Samsung drifts away from Android; will Motorola rise to replace it?

"Speculation suggests the company is moving away from Google as a result of Google’s acquisition of Motorola in 2011"

This "speculation" is what the whole article is based on. Where does it come from?

I think it makes sense that Samsung would like to expand their influence on the market by leading customers into their own ecosystem. But Android is not stopping Samsung from doing this: In fact, Samsungs Touchwiz OS already comes with plenty of Samsung Services installed: You log into a Samsung account, you get a Samsung app store in addition to the Google store, a music store etc.

What gives Google power in the Android ecosystem are its "Google apps for Android" services. Most people expect these to be part of every Android based operating system.

If Samsung thinks it can do without these services in the future, it will try. That its operating system is currently based on Android does not grant Google much influence over Samsung IMHO.

And that Samsung is also supporting other operating systems is no change from the current or past state. Was there ever a time when Samsung did only support a single software stack? I don't think so.

At best, this article is overwrought analysis. At worst, it's fabricating unlikely scenarios.

Samsung has been diffident regarding Tizen, and quite unwilling to commit a level of resources that might draw Google's attention.

NTT Docomo was the most high-walled walled garden, with a Docomo-specific app runtime and other tightly bound ecosystem-technology links. More recently, docomo has had to accomodate Android smartphones. It's likely that Docomo sees Tizen as a platform for defending their garden walls.

This is not to take away from the accomplishment. Getting Tizen to market with a top OEM and a top carrier ain't chopped liver. But neither is it a strong indicator of continued success beyond that Samsung will support Tizen as long as Docomo orders handsets. It says nothing about whether US or European carriers will pick up Tizen, or whether any of Intel's plans for a Tizen ecosystem will come to fruition.

On top of all that, the question "Will Motorola rise..." is an appendage, without a single link to reality, least of all any indication that Samsung is less committed to growing their Android products.