Samsung has rolled out its third Tizen handset in the Indian market, the Z2 (the first was the Z1, and then Samsung launched the Z3). The phone is the first in the Tizen range to offer LTE connectivity, and will go up for sale starting August 29 via Samsung’s offline channels and e-commerce store Paytm. Much like its predecessors, the Z2 is aimed at the entry-level segment, with a retail price of ₹4,590 ($68).
As you can imagine, the hardware on offer with the Z2 is fairly basic, which is in the form of a 4-inch WVGA (800 x 480) display, 1.5GHz quad-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, 8GB storage, microSD slot, 5MP rear camera, 0.3MP front camera, and a 1500mAh battery.
Things get much more interesting on the software front, where we’re seeing the latest iteration of Tizen. Samsung says that the phone has been designed from the ground up in its Bengaluru R&D facility, with a slew of India-specific features on offer.
The first is called My Money Transfer, which lets customers transfer money (up to ₹5,000) even when there isn’t an active internet connection. Then there’s S Bike Mode, which is debuting on Tizen for the first time. The feature routes calls to an automated service to prevent distracted driving. The Z2 also offers Ultra Data Saving Mode, as well as the ability to unlock the phone with gestures, pinning apps to the home screen, and more.
Tizen OS isn’t as memory-intensive as Android, which means that the Z2 should be capable of handling basic tasks with ease despite its meager hardware.
By pricing the phone under ₹5,000 ($75), Samsung is clearly targeting feature phone buyers. There are 550 million feature phones in India, and over 10 million new phones are being sold every month. With the 4G-enabled Z2, Samsung is looking to entice feature phone users into making the switch to their first smartphone. The Jio Preview offer — which gives unlimited LTE data for 90 days on Jio’s 4G network — is the icing on the cake.
