsung Gear A. Unfortunately, that device was a no-show at Samsung press event. It did, however, unveil the Samsung Galaxy S6, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and a new Samsung Gear VR headset. Here's what we know about the Samsung Orbis, including rumoured release date and specs. Read: The best smartwatches of 2015.

Samsung has launched a number of smartwatches and activity trackers including one of the first Android Wear devices. This year, the Korean giant is rumoured to introduce a smartwatch with a round face to rival the likes of the Motorola Moto 360 and LG G Watch R called the Gear A, codenamed Orbis.

Samsung Gear A smartwatch: Release date and price

According to SamMobile, which had an exclusive on the Orbis, Samsung's circular smartwatch was supposed to be announced at MWC 2015 back at the beginning of March in Barcelona. We now know the Gear A was a no-show at MWC, but with the Apple Watch being officially unveiled on 9 March, we expect the Orbis to launch sometime this year.

The latest rumours suggest that the Orbis, or Gear A, will arrive at CTIA (cellular telephone industries association) in which takes place on September 9-11. Those are the same dates as IFA 2015 where Samsung normally announces new mobile products with the Galaxy Note 5 expected this year so we could also see the Gear A, too.

If you like the sound of the Gear A already, then you might want to get saving as the site suggests it could cost more than the Gear S which costs £329. However, that does not require a smartphone to work fully so we expect the Orbis to be cheaper and more in-line with rivals such as the Moto 360 and G Watch R which cost around £200.

Samsung Gear A smartwatch: Design and specs

The main design aspect of the Gear A is the circular display making it look more like a regular wrist watch. Samsung has effectively confirmed this by releasing an SDK for the next Gear watch. "We are collaborating with our global partners to provide a better Samsung Gear
experience for users. We welcome more developers to join us on this journey." said Samsung.

Samsung Gear A apps


The site shows various round interfaces including CNN, Yelp, FidMe and apposter. Developers can get early access to the SDK by applying but it more interestingly implies that the Orbis/Gear A will use Samsung own Tizen operating system rather than Google's Android Wear.

Like the Apple Watch, Samsung's Orbis will use a crown shaped power button but won't offer the same functionality as its fruit flavoured rival. Instead, a rotating bezel ring around the edge will be used by the user – exactly what it will do is unclear but we assume it will be used to navigate through menus and quickly scroll through numbers when, for example, setting an alarm (some of the apps above on the SDK site give a hint at how it will work). The crown, meanwhile, will supposedly wake the screen, launch S Voice with a double tap and send an emergency message.

Samsung Orbis smartwatch


As the patent shows, the Gear A could use a display which divides up the display like a pie chart to show the schedule for one day.

There are various rumours on the specs including a built-in camera and sensors for object, image and barcode recognition. The usual heath related hardware such as a heart rate monitor and the Gear A might even be usable as a key for your car and a remote for your TV. Samsung is likely to use its own Exynos 14nm processor inside the Orbis and it will also have wireless charging.

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Samsung’s Tizen Store Is Going Global

Tizen ? Rings a bell ? Obviously it does, at least for Samsung-enthusiasts. Tizen, Samsung’s in-house OS which never really took off (apart from making appearance in Samsung’s launch events), will now see its app store going global, with a scheduled launch in all 182 countries.


This move, though significant for an OS which is hardly visible anywhere except demo devices, is howere perplexing at the same time. You ask Why ? Well, for starters, Tizen smartphones are currently available only in India and Bangladesh. The first basic handset based on Tizen, called the Samsung Z1 was launched in January this year for less than $100 aiming to target the budget smartphone segment in India.

However Samsung has ambitious plans for Tizen. And the South Korean giant has made sure that you see its ambitions. 4 out of the 6 smart watches which Samsung currently sells, are based on Tizen. So are the humongous Samsung televisions. Samsung’s Co-chief executive B.K. Yoon recently confirmed in an interview earlier this year, that Samsung’s TVs are Tizen TVs.

It is noteworthy that for any mobile operating system to be pitched as an alternative to Android or iOS, it must boast of a remarkably diverse and stable app store and building such an app store in itself is a mammoth task. Ask Microsoft and Blackberry about their recent experiences, and you’ll get a fair bit of an idea.

For the time being, the Tizen Store doesn’t boast much in the way of big-name apps developed specifically for the platform.

However, Samsung is undeterred by all those failures which Tizen has gone through till date. In fact, the company said in a statement,

Our plan for Tizen smarthones has not changed since the launch of the Z1. We see a great potential in Tizen-based smartphone

And since Tizen doesn’t boast of apps built specifically for it, this may well explain why Samsung has first made its app store global. Why ? Well, in order to invite developers to build apps for the platform and help it at least get off the launch pad.

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