Samsung reportedly planning Windows Phone 8.1 devices once it settles legal battle with Microsoft
Alexandra BurlacuSamsung is apparently getting ready to launch more Windows Phone devices, if a new report out of Korea turns out to be accurate.
Windows Phone is the third largest mobile platform, but only Nokia (now owned by Microsoft) has supported the platform in a major way in recent times. Samsung has not launched a Windows Phone device in a good while, but that may change soon.
According to a new report from the Korea Times, Samsung is currently testing Windows Phone 8.1's stability on its own devices, indicating that new WP smartphones from Samsung may hit the market soon.
"Samsung has run pilot programs on the stability of Windows 8.1 software on devices. It is interested in promoting Windows mobiles," the Korea Times reports, citing an unnamed source close to the matter.
The only hurdle standing in the way of launching new Samsung devices running Windows Phone 8.1 reportedly lies in the litigation between Samsung and Microsoft. For those unfamiliar with the issue, Microsoft filed a lawsuit against Samsung back in August, claiming that after it announced its intentions to acquire Nokia's mobile business unit back in September 2013, Samsung breached a collaboration by refusing to make royalty payments. The lawsuit alleged that Samsung still owed $6.9 million in interest on more than $1 billion in payment royalties it delayed. Back in November 2014, a U.S. judge rejected Samsung's bit to put Microsoft's lawsuit on hold.
According to the Korea Times, the two companies are yet to settle the dispute over this lawsuit, but Samsung would launch new Windows Phone handsets once they resolve the issue.
"If the companies settle their litigation, then Samsung will manufacture handsets powered by the Microsoft-developed mobile platform. The timing could be the third quarter of this year at the earliest," the publication further cites one of its sources.
This move reportedly comes after Samsung failed to popularize its own Tizen OS, in an attempt to loosen its reliance on Google's Android mobile operating system. Samsung will reportedly continue to promote Tizen this year, but will mainly focus on TVs rather than mobile devices.
"By releasing a Windows mobile, Samsung could manage its phone business in the low-, mid-, to premium-end sectors," further added the unnamed official, as cited by the Korea Times.
With no official confirmation, however, it all remains in the rumor state at this point. As always in such cases, take all rumors, leaks, and reports with a pinch of salt.
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