Samsung to release high-end Tizen smartphone in late summer

Late last week Samsung confirmed it will release a high-end Tizen-based smartphone at the end of the summer. Expected to become available in August or September, this new handset will shoot straightly for the top with "the best specifications" possible.

The move fuels speculation that Samsung is trying to move away from the Android platform. Google takes a big cut from all apps bought from the Google Play store, a revenue stream Samsung is keen to get into.

"The Tizen phone will be out in August or September, and this will be in the high-end category. The device will be the best product equipped with the best specifications," Samsung's executive vice president of its mobile business Lee Young Hee told Bloomberg. There's no word on what exactly makes it "best" though.

No Tizen devices are on sale yet, but anyone buying one will have "thousands" of apps to choose from, according to Chase Perrin from the Tizen Association. He accuses Android of being tightly controlled, with Tizen aiming to be just as open source and as easy to develop for.