A Samsung executive told Reuters that the company will release a high-end smartphone running the Tizen operating system near the end of the second quarter.
Shortly after Samsung will launch a second mid-range Tizen device to drive volume, Yoon Han-kil, senior vice president of Samsung’s product strategy team, told Reuters.
Samsung and partners have been slow to capitalize on early enthusiasm for Tizen. But the Korean company upped its commitment to the fledgling OS when it opted to put it in its second generation of Galaxy Gear wearables.
Yoon told Reuters that Android will still be Samsung’s “main business” but that devices running Tizen or Windows Phone could help the company address some markets.
Reports surfaced last year during Mobile World Congress that Tizen phones would hit the market in 2013. But Samsung instead released an updated version of its NX300M smart camera running the Tizen software.
Samsung did not immediately respond to questions about a U.S. release for a Tizen phone.
In addition to Samsung’s Tizen plans, Yoon told Reuters the company expects the new Galaxy S5 to outsell last year’s Galaxy S4. A Canaccord Genuity report covering August through November of 2013 placed the S4 in the top three for sales at all major U.S. carriers. In August, it was the number one selling phone for every major U.S. carrier except AT&T, where it came in second to the iPhone 5.
Filed Under: Devices
