Samsung’s “cross category” platform TIZEN is slowly getting a foothold in the Indian subcontinent, where its first device Z1, has witnessed positive reception in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Six months into its launch, the dual SIM entry level device has witnessed sales of close to 1 million units in the Indian market, where it is currently available at a wholesale price of INR 4,000 (US$ 62). Our latest report on Smartphone OS by market share (Global Smartphone OS Market Share by Region: Q1 2015), based on Q1 performance, ranks the platform 6th, though the better than expected performance in Q2 is likely to take this higher.
Samsung has positioned Z1, in the entry tier price segment. This segment is likely to maintain its dominance in the Indian smartphone market for the immediate next 5 years, capturing an average of 48% of the market share, per our report available here. The positioning is also understandable considering the lack of apps for the TIZEN platform, which a typical first time user is unlikely to value much. Entry level users, mostly look up to a seamless migration to smartphones with an easy to use UI, hesitating to move beyond simple and familiar interaction with the device.
With its overall market share almost insignificant, the TIZEN platform has some distance to travel. The devices for now are more likely to have traction in Tier 2-3 cities, rural areas which have a significant presence of unsophisticated first time smartphone users. For Samsung, as the TIZEN story moves ahead the key is to engage developers, thereby building an ecosystem and provide for differentiation from similar Android offerings.
As the smartphone market leader, gears up to address this aspect with moves like passing on 100 percent of net revenue from app sales and in-app purchases in the TIZEN Store to developers for a year and TIZEN DEVELOPER SUMMIT , towards the end of July in Bengaluru, India, fringe platform providers and Microsoft would be now having an eye on the OS.