You make a good point
@pc747 but Apple did it when everyone said they would fail.. Sammie is bold enough to make it happen.
I don't mean to single you out here Jeffrey. This is just the last post I read that I wanted to comment on other than liking or agreeing with it.
I don't think comparing where Samsung is now to Apple is valid on pretty much any level. First, everyone thought Apple was nuts at first, that's true, but they had no real competition. Sure, the G1 came out not too long after the first iphone, so android existed and had an app market, but I feel like Apple's climb was WAY less uphill than Sammies will be at this point in the game when others are already very well established.
I think it's funny that we're seeing this rumor that they want to change the OS on their phones after just hearing reports that they want to change the number scheme on the Note line to be less confusing.
Some here have talked about "regular" people who don't know the difference of what OS they have. I agree with those that have said that they'll darn sure notice if they upgrade their Note 4 or 5 to a Note 8 or something and find things to be completely different. Even folks that aren't hardcore android fans like us here on the forum who are Samsung fans are used to their iterative updates and small changes. Even if they make Tizen look and feel very similar to android with Touchwiz, it's going to be severely different, even if only in the app selection.
I totally get why they'd want to have their own ecosystem, but I feel like they'd be biting the hand that feeds by dropping android. That software got them to where they are in the phone market. Sure, their hardware and some of the bells and whistles of Touchwiz have helped, but there are plenty who hate TW, even in it's more subdued state that it's developed recently.
It'll be interesting to see. Samsung is a company who's devices I recommend to many people, including my wife who just got the S7 recently. But she's like me and has invested in apps, spent her Opinion Rewards earnings on games, etc. If they go Tizen, they won't be my recommendation anymore to friends and family. If nothing else, for the same basic reason why I try to steer them toward Android instead of iOS. I can help them easily with Android issues. iOS, I have to Google their weird (to me) ways of doing things sometimes. If you want me to be your tech support, it's best to stick with things I'm familiar with.