Samsung Smartwatch IOS Support Aimed To Strengthen Tizen

• Samsung strives to differentiate itself from Android and iOS and use its massive electronics portfolio to create a giant ecosystem.

• While Samsung slowly develops its ecosystem, the company chose an inclusive approach in the interim period.

• Samsung future Tizen-based smartwatches will support iOS to attract new users to its evolving ecosystem.

• Tizen expansion could mean a significant revenue boost for Samsung.

In an earlier article, I described how Samsung Electronics (OTC:SSNLF) decision to launch its smartwatch product line with its ecosystem agnostic operating system, Tizen OS, is flawed. In that article, I explained that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Alphabet Inc-C (NASDAQ:GOOG) built their ecosystems around a single dominant anchor device – the smartphone for iOS/Android and PC for Windows – that could gather the entire ecosystem around it. However, Samsung is trying to develop its ecosystem around a product category that is less than successful and could not hold the entire ecosystem. For Tizen OS to truly expand and compete with iOS, Android and Windows Samsung needs to develop it around a smartphone or PC and do its best to make these devices globally and commonly available. Tizen OS right now cannot compete with the three leading ecosystems.

The original article was published in mid-December 2015, and two weeks after that, Samsung made a dramatic announcement that its next smartwatch generations will run Tizen and will be compatible with Apple iOS. It is not a secret that Samsung’s attempts to expand its Tizen ecosystem is lagging behind the three big competitors. Samsung introduced a Tizen-powered smart-TV and smartphone; however, they neither gained significant market share nor succeeded in driving substantial attention to these devices.

Samsung identified the advantages of having its independent ecosystem from Android and iOS that could drive a higher level of interaction and commitment from customers to the Samsung brand and its future devices. That way, Samsung could drive higher revenue from future initiatives. Right now, Samsung has in its portfolio PCs, tablets, smartphones, smart TVs, smart watches, and many other smart devices on top of the Samsung Pay and Samsung app store services.

Once all devices and services run Tizen, Samsung could create a powerful and significant ecosystem that could compete with the three big ecosystems. However, there is a long way to go before Samsung’s attempt to differentiate itself from Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS by developing a new ecosystem is successful, and while Samsung slowly progresses in that direction, it is important that it should not lose any of its existing customers and even try to attract new customers to Tizen.

Samsung cannot change the operating system on all of its devices from Android to Tizen overnight. These types of changes take time and requires the customers’ willingness to participate in the switch, for which it needs to bring added value to the users. Also, I’m not sure to what extent Samsung is ready for such a move in regards to software stability, compatibility with many types of devices, and broad expansion readiness.

To address Samsung’s interim OS ramp-up issues, the company chose to add iOS support for its future smartwatch to attract more customers. Their target audience is probably iPhone users who don’t want to spend $600 on a watch, for whom Samsung Gear could be a perfect fit. By luring iPhone users to try the new Samsung smartwatch, Samsung aims to expand unit sales and Tizen market share while breaking the walls of the iOS ecosystem.

For iPhone users, this move makes a lot of sense, and it will bring Samsung Gear on-par with Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT), Pebble, and Jawbone, which already have a native iOS support. However, unlike these small pure-play companies, Samsung is adopting its inclusive approach as part of a broad strategy to strengthen its in-house operating system and seperate from Android in the long run. For investors, the successful expansion of the Tizen ecosystem worldwide and leveraging the huge popularity of Samsung’s electronics devices around the world could drive significant revenues in the future from repeated refresh cycles, upgrades, app store revenues, and adjacent services.

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WhatsApp For Tizen OS and Samsung Z1 with Voice Calling Feature

According to Wikipedia, Tizen OS is an operating system based on the Linux Kernel and the GNU C Library implementing the Linux API. This operating system is already running on a wide range of devices which includes: smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, wearable computing and more.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular mobile messaging applications out there, and today we’re going to talk about the WhatsApp version for Tizen. It seems that from now on, the owners of the Samsung Z1 will be able to use the Voice Calling feature that is available for Android, iOS, BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone for quite a while.

If you own a Samsung Z1 device, you will have to launch the WhatsApp application and you will see the new feature available for you to use. Currently, the Samsung Z1 owners will be able to use the WhatsApp Voice Calling feature only with the Android owners that have the latest WhatsApp version installed.

We’re not sure when the WhatsApp version for Tizen will allow the users to make voice calls to other WhatsApp users that have a mobile device running on iOS, BlackBerry 10 or Windows Phone, but this will most likely happen sometime in the coming weeks.

According to SamMobile, the reason why the Tizen OS version of WhatsApp has managed to get this feature is because the application is actually an emulated version of WhatsApp application found on the Android OS version. With other words, the WhatsApp version for Tizen OS will most likely receive the same update and features as the WhatsApp version for Android OS without much hassle. Hopefully, we will see more features being added to the WhatsApp version for Tizen OS in the near future.

Do you own a Samsung Z1 device? Have you tested the new version of WhatsApp for your mobile device? Is the Voice Calling feature working without any issues?

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Samsung Gear S2 Smartwatch With Tizen OS Launching In India On 21st January

Samsung is bringing its latest smartwatch in India Gear S2, which was launched at the IFA Expo last year in Berlin. Samsung has sent out media invites for a launch event in Gurgaon on 21st December which state Witnesss Progressive Innovation.

Samsung had announced the Gear S2 in three variants – the Gear S2, Gear S2 classic and Gear S2 3G. The Gear S2 comes in a versatile, circular design and unique rotating bezel, along with the Home and Back buttons to enable users to have a quicker, more precise method to comfortably access notifications and applications. It is expected that Samsung will launch all the three variants in India.

All the three variants of Gear S2 have identical features except that Gear S2 3G supports 3G networks also which incorporates the first-ever e-SIM with voice capability, without syncing with the phone.

The Gear S2 is quite light and is just 11.4-millimeter thin. It comes with 1.2-inch circular screen with 360 x 360 resolution (302 ppi). It runs on the latest Tizen OS and an optimized 1-GHz dual core processor coupled with 512MB RAM and 4GB of internal storage. The Gear S2 is packed with 250mAh Li-ion battery that can last up to 2-3 days, as claimed by the company. This device can be charged on the wireless charging dock which comes in the box.

The Gear S2 is IP68 certified Dust and Water Resistant smartwatch. It also offers connectivity options of Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.1

The Gear S2 also works as a fitness tracker as it encourages consumers to stay healthy and active. The 24-hour activity log lets users view daily activity progress and patterns at a glance. It will also send reminder updates to motivate users to stay on track with their fitness goals. Besides this, the users can check e-mails, news and can even send important texts directly from their wrist.

Samsung has also announced two new elegant editions of the Gear S2 classic in the recently concluded CES 2016. One variant is encased in 18K Rose Gold and another in Platinum. The new Gear S2 classic will also include NFC technology to offer Samsung Pay, which will be available to Gear S2 users early this year starting in the U.S. We are dobtful whether these variants will also be launched in India.

We shall be covering this event. Stay tuned for more details!

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Samsung Z1 Tizen 2.4 update set for January 22nd

The Samsung Z1 runs the Tizen operating system and has been a pretty popular phone for developing markets since it released in January last year. It launched running Tizen OS 2.3, and in August a Z1 beta testing program was announced for Tizen 2.4. Now it’s reported that the final version of the Samsung Z1 Tizen 2.4 update is set for January 22.

In September 2015 we reported that the Samsung Z1 Tizen 2.4 beta program was arriving for India, meaning that some owners of the phone would be able to check out the new firmware before it rolled out as a widespread release. If you’re one of the many people with this handset waiting for the final version there’s some good news today, and it comes directly from Samsung.

Samsung’s R&D Institute Managing Director in India, Jason Dongwon Kwak, announced the news on Facebook. He posted that the Samsung Z1 Tizen 2.4 update (final version) would be released “around” the 22nd of this month and to “be patient.” Given the fact that this comes straight from the horse’s mouth it looks pretty certain that the Tizen 2.4 update will be arriving very soon indeed, in fact in the coming week.

In the same message Kwak also said that the Samsung Z1 Tizen 2.4 update would offer WhatsApp voice calling, ShareIt and more. Just some of the other features of this upgrade to the operating system include improvements for adding or removing widgets, and an Ultra Data Saving mode. There’s also user voice recording with a music track, enhanced messages, a choice of hiding personal messages, easy setup wizard and more.

Once the Samsung Z1 Tizen 2.4 update arrives for India, we would expect it to roll out for the phone in other markets such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh before too much longer. This will be very welcome news for Z1 owners and we welcome your comments. If you have this phone are you pleased to hear that the final Samsung Z1 Tizen 2.4 update should be arriving for your phone by the end of the week?

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Samsung Z3 with Tizen OS Confirmed to Arrive in Europe Soon

Samsung's Tizen-powered smartphones are a big and unexpected success for the South Korean company. The latest product in the lineup, Samsung Z3, has already been launched in several Asian and African countries, but there's a high chance the smartphone will be released in other regions.

According to Digitimes, Samsung plans to launch the Z3 in more than 10 European countries, including Russia. The report claims the Z3 will make its debut in Russia in early 2016 due to the availability of Russian-language traffic apps.

Also, the Russian government's wish to look for alternatives to iOS and Android is another major factor that determined Samsung to bring its Z3 to this market.

There's no mention of which other countries in Europe will receive the Z3, but we know there will be more than 10, so it could be available all over the continent by the end of the year.

In the same piece of news, the cited source says Samsung Z3 will be introduced in Indonesia as well, sometime in the first quarter of the year.

There's no mention of price, but Samsung Z3 is already available in India for Rs 8,400 ($125 / €115). However, we expect the handset to be priced a little higher in Europe, but, hopefully, not above the $150  (€140) outright.

The specs

Samsung Z3 is the newest smartphone that comes preloaded with Tizen 2.3 OS right out of the box. The device sports a more-than-decent 5-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display that supports HD (720p) resolution.

Also, the Z3 is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core Spreadtrum processor, coupled with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory that can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD card slot.

On the back, Samsung Z3 packs an 8-megapixel photo snapper with autofocus, LED flash, and HD (720p) resolution, while, on the front, there's a secondary 5-megapixel camera for selfies and video calls.

The Z3 is powered by 2,600 mAh battery and offers various connectivity options like 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, microUSB 2.0, FM Radio and GPS with AGPS support. Sadly, there's no 4G LTE support included.

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First Click: We should probably quit sneering at Tizen

It would be going too far to say Samsung's Tizen OS had a big coming out party at CES 2016. It's been around — on phones, TVs, smartwatches, and more — and every time one of those products was announced, the tech press has collectively turned up its nose.

Sneering at Tizen isn't totally crazy. It's an operating system, after all, and there are certain things we expect from operating systems. Namely: apps, lots of them, and good ones. Getting those has always been (and may always will be) an uphill battle for Samsung. It will never have the reach of either Android or iOS. In a heads-up battle on the same terms with those OSes, Tizen deserves every ounce of disdain it usually receives.

But this year at CES I'm starting to think that the conventional wisdom about Tizen involves some bad assumptions. The biggest one is that we should judge it by the same standards we apply to Android, iOS, and Windows. Yes, it's an operating system, but I think it's better to just think of it as an enormously capable embedded OS instead of a giant, eat-the-world platform play. Just because Samsung has a history of shamelessly copying Apple's strategies doesn't mean that it's doing that with Tizen. Just because everybody assumed that Samsung was trying to wean itself off Android with Tizen doesn’t mean that they were right.

Instead, let's look at the good things that Samsung has been able to do with Tizen. It's actually more than it gets credit for.

Let's start with the Gear S2 — not announced at CES but very much present in Samsung's booth, if only because it has some new, expensive variants. I actually love the S2. Samsung has created what I think is probably the best smartwatch interface to date. It's coherent, well-integrated with the hardware, and good-looking. It's also going to work with the iPhone soon.

The S2 will never have the same app support that Android Wear or the Apple Watch enjoy. So for most people, I think it's probably not the thing to buy. But even with that substantial caveat, I am still impressed. Samsung saw what it could do with Android Wear and decided it wasn't enough — there's frankly no way anybody could create an interface as nice as the S2's on top of Android.

But the thing that has turned me around on Tizen more than anything else is Samsung's Smart TV platform. The new version looks really great. Samsung has put together a fast, beautiful and understandable interface — that last piece is surprisingly rare with TV. Just as importantly, Samsung is starting to do things that are clever and likely would never happen if it didn't have control of its own platform.

The coolest part of Samsung's demo of its Smart TV wasn't the tease that it had some sort of vague partnership with Time Warner. It was a universal remote demo — the foundational piece of any TV interface. When you plug a another set-top box into a new Samsung Smart TV, the TV detects what’s connected and makes it available as an input. Simple enough, but the clever bit is that it automatically identifies what kind of box it is and then invisibly and automatically programs the TV’s remote to control the new device

My guess is that it's just reading the HDMI-CEC information, grabbing relevant IR codes from the cloud, and shooting those over to the remote. Instead of trying to fix the entire fractured and frazzled TV ecosystem problem, Samsung just cleverly put puzzle pieces that have been lying around for literally years into a picture that makes things better for consumers.

That kind of power only (well, almost only) comes if you have a unified ecosystem and tight control over a single OS. Samsung might never get anyone to build Tizen apps for its phones and smartwatches, but it's still getting everything else it could want out of having its own OS. (And, I will note, it definitely has the TV apps it needs.)

Here's another example: the flashy, somewhat ridiculous Family Hub smart fridge. It has a giant touchscreen running Tizen, which means that it can do all sorts of clever things. One of the neatest features didn't get time during Samsung's press conference — it can mirror whatever is playing on a Samsung Smart TV, so you can keep up on what the rest of that family is watching while you cook. Could Samsung have done that with Android? Probably, but my guess is it's a lot easier to pull off if you control the whole software stack. And looking to the future, there's no reason the Family Hub fridge couldn't have the same Internet of Things integration that Samsung’s Smart TVs are getting.

Tizen is never going to unseat Android or iOS — I don't think it's ever likely to be a viable contender if you judge it in the way we've traditionally judged platform battles. But Samsung doesn't need to fight that battle. It just needs its own OS that allows it to rapidly create compelling, integrated features that consumers will enjoy.

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CES 2016: Samsung Gear S2 could add iPhone compatibility 'within weeks'

SAMSUNG has confirmed it is on the verge of adding iPhone compatibility to its impressive Tizen OS smartwatch, the Gear S2.

Samsung announced its stylish new smartwatch – the Gear S2 – back at the IFA consumer technology show in Berlin, last year.

The wearable runs on the South Korean firm's own Tizen OS and is controlled by spinning the bezel around the watch face.

Express.co.uk was impressed with the hardware and software design – but worried about the lack of killer apps, in our review.

Tizen OS is currently compatible with smartphones running Android 4.4 and higher with over 1.5GB RAM, but iPhone compatibility in on the horizon.

And according to technology webpage Pocket-Lint – the functionality is coming much sooner than everyone thought.

The watch faces are restrained and stylish, like those on its rival, Apple Watch

Samsung has packed a lot of technology and functionality into a relatively compact device

The circular display, Samsung’s first of the kind, can hamper the experience at times

Head of Samsung product launch programmes in the UK, Kyle Brown told Pocket-Lint that while most people are speculating the feature will take a few months to hit iPhone – that's not true.

iOS compatibility is actually headed to the Gear S2 in mid-January – just a couple of weeks away, Pocket-Lint has reported.

Samsung has yet to clarify how the iOS functionality will work, presumably via a dedicated standalone app for your iPhone to manage watch faces, settings and notification settings.

The technology firm also introduced two new Gear S2 models during its press conference at the CES consumer electronics show, in Las Vegas.

Both are attempting to appeal to the more wealthy tech fans with one design encased in 18K Rose Gold and another in Platinum.

“In 2015, we set a new standard with the Gear S2 in smart wearable category,"s aid Younghee Lee, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics.

"We broke barriers to introduce one of Samsung’s most progressive wearable devices to date. In 2016, we will continue to raise the bar, so that we can deliver products that our customers want most."

Samsung has yet to confirm the UK price tag for these luxurious new variations on its seventh smartwatch.

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Samsung Electronics Strengthening Tizen-based IoT Strategy

Samsung Electronics is unveiling its GAIA security solution for Tizen-based smart TVs at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that kicks off on Jan. 5 in Las Vegas. The combination of Tizen OS with the solution is expected to take the form of the most advanced security feature in each of the three fields of service, software and hardware.

Samsung Electronics is planning to provide a Tizen-based IoT feature for all of its smart TVs to be released from this year. In addition, it is to apply Tizen to a variety of consumer electronics, including refrigerators, washing machines and TV sets. The company is regarding this year as a critical period for IoT-based connectivity between smart home components.

Tizen is predicted to be in wide use on smartphones, too. Last year, Samsung Electronics released Tizen phones such as the Samsung Z1 and the Samsung Z3, along with the Samsung Gear S2 as a wearable device, to examine the market response. The handsets have been especially popular with consumers in India and Bangladesh preferring a low price and localized content.

This year, the company is going to expand the Tizen ecosystem by releasing those phones and new phones in more countries. High-end Tizen phones are expected to be added to the lineup as well, so that consumers can choose from more with the product awareness on the rise and sales networks expanding in emerging markets.

In the third quarter of last year, Tizen beat Blackberry and took fourth place in terms of global smartphone OS market share. Strategy Analytics recently said that it will be able to climb to the third in or before 2020, surpassing Microsoft Windows and following Android and iOS, if the current pace continues.

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