Samsung sticks to Android to hold on and consolidate its share

The handset major betting on Android instead of promoting home-grown Tizen OS

Samsung – the largest smartphone seller in the world – is going to introduce new smart phone devices based on Android operating system (OS) platform, instead of its own Tizen OS. According to the company’s internal observations, consumers in the country currently prefer the Google –owned OS more.

Amid reports from across the world on Samsung losing its smartphone market shares, the company’s decision to stick to the widely used operating system than pushing its home-grown Tizen OS is a need of the hour.

“We would rather have consumers at our side and will ensure delivery of what the consumers need”, Mohammad Asim Warsi, vice president IT & Mobile-marketing, Samsung India Electronics said while talking about the handset major’s plans on latest launches.

According to an IDC report, while during January-March, 2015, Samsung’s smartphone global market share went down to 24.6% – even lower than its first quarter share in 2012.

In China – the largest smart phone market in the world – Samsung’s sales plummeted 53% – from 19.9% in Q1 2014 to 9.7% in Q1 2015. According to Cybex Exim Solutions, in India too, Samsung’s market share has went down to 21.5% during April-June quarter from 28% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

Although, according to Warsi, the company has “further consolidated its dominant position in the country during 2015” by holding on to a 33.6% market share during the January-May, 2015 period. As per the syndicated report by the market research company GFK, in towns with more than 50,000 population, Samsung holds 38% share by value.

Samsung does not want to shift to Tizen OS immediately since consumers’ “taste and preference” is leading it to keep on introducing handsets in Android. In the past six months the company has launched at least 12 new handsets.

However, it has, during that period, launched only one Tizen-based smartphone – Z1. While, Z1 sales has surpassed Samsung’s expectations, Warsi says, “It is important to deliver what the customer sought” to hold on to market position in the long-term.

“We are continuously monitoring consumer preferences and adopting our portfolio (of products) by designing devices according to that”, Warsi said. And to keep its hold over the Indian market intact, Samsung is focusing on end-to-end services, by providing required contents, operating system and after sales services for smartphones, apart from strengthening its distribution network.