licensing deal was good news for Android. But that
might only be the tip of the iceberg. According to a
report from Re/code the two are working together on a
broader initiative that will bring the Samsung version of
Android more inline with Google's vision. The talks
appear to have started at CES following the reveal of
Galaxy Tab Pro and Note Pro lines, which featured a
new skin called Magazine UX. The interface was not
only a dramatic departure from the familiar TouchWiz,
but from the very core of Android itself. In fact, the
panel-based home screen looks a lot more like
Windows 8 than Mountain View's mobile OS. But Re/
code's sources say that future Samsung devices will
either feature a drastically scaled back version of
Magazine UX or lose the interface all together.
Obviously, keeping the Android experience as
consistent as possible across devices and brands is good
for Google, but it could also help Samsung, which is
now looking at maintaining three different Android-
based tablet skins.
Google has been pressuring companies to minimize the
tweaks to the Android UI (with varying degrees of
success) for sometime now. So it balking at Magazine
UX should come as no surprise. The more interesting
part of the deal reportedly involves Samsung's in-house
apps. For years now the South Korean giant has been
promoting its own (often lackluster) products that
replicate functions of Google's core Play Services. For
example, WatchON, ChatON and the mSpot-enhanced
Media Hub. Sammy has apparently agreed to instead
shift focus to the Play store, Newsstand, Hangouts and
other Google-built apps. Again, this will bring
additional consistency to the Android universe and,
considering the size of Samsung's market share, will
broaden the reach of Mountain View's services.
What isn't clear, is what concessions Samsung wrangled
out of Google to get this deal done. It could simply be
that Sundar Pichai threatened to pull access to the Play
store if the Galaxy line didn't, well, get in line. But that
seems doubtful. Perhaps the company was promised the
next Nexus device or even a seat at the brainstorming
sessions for Lemon Meringue Pie (Lollipop? Lik-M-
Aid?).
Via: Re/code / Engadget
No comments:
Post a Comment