There have been rumours circulating in the past few months regarding Samsung’s supposed revival of their Tizen-powered smartphones. People will remember the first three Tizen OS phones to have been meagre in specs but basic in function, offering an-almost smartphone-like experience without the cost of an Android. On their fourth venture now, Samsung is following the same formula with the Z4.
The Z4 was launched today by the company, who has clearly made its intentions apparent of framing the Z4 as a budget-oriented entry-level handset. The Z4 brings in specs that people might not have seen since the last couple of years – a 4.5-inch 480×800 resolution display, quad-core chipset and a 1GB RAM configuration. The phone does support LTE Cat. 4 data speeds however, which should make it appealing for those who are simply looking to take advantage of those speeds at a super low-cost price.
The phone will come with 5MP cameras with flash modules both on the front and the back, and will be powered by an adequate 2,050mAh battery. Samsung is keeping with the times and is releasing the first Tizen handset with a curved 2.5D curved glass, making it look more premium than it actually is. The Z4 will be expected to be a hit with the emerging markets like India, considering that sales of the phone have fared well in the sub-continent, and pricing should also be similarly targeted, going below the $100 mark.
Tizen, although being part of only a few phones from Samsung, is also used in many of Samsung’s other products such as Smart TVs, IoT devices, smartwatches and so on. It would be interesting to see if Samsung could somehow find a way to interconnect the functions of their devices and create a whole new eco-system altogether.
According Engadget, Tizen owns a larger market share than Android in the smartwatch market. The singular drawback that has made Tizen an unpopular operating system, is that it lacks in the number of apps available for it. The OS was also known to be prone to security threats on a regular basis. The company is set to launch the phone in the Indian market this month and there has not been word on the pricing of the device just yet.
While some may claim that the Tizen may be under-powered and not as wholesome as an operating to use, this is one OS that has the potential to be something big, by an original phone manufacturer. It is possible that Tizen could become something big later on.
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