Go back half a decade or so and the only things you would think of when someone mentioned Samsung would be home appliances. Now the South Korean manufacturer’s name is synonymous with high-end smartphones, churning out hit after hit such as Galaxy S2, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note etc. It is a force to be reckoned with in the global smartphone market. In recent times we have seen Samsung shift its reliance away from component suppliers, it now uses self-manufactured components wherever it can. It is also believed that Samsung is willing to be less dependent on Google and Microsoft for software, a move which would definitely set off alarm bells at Mountain View and Redmond.
Chairman, founder and former CEO of Microsoft Bill Gates met with Jay Lee, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, Choi Gee-sung who is the head of future strategy and JK Shin who is the President of IT & Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics. Bill Gates said that they discussed opportunities with Windows 8 and other IT devices with Samsung. Later on the 26th of April, JK Shin will be meeting with CEO of Google, Larry Page. Samsung has an impressive portfolio of Android powered devices, but at its Galaxy S4 launch it didn’t even mention Google or Android once, which leads many to believe that Samsung isn’t too keen on promoting Android. It is also believed that Samsung might focus more on devices based on its homegrown TIZEN OS which is yet to be released. Losing Samsung as a manufacturer will definitely hurt Android’s position in the global smartphone market, of which it currently commands 70%.
The ATIV S is the Korean manufacturer’s only Windows 8 device. Samsung is of the view that Windows 8 doesn’t move many products so its likely that they might be considering to drop the platform all together. We haven’t heard any rumors related to a future device on this platform. Both Google and Microsoft know that they are better off with Samsung as a manufacturing partner, the question remains though, for how long does Samsung intend to keep them?
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