Update: We just came across a video of the new UI or the Galaxy Z. Posted at the bottom of the page.

On Monday, June 2, the Samsung Google feud took a new turn. Samsung introduced the Samsung Z smartphone. While that alone doesn’t sound all that interesting, the Samsung Z is the World’s first “commercially available smartphone powered by the Tizen platform.”¹ Tizen, if you are unaware, is an open-source OS of everything:

Tizen is a broadly supported industry effort to create and to grow a new, open and flexible mobile operating system. Its built-in flexibility empowers operators, OEMs and developers to create applications, services and business models that enhance their brand and meet the needs of a broad consumer base. As an open source software platform, Tizen is expected to be a fast, simple and affordable path to creating and supporting these new offerings, and is designed to make it easy to develop for a range of devices while still delivering superior performance.²

Though I would be a bit skeptical about buying the first ever Tizen phone, the Samsung Z looks like a solid device. The Samsung Z is loaded with a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display and a 2.3 GHz Quad-core processor. It has an 8MP rear camera, and a 2.1MP front camera. It comes with some of the Galaxy S5 features like:Ultra Power Saving Mode, Download Booster, S Health 3.0, and a Fingerprint sensor. The Samsung Z comes with 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage, with a microSD slot up to 64GB.

According to the release, “The Samsung Z will be available in Q3 in Russia and is planned to expand to other markets.”³ The device will be displayed at the upcoming Tizen Developer Conference in San Francisco beginning on June 3rd.

It may be a stretch, at least at this point, to think that Tizen can challenge Android. That said, if Samsung begins to switch over to the OS wholesale, there is no doubt that a ton of developers will follow suit.