Tizen is a Linux-based mobile operating system backed by the Linux Foundation but developed and used primarily by Samsung Electronics. The project was originally conceived as an HTML5-based platform for mobile devices to succeed MeeGo. Samsung merged its previous Linux-based OS effort, Bada, into Tizen, and has since used it primarily on platforms such as wearable devices and smart TVs. Much of Tizen is open source software, although the software development kit contains proprietary components owned by Samsung, and portions of the OS are licensed under the Flora License, a derivative of the Apache License 2.0 that grants a patent license only to "Tizen certified platforms".
History
The Tizen project was formed by the Linux Foundation in 2011 as a successor to MeeGo, another Linux-based mobile operating system, with its main backer Intel joining Samsung Electronics, as well as Access Co., NEC Casio, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile, SK Telecom, Telefónica, and Vodafone as commercial partners. Tizen would be designed to use HTML5 apps, and target mobile and embedded platforms such as netbooks, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, and in-car entertainment systems. U.S. carrier Sprint Corporation joined the Tizen Association in May 2012. On September 16, 2012, Automotive Grade Linux announced its intent to use Tizen as the basis of its reference distribution. In January 2013, Samsung announced its intent to release multiple Tizen-based phones that year. In February 2013, Samsung merged its Bada operating system into Tizen. In October 2013, the first Tizen tablet was shipped by Systena. The tablet was part of a development kit exclusive to Japan. In 2014, Samsung released the Gear 2smartwatch that used a Tizen-based operating system as opposed to Android. On May 14, 2014, it was announced that Tizen would ship with Qt. This project was abandoned in January 2017. On February 21, 2016, Samsung announced the Samsung Connect Auto, a connected car solution offering diagnostic, Wi-Fi, and other car-connected services. The device plugs directly into the OBD-II port underneath the steering wheel. On November 16, 2016, Samsung said they would be collaborating with Microsoft to bring.NET Core support to Tizen. According to Strategy Analytics research, approximately 21% of the smart TVs sold in 2018 run on the Tizen platform making it the most popular smart TV platform.
On April 3, 2017, Vice reported on its "Motherboard" website that Amihai Neiderman, an Israeli security expert, has found more than 40 zero-day vulnerabilities in Tizen's code, allowing hackers to remotely access a wide variety of current Samsung products running Tizen, such as Smart TVs and mobile phones. After the article was published, Samsung, whom Neiderman tried to contact months before, reached out to him to inquire about his allegations.
