Samsung has been the best selling Android mobile devices, and the largest licensee. Google is growing increasingly worried that Samsung is working to undermine its own strategy for Android.
The tension between the two companies isn't new. But the hostility between the two companies, was described in a report as a "tense private meeting", taken into account that when Google's chief executive Larry Page met Samsung's Vice Chairman. The meeting involved Samsung's smartwatch strategy, which is currently focused primarily on Tizen and a heavily customized Android, rather than Google's official Android Wear.
(read: Samsung Bet on Tizen: Counterstrike Against Google)
The search engine giant is disappointed that its Android operating system is being used as an open platform.
"Right before Samsung launched its first Gear, Google objected to how it planned to brand the device, since it was running a very heavily modified version of Android. Google had wanted Samsung to wait to release the Gear until its new version of Android for wearables, Android Wear, was ready. But Samsung pushed ahead.
Back in 2010, Google had also tried to stop Samsung from using Android 2.x to build a tablet clone of Apple's iPad, insisting that its Android licensees wait until it could release Android 3.0 Honeycomb with features that promoted Google's own vision for tablets. But Samsung pushed ahead and released its Galaxy Tab. This distracted people's attention from Android Honeycomb project and created a bad experience for early Android tablet adopters.
After Android Honeycomb tablets that was led by Motorola flopped in 2011, Google initiated a cheaper strategy of Samsung's original Tab after failing to partner with Asus. But Samsung that had struggled to sell its own tablets, it's revenue was massively boosted from its phone sales by selling a "new species" known as phablets. These nearly-tablet sized screens had boosted the mobile device industry in creating increasingly larger screen sizes.
With Apple that has its own fanatic market, is also creating increasingly larger screen, Samsung is identifying the "next big thing" by maintaining its sales volumes. And most recently, boosting its smartwatches sales.
Tizen Threatening Android
The project initially came from Bada Linux distribution, which was then partnered with others to resurrect the mobile Linux work, resulting in Tizen. Tizen is based on the Linux kernel and the GNU C Library, is a project within the Linux Foundation and is governed by a Technical Steering Group (TSG) composed of Samsung and Intel among others. The operating system that initially used a heavily-modified Android, first came to life by powering Samsung's first Galaxy Gear watch.
Tizen is one of the operating systems that is massively growing and competing with older and more mature counterparts by giving similar to improved features.
The fight between the two giants started when Google saw Samsung copying its Play store and other services that include ads. These are the areas that Google is expecting to keep the revenue for itself, have since contributed to Samsung's efforts to develop new watch models based on its own Tizen.
Samsung's Tizen abandons Google's controlled Android platform by ditching Google's restrictions. This allows Samsung to differentiate its products from those produced in China where its product are heavily competing with local similar products with lesser quality. Documents revealed during Apple-Samsung trial by late 2011 that Samsung was already plotting to "influence a 3rd mobile OS platform viability and scale by driving volume aggressively," noting that "what matters most in adoption" was "market penetration."
At the time, Samsung noted that its objective "won't be easy," saying that "two thirds of developers say there is [little] chance the OS or hardware would become attractive enough to overtake Android as the #2 mobile dev platform, let alone the untouchable Apple iOS."
Samsung, as the largest licensee for Android, is crucial to Google. If the South Korean company is able to migrate all of its Android users to Tizen, Google's mobile market share would decrease to half. And for Google, loosing that much is just too much.
In early 2014, Google's head of Android Sundar Pichai demanded Samsung to drop its "Magazine UX" tablet interface. Later, it was reported that Pichai "prepared to forbid" Samsung from using Google's ostensibly open Android operating system unless Samsung give more control to Google.
Google expected to force adoption of its own upcoming "Material Design" appearance across its Android licensees, just like it had attempted to similarly push Android tablet licensees to adopt Android 3.0 Honeycomb's "Holo" appearance.
Google's statement however, didn't resemble its original premise for Android. The company once said that it would allow its licensee to innovate and experiment with different designs while also allowing enthusiasts such as hackers and hobbyists to fully access all parts of the operating system. This has made Android a contrast the more restricted Apple.
Samsung isn't the only one in Google's concern. Many other companies that include media, technology and advertising, privately aired their concerns about Google's growing dominance and monopoly in mobile advertising throughout the event. Their executives were calling Google a 'bully', and plotted ways to counter Google's growing power.
With its licensee starting change their business model by altering the nature of Android's open source platform to do their own bidding, Google is planning to increasingly strict the rules to them, and introducing locked down security features similar to iOS.
Google is also demanding Samsung to stop developing its own Tizen-powered watches, and support Android Wear instead.
Since Tizen is still less mature and still unable to power a smartphone that people want, Samsung still follow Google's demands and contributed to Google's Knox security software the company had developed to differentiate its own phones.
Samsung's ambition to deliver Galaxy Gear with Tizen is seen as a broad and bold move. But if the company succeeds, according to Samsung, this will give them almost triple the number of third-party applications thanks to the company's aggressive efforts to recruit new Tizen developers.
Whether Galaxy Gear owners switch their devices over to Tizen, however, is entirely up to them. Because Android to Tizen upgrade is a total overhaul and alters the device's inner workings, it's not available as an over-the-air update and must be installed manually.
The upgrade process will also delete all data and apps from the smartwatch, so users should be sure to backup any important data before they start.
To get the new firmware, Galaxy Gear owners should download the appropriate version of Samsung's Kies software for their Windows or OS X desktop computer, then connect their smartwatch via USB. Once the software recognizes the device, it will guide the user through the process of downloading and installing the upgrade automatically.