Posted on December 13, 2014 by Foluski in EDITORIAL, NEWS
There is a proverb of my people which says that one is only keen to fight when he/she thinks that victory will be easy. If not, that person will be less belligerent and more diplomatic. By the time you finish reading this article, you’ll understand why I quoted this adage.
So, some people are still feeling the pain of being disappointed on Dec. 10. Tech news and online communities had been eagerly anticipating this “launch” of the first Tizen phone. Of course it never took place. While people are biting their lower lips, there is only one question that keeps coming to my mind…
“Why?“
Why was there no launch, even though Tarun Malik had told us to expect Samsung’s first Tizen phone after Diwali- that is, late this year? Isn’t it December already? Why did Samsung cancel the launch of the Samsung Z, and we’ve not heard anything about it since then? We already have Tizen-powered smartwatches and smartcameras but are yet to have a Tizen smartphone? Above all, why does Samsung seem so slow and almost hesitant in releasing a Tizen smartphone?
It’s crunch times at Samsung
Samsung Electronics has not had a sweet ride in 2014. Its financial statement for the third quarter (Q3) of 2014, shows that its sales of ALL its products stand at $42.7 billion, down from $47.1 billion in Q2 of 2014. This means a 9% reduction in sales. But compare its Q3, 2014 sales with its Q3, 2013 sales. At the end of Q3, 2013, Samsung posted total sales of $53.2 billion. So, between Q3, 2013 and Q3, 2014, the company’s sales plummeted by 20% Ouch!
But now, let’s leave that general overview and focus on the company’s commercial performance with mobile devices. The South Korean tech giant sold $21.2 billion worth of mobile devices in Q3 of 2014. Great, right? Well, not really, considering that it sold $24.8 billion of devices in Q2 of 2o14. That’s a 14% decrease in sales. But then brace yourself for this: in Q3 of 2013, Samsung’s sales stood at $32.1 billion. So, this means that between Q3 of last year and Q3 of this year, its sales have plummeted by 22%. In other words, if Samsung’s mobile device sales in Q3 of 2013 were represented with 5 identical cars, then the tech giant has lost one car already. Ouch! The document also showed that operating profits in Q3, 2014 are down to $1.6 billion from $4 billion in Q2, 2014, which is a 60% decrease! Yikes!!
Screenshot from Samsung's Q3, 2014 financial report
IMAGE: Snippet from Samsung’s Q3, 2014 financial report. Joyful stats, aren’t they?
So, we don’t yet have a Tizen phone because…
You see, Google has been watching Samsung’s development of its own OS. If Samsung adopts Tizen for its phones, it will no longer have access to crucial Google APIs like Google Maps, Google Play Services (not just Play Store) and so on. It will need developers to populate it app ecosystem. For the former, Samsung will have to either license map data from someone or map the world by itself- LOL! It is the AOSP that is open source and free. Google Services aren’t. Similarly, it will be highly difficult to convince app developers to develop apps for an OS that next to no one is using. If Samsung somehow still decides to leave, it will be kicked out of the Open Handset Alliance for good. It can’t come “crawling” back in. If sales and income were rich, Samsung could have said “I’ll call your bluff Google. I’ll give this a determined shot”. But sales and profits are presently as rich as the Tizen App Store.
So, there it is. We don’t have a Tizen phone yet because it’s too risky for Samsung to release one. Just like the proverb I quoted at the start of this piece, Samsung has to evaluate whether it has enough muscle for this brawl, or it better lay low. The smartgadget space (watches, cameras, in-vehicle infotainment etc) is not dominated by Android. So Samsung can make such devices without really irritating Google- something Samsung is doing already. But as for phones, a different approach is needed. Samsung itself said this when postponing the launch of Samsung Z: “…[we] want to further build the Tizen ecosystem [before launching the first Tizen phone]”.
So guys, you’ll have to wait some more for that Tizen phone. How long? I don’t know. We all really don’t know.
REFERENCE: Samsung’s financial report for Q3 2014.
SOURCE: http://www.tiznar.com/samsung-cant-release-tizen-phone-yet/ |
