Tizen powered Samsung Z3 launches in India

After some indecision leading up to the Indian launch of its Z1 smartphone, Samsung has quickly followed up with a Tizen powered successor – the Samsung Z3. Again, the smartphone is making its début in India and is designed to cater to the value orientated segment of the market, but it does come with some notable hardware improvements over its predecessor.

Delving right on in to the hardware, the Samsung Z3 features a 5-inch HD (720p) Super AMOLED display, a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, complete with a microSD card slot for an extra 128GB of space, should you need it. The phone also comes with a 2,600mAh battery, an 8 megapixel rear camera and 5MP front camera, which both feature an f/2.2 aperture and are a notable upgrades over the Z1. Sadly, 4G LTE support is one major missing feature.

The redesigned phone visually now has a lot more in common with the mid-range Galaxy A series and Samsung has also opted for a curved edge on the back of the phone in a similar fashion to the Galaxy Note 5. There is also a metallic finish running around the edge of the smartphone, which looks rather nice.

The Z3 is powered by Samsung’s Tizen operating system and comes with a range of software features. The ‘Ultra Data Saving Mode’ that Samsung introduced with the Galaxy J2 makes its way over to the Z3. This option compresses data traffic by up to 40 percent to help in areas with poor data coverage. The phone’s ‘Ultra Power Saving Mode’ can be used to disable all but the most basic functions to increase battery life too. Samsung has also pre-loaded its ‘My Galaxy’ app onto the handset, which offers consumers various exclusive services, local deals, and entertainment content tailored to the Indian market.

The Samsung Z3 comes in a choice of black, gold and silver color optiopns. The handset will cost Rs. 8,490 ($130) and will go on sale later this month through Indian retailer Snapdeal. The Z3 is also rumored to be heading to Europe at some point, although official plans have not been announced.